Vegan + GF

Harry Potter’s Birthday Cake

Even if you’re not a big Harry Potter fan (and if you are – hiiiii) you probably recognize this cake! On Harry’s 11th birthday, Hagrid broke down the door of the hut on the rock, told Harry he was a wizard, and brought along a slightly squashed cake to boot.

Jump to Recipe
Flavor Notes

chocolate | cherry | coffee

Pairing Suggestions

Harry Potter and the First Time Readers | Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone | Salt & Stone candle

This website uses affiliate links and I may earn a small commission off of purchases made using these links at no additional cost to you

Table of Contents

Intro

The end of July is here already which means it’s time to celebrate a very special birthday! On his 11th birthday, Harry Potter learned that he was a wizard and received a sticky, slightly squashed chocolate cake – courtesy of Rubeus Hagrid. 

“Anyway — Harry,” said the giant, turning his back on the Dursleys, “a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here — I mighta sat on it at some point, but it’ll taste all right.”

From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box. Harry opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with Happy Birthday Harry written on it in green frosting.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
Chapter 4: the keeper of keys
  • scene from harry potter and the sorcerer's stone movie where harry receives his cake
    TM & © Warner Bros. (2001) Cast: Robbie Coltrane, Daniel Radcliffe Director: Chris Columbus Producers: Todd Arnow, Michael Barnathan, Chris Columbus, Paula DuPré Pesman, David Heyman, Tanya Seghatchian, Duncan Henderson, Mark Radcliffe Screenwriters: Steve Kloves, J.K. Rowling
  • scene from harry potter and the sorcerer's stone. movie where harry receives his cake
    TM & © Warner Bros. (2001) Cast: Robbie Coltrane, Daniel Radcliffe Director: Chris Columbus Producers: Todd Arnow, Michael Barnathan, Chris Columbus, Paula DuPré Pesman, David Heyman, Tanya Seghatchian, Duncan Henderson, Mark Radcliffe Screenwriters: Steve Kloves, J.K. Rowling
  • scene from harry potter and the sorcerer's stone movie when harry recieves his birthday cake
    TM & © Warner Bros. (2001)Cast: Robbie Coltrane, Daniel RadcliffeDirector: Chris ColumbusProducers: Todd Arnow, Michael Barnathan, Chris Columbus, Paula DuPré Pesman, David Heyman, Tanya Seghatchian, Duncan Henderson, Mark RadcliffeScreenwriters: Steve Kloves, J.K. Rowling

What flavor is Harry Potter’s birthday cake?

According to the books, Hagrid brought a large, sticky chocolate cake to celebrate.

My version is also chocolate, true to the story. I took the liberty of adding a splash of espresso – totally optional – but it really helps bring out the flavor of the chocolate.

The frosting is a cream cheese buttercream hybrid. I love to use natural foods to color when I’m baking, and that’s exactly what I did with this cake.

Pink Frosting: roasted cherries, just the juices.

Green Frosting: Rishi matcha powder

Why is there a line down Harry Potter’s birthday cake?

Funny enough, the iconic crooked line going through Harry’s cake is a movie-ism. It never was described in the books, so some people might say it’s not officially “canon.” In the books, Hagrid does say that “I mighta sat on it at some point,” but we get no explicit description of a split down the middle from the books themselves. Maybe the movie producers thought that’s what would happen to a cake that’s been sat on by a half giant.

Do you want to see this replicated in the new tv series? Let me know your thoughts in the comments, I’d love to chat!

top down view of harry potter's birthday cake with a line down the middle

Ingredients

Oat flour: buy it ground or make it yourself, the oat flour is the base of this gluten free cake.

Coconut sugar: to make the cake batter refined sugar free, we’re using coconut sugar. You can swap in white granulated sugar, too, if you’d like.

Cocoa powder: this time we’re using natural (not dutch processed) to get the chocolate flavor into this cake

Applesauce: to replace all of the oil and substitute the moisture and stability that would’ve come from an egg in a traditional cake recipe

Plant milk: I used Plantstrong oat and walnut milk but feel free to substitute whatever plant milk you have on hand!

Brewed coffee: to add depth and complexity to the chocolate flavor. Espresso powder would work, too, if you have it.

Baking soda and powder: just the standard leaveners here, nothing crazy.

Salt: a tiny bit goes a long way!

Butter: be sure to use a block-style butter for a thick frosting that won’t separate. I love to use Miyokos European Style plant based salted butter.

Cream cheese: this really helps bring a tang and creaminess to the frosting. I prefer to use Kite Hill but Miyokos’ cream cheese is just as good.

Powdered sugar: the key ingredient in most frostings and icings!

Frozen cherries: the natural dye that we’ll use to make the pink frosting!

Matcha powder: the natural dye to make the green frosting! I love Rishi matcha for baking and lattes alike! Not sponsored, just a huge fan.

top down view of harry potter's birthday cake batter in a silver bowl with a wand and hogwarts letter placed in the background

Naturally dyed frosting ingredient options

It’s crazy how easy it is to naturally dye frosting! There’s absolutely no need to go out and buy the artificial stuff, I promise. Here we only need pink and green colors, and there are plenty of options.

