Get ready to take a trip to Hogsmeade! These butterbeer cupcakes will take you right into the wizarding world of Harry Potter. They’re soft and fluffy cupcakes flavored with a butterbeer reduction, butterscotch, vanilla and butter flavor, frosted with butterscotch buttercream and drizzled with butterscotch ganache.
If you're looking for other cupcake recipes check out my salted caramel almond cupcakes, pumpkin cupcakes, best chocolate cupcakes or apple cider cupcakes!
Why You'll Love these Harry Potter Butterbeer Cupcakes
They taste just like butterbeer from the Wizarding World- I recently took a trip to Hogsmeade in Universal Studios and I’m here to tell you these cupcakes taste just like the real deal!
They’re a sweet treat- these are extra sweet cupcakes that are a perfect special treat! They use a butterbeer reduction and butterscotch chips to give them the perfect butterbeer flavor!
They’re fluffy and moist- They've got the best texture.
They're topped with fluffy butterscotch buttercream- This frosting is amazing. It's so smooth and fluffy. Butterscotch chips are melted and combined with whipped butter to make the perfect frosting consistency. Piping it is a dream!
Ingredients for Harry Potter Butterbeer Cupcakes
- Butter- make sure it’s softened
- Light Brown Sugar & Granulated Sugar- used to sweeten the cupcakes
- Eggs- make sure they’re room temperature
- Vanilla- as always I recommend vanilla bean paste for the best taste
- Butter Extract- absolutely essential to taste like the real deal!
- Butterbeer- I use Flying Cauldron butterscotch beer but if you can’t find it, cream soda will work as well
- Butterscotch Chips- melted and added into the cupcake batter and frosting, I use Toll House
- Buttermilk- keeps the cupcakes moist, make sure it’s room temperature
- Flour- all purpose is used for the best texture
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda- give the cupcakes they’re fluffy texture
- Salt- just a little brings out all the flavors
- Powdered Sugar- used in the frosting
- Honey- just a little is used for the butterscotch ganache drizzle
Step by Step Instructions
See recipe below for complete measurements and baking time.
STEP ONE: Reduce the butterbeer
STEP TWO: Cream butter and sugar
STEP THREE: Add in eggs, vanilla and butter extract
STEP FOUR: Mix in butterbeer reduction and melted butterscotch chips
STEP FIVE: Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt
STEP SIX: Add dry ingredients and buttermilk to the wet ingredients and combine
STEP SEVEN: Divide batter between 24 lined cupcake pan wells and bake
STEP EIGHT: Make frosting by whipping butter and mixing in melted butterscotch chips. Then add in powdered sugar. Mix until fluffy.
STEP NINE: Make butterscotch ganache by melting butterscotch chips and cream. Then mix in honey.
STEP TEN: Pipe a generous amount of frosting into each cupcake and drizzle with butterscotch ganache.
See recipe below for complete measurements and baking time.
FAQs
Can I reduce the amount of sugar? No you can not. Sugar adds moisture to cupcakes and if you reduce the amount the recipe calls for the cupcakes won’t have the same texture, and might not bake properly.
What if I can’t find butterscotch beer? You can use cream soda for a very similar taste.
Do I have to reduce the butterscotch beer? Yes you do. This adds the most butterbeer flavor to the cupcakes.
How do I store the cupcakes? Store cupcakes in a airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. Let the cupcakes come to room temperature before enjoying.
Can these be made gluten free? I’ve only tested this recipe with regular flour, but if you make them gluten free please let me know how they come out!
Pro Tips
On melting the butterscotch chips: They should be melted and slightly cooled for the cupcake batter and buttercream. You want to make sure they're completely melted and slightly warm to the touch. Too warm and you could melt the butter while the making the buttercream. If they're too chilled it can cause little clumps of butterscotch chips in the batter and frosting.
Make sure all wet ingredients are room temperature. This will give you the best textured cupcakes!
Make sure to really whip your butter when making the buttercream. It should double in size and be super pale in color before adding in the melted butterscotch chips or powdered sugar.
If you make these cupcakes tag me on Instagram @inbloombakery_ so I can see your creations! Follow me on Pinterest for other dessert recipes!
Also, please leave me a review if you make these cupcakes! It would be so, so helpful and allow me to more easily keep creating delicious recipes for you all!
Other Recipes to Try
Salted Caramel Almond Cupcakes
📖 Recipe
Harry Potter Butterbeer Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Butterbeer Cupcakes
- 3 cups (710 ml) butterscotch beer (cream soda will work also)
- ½ cup (112 g) unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup (110 g) light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated white sugar
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
- 1 teaspoon butter extract
- ⅓ cup (56 g) butterscotch chips, melted and slightly cooled
- ½ cup (120 ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1 ¾ cups (219 g) all purpose flour, spooned and leveled then sifted
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the Butterscotch Buttercream
- 1 ½ cups (336 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup (170 g) butterscotch chips, melted and slightly cooled
- 2 ¼ cups (290 g) powdered sugar, measured then sifted
- ¾ teaspoon butter extract
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
For the Butterscotch Ganache Drizzle
- ¼ cup (42 g) butterscotch chips
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- ½ tablespoon honey
Instructions
For the Butterbeer Cupcakes
- Add the butterscotch beer or cream soda to a large pot. Simmer over medium heat until it reduces to ½ cup. This usually takes around 20-30 minutes. Remove from the heat and let it cool until it's just slightly warm to the touch before using in the cupcakes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 standard cupcake pans, or one large 24 cup capacity pan, with liners. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl cream the butter, brown sugar and granulated white sugar together with an electric mixer, or a stand mixer, for 1-2 minutes or until fluffy.
