Easy Harry Potter Sleeping Draught Cupcakes

The ultimate easy cake-based treat to make that features in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Hermione’s sleeping draught cakes from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets! These lovely little Harry Potter sleeping draught cupcakes are so fun to whip up for a Harry Potter movie night or themed party. Sleeping draught not included. Ready to uncover some secrets?

Contents

• The Bake
• Top Tips
• The Recipe
• The Film
• Recipe Card

The Bake

More Harry Potter bakes? Always.

I’ve already made Hazza P cupcakes in the form of my Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 inspired recipe, but these Harry Potter sleeping draught cupcakes are a fictional treat straight out of Chamber of Secrets.

A fictional food recreation I had to do as a Potterhead, there’s no doubt. Naturally, it won’t be the last.

If you signed up to my old newsletter and recognise this recipe then, nay, your eyes do not deceive you, this is that same recipe. 

I figured that now that I have closed the blog newsletter set up in order to combine blog newsletters with my shop emails – which you can sign up for here – I may as well share the three exclusive recipes that I worked hard on for the free ebook!

In order to find out anything about the heir of Slytherin from Malfoy, Hermione whips up these sleeping draught cupcakes to temporarily knock out the real Crabbe and Goyle so that Harry and Ron can stand in their places post-polyjuice potion consumption.

From the get go, I’ve always thought how tasty these wee cakes looked in the film. Cakes and other sweet numnums usually look delicious in cinema, particularly in the Harry Potter films where desserts are regularly featured.

Yet, these Harry Potter sleeping draught cupcakes always looked especially delicious – and nostalgic.

Perhaps it’s the combination of a pale sponge and a chocolate frosting. Whatever the reason is that means these cupcakes look especially tasty, I’m glad to report that my recipe for them really does satisfy that desire to try them each time they appear on screen.

Cupcakes are often a winning numnum and are a fun treat to make for cake fans.

They’re a great treat to have for a movie night or TV watch party, as my other cupcake recipes like my The Powerpuff Girls inspired jam-filled cupcakes, my Game of Thrones white walker cakes and my Avatar: The Last Airbender insignia cupcakes demonstrate.

These Harry Potter sleeping draught cupcakes are made from an easy vanilla sponge and topped with ready-made chocolate frosting to make them super easy to whip up.

Top Tips

• If you fancy adding some extra flavour to the cakes, feel free to swap out the vanilla for another type of extract or natural flavouring that pairs well with chocolate, i.e. orange or strawberry. Alternatively, you can add the extract to your chocolate frosting (even if it’s shop bought!).
• The chocolate frosting can be ready made from the shop, but if you want to make your own, beat together 200g [7oz] unsalted butter with 350g [2 ¾ cups+ 2 tbsp] icing [confectioners] sugar and 50g [3-4 tbsp] cocoa powder.
• If you’d prefer to skip the frosting, you can drip the cakes upside down in melted chocolate and top with the sprinkles instead.
• These cupcakes are best eaten on the day, but are delicious for 4+ days if kept in an airtight container.
• If catering for more than 12, you can double the ingredients of this recipe to make a double batch. Alternatively, you can halve the recipe for a smaller batch.

Whether you’re making these for yourself or loved ones during a solo baking session, with mates or young witches and wizards, these Harry Potter sleeping draught cakes are an easy way to add more magic to your movie night or themed party.

You could even whip them up for a Halloween movie night if that’s your vibe! Sleeping draught is not included or recommended in this recipe, friends. Falling asleep during a movie is not the one.

Happy baking, happy eating!

The Recipe

Ingredients

Harry Potter sleeping draught cakes:

• 200g [7 oz] unsalted butter   room temperature
• 200g [1 cup] caster sugar
• 3 large or 4 medium eggs
• 200g [1 ¼ cup] self-raising flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Decoration:

• 400g [up to 14 oz] chocolate frosting (see Top Tips for alternatives)
• Chocolate sprinkles

Serves: 12

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Baking time: 18 – 20 minutes

Decorating time: 15 minutes

Method

Harry Potter sleeping draught cakes:

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C [350°F] or 160°C fan. Line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake cases and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy.
3. Add the eggs one at a time, beating in between until fully incorporated.
4. Add in the vanilla, then sift in the flour and beat in until you no longer see any flour. Be mindful not to overmix here.
5. Split the batter equally into the 12 cupcake cases, filling each case no more than ⅔ of the way in order to leave room for the sponges to rise.
6. Bake the cakes on the middle shelf for 18 – 20 minutes or until well risen, golden, and a cocktail stick comes out clean when tested.
7. Once baked, leave to cool fully on a wire rack.

Decoration:

1. When your cupcakes are cool, gently peel off the wrappers and recycle them. This is optional, but the sleeping draught cakes that we see in the film are wrapper-less!
2. Pipe or spread the chocolate frosting in an even layer on the top of each cake.
3. Finish by gently pressing chocolate sprinkles onto the frosting.

These Harry Potter sleeping draught cupcakes are just the ticket for a Harry Potter movie night snack spread, themed party food table, or even just as a sweet treat for a Halloween movie night or autumnal movie night. They are best enjoyed on the day, but will remain delicious for 4+ days if kept in an airtight container. Enjoy!

The Film

I’ve discussed Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in my post for my recreation of Aunt Petunia’s floating dessert, so I won’t delve back into it in the same detail here.

I have already flown through my annual Harry Potter marathon for this year and every time it makes me fall back in love with the series.

It’s like I’m revelling in the nostalgia of it all, whilst also getting something new out of the franchise each time I watch it.

Somehow, I always manage to notice something that I hadn’t noticed before, despite having seen these films many, MANY times. 

A recent example being the racks of toast that float between the tables in the Great Hall during breakfast in Goblet of Fire. When I say that I only just noticed them during my annual marathon a year or two ago, I’m not joking.

That’s the beauty of rewatching films and TV shows that you love! There will often be something new about your favourite piece that you hadn’t noticed before.

The magic of cinema. It’s truly something to behold.

Recipe Card