Harry's 11th Birthday Cake from Hagrid
Try this Harry's 11th Birthday Cake from Hagrid recipe, or contribute your own.
Try this Harry's 11th Birthday Cake from Hagrid recipe, or contribute your own.
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1 cup milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- red food coloring
- 1 3/4 cups plain flour
- 1/2 cup thickened cream (alternatively sour cream)
- 250 g white chocolate melts
- green icing gel (or tinted buttercream frosting or
- Carbohydrate 483.655597058309 g
- Cholesterol 770.775000010347 mg
- Fat 376.919763451151 g
- Fiber 19.9636671178499 g
- Protein 52.9198400273835 g
- Saturated Fat 191.215920848124 g
- Serving Size 1 1 recipe (1929g)
- Sodium 2460.72551091858 mg
- Sugar 463.691929940459 g
- Trans Fat 22.3532798361728 g
- Calories 5382 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 150C
- Grease and line one tall round pan.
- In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients--sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Add in the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, and mix well, before adding in the boiling water.
- Batter will be thin.
- Pour into the cake pan
- Bake 45-55 minutes in the oven. A wooden skewer test will come out sticky but not liquidy.
- Set aside until completely cool.
- Remove from the pan, slice off the lumpy top so it's flat, then turn over.
- In a glass measuring cup, add in the cream.
- Drop in the food gel and mix until you have close to the right colour (a bit darker is best as you'll be adding extra white from the chocolate).
- Stir in the white chocolate melts and zap on medium (50%) in the microwave for 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds.
- Remove and stir to remove any lumps.
- Place in the fridge to cool for 1-2 hours.
- Spoon onto the top of the cake, then use a palette knife or spatula to smooth and swirl the icing evenly across the top.
- Finish off by writing out 'HAPPEE BIRTHDAE HARRY' in green icing
- Draw in lines and 'cracks' with a knife.
Unsweetened cocoa powder dominates this batter, supplying the structural dryness and deep color that balances two cups of white sugar. Substituting regular dairy milk with plant-based milks requires matching fat percentages to maintain crumb density, while standard wheat flour accepts a direct 1:1 swap for certified gluten-free all-purpose blends containing xanthan gum. Liquid oils like vegetable oil interact with starches differently than solid fats, yielding a spongy crumb that traps moisture effectively without creaming.
Baking at 150 degrees Celsius prevents the exterior from burning before the dense center sets. Thin batters demand careful monitoring during the forty-five to fifty-five minute window, ensuring the wooden skewer test yields moist crumbs rather than wet streaks. Cooling the cake completely before handling prevents the warm crumb from tearing under the weight of the chocolate ganache.
Ganache relies on the emulsion of fat and cream, meaning white chocolate melts require gentle, intermittent microwave heating at fifty percent power to prevent scorching. Stirring every thirty seconds disperses heat evenly across cocoa butter solids that burn easily compared to dark chocolate. Chilling this tinted white chocolate mixture for one to two hours thickens the spreadable medium enough to hold carved surface cracks.
Freezing baked chocolate sponge layers wrapped tightly in plastic wrap extends storage capability for up to one month without flavor degradation. Thaw frozen layers overnight in the refrigerator before applying the tinted chocolate coating and green icing details. Room temperature storage works for short-term display, though finished cakes containing dairy ganache should be consumed within three days.