Pink

  • Freeze dried strawberries, ground into a powder
  • Freeze dried raspberries, ground into a powder
  • Cherries, heated from frozen, just the juices
  • Raspberries, heated from frozen, just the juices

Green

How to make Harry Potter’s birthday cake

Step 1: Set the mood! Put on your favorite potter film, podcast, soundtrack, or set the scene with a Wizarding World inspired ASMR room – here’s a link to one of my favorites by ASMR weekly.

Step 2: Brew the coffee and preheat the oven to 350

Step 3: Whisk the dry ingredients

Step 4: Fold in the wet ingredients

Step 5: Bake in two pans and let cool before frosting!

Step 6: Frost and decorate the cake

Step 7: Enjoy!

FAQs

No, please only use non-alkalized, natural cocoa powder in this recipe! The leavening agents have been tailored to work with the slightly acidic natural cocoa powder. 

I have not tested this recipe with another flour. That said, you could try Bob’s Red Mill GF 1:1 baking flour or even regular all-purpose flour. I would not recommend substituting coconut or almond flours here, as they are far too dense, the texture will be shot, and the cakes will likely not rise.

Harry’s character was born in 1980, which makes him 44 this year in 2024! 

The first book – the philosopher’s stone – was published in the UK in June 1997

The first movie was released in November 2001

Harry was born on July 31st, 1980. This fact becomes relevant to the plot when spoiler alert the prophecy Snape overhears speaks of a child born with the power to defeat Voldemort would be born “as the seventh month dies.” 

Expert Tips

Cooled cakes

Make sure you let the cakes cool completely before starting the frosting process. Feel free to stick them in the fridge to speed up the process. The last thing you want is a melted puddle of frosting on your beautiful cakes. 

Frosting

It’s much easier to prevent splitting if the frosting is kept nice and cold. Whenever you aren’t working with it, try to store the frosting in the fridge or freezer. Once the cake is done, transfer to the fridge until ready to serve.

Recipe Card

Harry Potter’s Birthday Cake (vegan + gf)

Print Recipe
a box containing Harry's birthday cake and hydrangeas surrounding the box. A wand in the bottom right corner
Prep Time:1 hour
Cook Time:30 minutes
Cooling Time:2 hours

Equipment

  • 2 cake pans
  • 1 piping bag
  • 1 size 10 round piping tip

Ingredients

Cake

  • 3 cups oat flour
  • 1 cup coconut sugar
  • ⅔ cup cocoa powder
  • 1 ½ tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ⅓ cup black coffee or 1 tbsp espresso powder dissolved in 3 tbsp hot water
  • 1 ½ cup applesauce
  • 1 cup plant milk

Frosting

  • 12 oz cream cheese
  • 16 tbsp butter
  • 3 cups powdered sugar

Natural Coloring

  • 5 tbsp cherry juice see notes
  • 2.5 tbsp matcha powder

Instructions

Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 350℉ and lightly grease two round cake pans.
  • Combine oat flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
  • Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, then pour in the applesauce, plant milk, and brewed coffee.
  • Fold gently to fully combine.
  • Divide the batter between the two cake pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake.

Frosting

  • Add vegan butter and cream cheese to a large bowl and beat on high with a hand mixer until fully combined.
  • Add powdered sugar in three batches to avoid making a huge mess!
  • Separate about ⅛ of the batch – this will be used for the green frosting.
  • Add 5 tbsp cooked cherry juice or sub another pink dye (see ideas above) to the larger batch of frosting and incorporate with hand beater on low.
  • Add matcha powder to the smaller sized batch of frosting and stir thoroughly to combine.

Assembly

  • Wait for the cakes to cool completely before frosting!
  • Add the first cake the your final serving platter. Place the platter on a lazy susan, if available.
  • Add about ¼ the batch of pink frosting on top of th efirst cake and spread into one even layer.
  • Carefully place the second cake on top.
  • Use the rest of the pink forsting to cover the top and sides of the layered cake. Be sure to create a smooth surface on top for piping letters.
  • Add the green frosting to a piping bag fit with a size 10 round tip.
  • Pipe "Happee Birthdae Harry" in three separate lines on top of the cake.
  • Cut a curved line into the cake to fully replicate the visual we get in the film scene! The line should curve between the P and E in "Happee," the H and D in "Birthdae," and the H and A in "Harry." 🙂

Notes

For the pink frosting
There are a couple of options for this one, but I used roasted cherry juice. Frozen cherries release their juices as they thaw, and the juices thicken as the cherries continue to cook at higher temperatures. 2 cups of cherries release about 5 tablespoons of juice, which is enough for this recipe!
 
You could also use freeze dried strawberries or freeze dried raspberries as a natural dye, I’ve had great results with both in the past! If you go this route, you’ll need to blend up the strawberries or raspberries – I LOVE using my coffee grinder (linked here) for small-batch blending like this.
Servings: 16
Calories: 350kcal

Did you try this recipe? Let us know how it went in the comments!

Similar Posts