Harry Potter Fans Will Freak Out Over These Butterbeer Cupcakes

By Rebecca Hubbell, POPSUGAR

The following post was originally featured on Sugar and Soul and written by Rebecca Hubbell, who is part of POPSUGAR Select Food.

These Harry Potter Butterbeer Cupcakes will cast a spell on your taste buds and leave you in a state of geeky bliss!

[post_ads]It's that time of year again! Every December Matt and I have a Harry Potter marathon, I don't even remember how long we've been doing it, but I always try to bake up something delicious for us to enjoy with it! Last year I made these butterbeer pudding cookies and they've been one of my most popular recipes to date! We've made them over and over again, tried different variations and I even made them for a wedding in September! One reader commented that the cookies "smell like unicorns;" here's to hoping these cupcakes are just as good! 

Personally, I think they're freakin' amazing and might just be the best cupcakes I've ever made; they taste like french toast and butterbeer had a baby! See, now you really want one! 

These cupcakes are light and fluffy with toffee bits throughout that make for a nice little punch of flavor. Then they're dipped in a rich butterscotch sauce and finished with a whipped butterbeer frosting and some lightning bolt sprinkles. I know there's a fair amount of people who don't like to use flavoring or extracts, but please be aware that the butter extract is KEY in this recipe and CANNOT just be replaced with melted butter. 

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So Harry Potter lovers, are you guys excited for the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movie? I know I am, anything to keep the Harry Potter universe alive, right? I'm pretty pumped, especially because I adore Eddie Redmayne and know he's going to do an amazing job! Also, have you guys picked up a copy of the new Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: Illustrated Edition? It's absolutely gorgeous and I can't wait to start collecting the books all over again! 

I purchased the Harry Potter cupcake liners on Etsy and put them on over the two regular liners so the sauce wouldn't make them all nasty. Yes, they are made out of book pages, and as a book lover, I just tried not to think about it. But they were just too perfect and I figured what's done is done, right? At least, I'm sending them out with a bang! The lightning bolt sprinkles are from Geeky Hostess and I've been wanting some since she did her Kickstarter campaign last year. You can order them on Amazon now! 

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Ingredients

Cupcakes:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon imitation butter extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup cream soda
• 1 cup Heath Toffee Bits (not the ones with chocolate)

Sauce:

• 3/4 cup butterscotch chips
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

 

Frosting:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/3 cup butterscotch instant pudding mix, dry
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 3 teaspoons imitation butter extract

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Directions

1. Bake the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cupcake pan with liners.
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium-sized bowl and stir with a whisk until well mixed and smooth.
3. In a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat together the eggs, oil, extracts, and buttermilk. Beat in the dry ingredients and the cream soda, alternating between the two until batter is smooth. Mix in the toffee bits.
4. Add 1/4 cup batter to each cupcake liner and bake for 18-22 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer to a cooling rack to cool. Bake remaining cupcakes.
5. Make the sauce: Meanwhile, add the butterscotch chips to a small metal bowl and heating the heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring cream to a simmer, then pour it over the butterscotch chips. Let sit for 3-4 minutes. Whisk cream and chips together until a rich sauce forms. Transfer to the fridge to cool and thicken for about 30 minutes.
6. Make the frosting: Combine all ingredients in a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachments and beat on medium-high for about 3-4 minutes until a light and fluffy frosting forms. Transfer frosting to a pastry frosting bag or to a dessert decorating tool.
7. Remove sauce from the fridge, roll out a piece of wax paper on a flat surface, dip the tops of the cupcakes in the sauce, and place on the wax paper and let set for 15 minutes.
8. Place each cupcake in a second liner to cover up the stickiness. Pipe frosting onto the cupcakes and finish with sprinkles.