- Add in the eggs, vanilla and butter extract and mix until pale in color, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add in the butterbeer reduction and melted and slightly cooled butterscotch chips. Mix until combined.
- Add in the dry ingredients and buttermilk a little at a time until everything is combined. Mix until the batter is smooth.
- Divide the batter evenly between the 24 liners, each should be about ⅔ way full.
- Bake the cupcakes for 14-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the centers. (They will bake quickly.)
- Let the cupcakes cool in the pan(s) for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to completely cool.
For the Butterscotch Buttercream
- Add the softened unsalted butter to a large bowl. Whip the butter with an electric mixer until pale in color and fluffy, around 5-10 minutes.
- Add in the melted and slightly cooled butterscotch chips and combine. (The chips should be completely melted but just slightly warm to the touch.)
- Add in the powdered sugar a cup at a time or so and mix until combined.
- Lastly add in the butter extract and vanilla and mix the frosting until light and fluffy, about one more minute.
For the Butterscotch Ganache
- Add the butterscotch chips and heavy cream to a microwave safe bowl.
- Microwave for 30-45 seconds. Stir to combine the cream and melted butterscotch chips. (Microwave a few seconds longer if needed to completely melt together.)
- Then mix in the honey.
- If the ganache gets too cold before using, microwave it for 5-10 seconds to melt it slightly.
Assembling the Cupcakes
- Once the cupcakes are completely cooled add the butterscotch buttercream to a large piping bag fitted with a decorative tip.
- Pipe a generous amount of frosting onto each cupcake and drizzle the butterscotch ganache over each.
These are delicious cupcakes. Only thing is I did not get 24 out of them they make about 18. Also they have a really good rise so you barely need to even fill the pans 2/3rd of the way. I made them twice and still got the same result both times could not get 24.
Hi Jessica! Thanks for trying them out! They are one of my favorite recipes I've developed because I LOVE HP hehe 🙂
Something I've learned quite recently is that depending on how long you beat the eggs into the butter/sugar will determine how much batter you end up with. When I made these cupcakes I tested them 6 times in total and I tried filling only 18 or 20 but it always resulted in the cups being overfilled! So any given cupcake recipe can result in less or more than the stated yield amount, that's why I always just indicate how full to fill the liners. I had this happen to me the other day too while making a cupcake recipe I've made 100 times, the batter ended up being more than usual even though I measured everything properly and exactly the same as I always do. It was because I mixed the eggs into the sugar/butter for longer than I usually do not realizing! Something very interesting that I'm only now learning!
So good!
Yum i love Harry Potter too!
Beautiful and delicious recipe! Thanks!
Amazing recipe! So easy to follow and tastes so so good.
Do you sift the flour first then measure out the 1 3/4 cup flour from that or do you measure 1 3/4 cup flour and then sift it? Same question for the powdered sugar.
Hey Seanna. Measure the flour, then sift. Make sure to spoon and level you flour also. I'm also going to make some more clarify notations on the recipe along with gram measurements 🙂
These cupcakes are fantastic and the frosting is absolutely out of this world delicious. Everyone I shared them with absolutely loved them. Definitely a treat we will repeat often! Thanks for sharing such wonderful cupcake recipes!
Hi
Do you think I could use this sponge recipe to make a tall 3 or 4 layer birthday cake? If so, how would I alter the cooking time please?
Hi there!
Yes, you definitely could! I have never tested it as a layer cake, but I think you could make it into a three layer six inch cake. I'm not sure about the exact baking time, but I would suggest starting with 25 minutes at 350 degrees and checking every few minutes after that for doneness. Hope this helps!
I just made these, without knowing anything about the baker, (I'm very careful where I get my recipes), but I will say, I was overly pleased on the Harry Potter cupcakes, and mostly, the frosting! I don't like overly sweet desserts, and this one was perfect.
I absolutely loved this recipe and I'm very cautious where I get my recipes from. I took a chance on trying yours, never heard or saw you anywhere, but the name peaked my interest, (Harry Potter), so I tried them, frosting, caramel as well, and I loved, loved this recipe. The frosting really got to me. My husband said, it melts in your mouth. Simple but elegant, were his exact words! Thank You Becky, Fremont Sweets
I made these today, after reading the comments. I made sure I whipped the butter and sugar well, before moving on with the recipe. So I made exactly 24 cupcakes, and didn't have any issues. My family can't stop eating them, too. Delicious! I wish I could include a picture. Thanks!
I just made these. They taste good, but I had an issue with them sinking. I was trying out before my kids party in a couple weeks. Any suggestions to correct this?
I made these last fall and my entire family loved them! This year, I tried them with King Arthur Gluten-Free Flour (for some friends/fam with gluten sensitivities/allergies) and they turned out amazingly well--just more moist and dense than the original! So to those wondering if they can be made GF, the answer is: absolutely!
So amazing!
So I tried to make these but the batter was like soup. Is that supposed to happen? How can I fix that?
What tip did you use for the frosting? Thank you!
Hey April! Wilton 1M! 🙂
How many four inch cakes do you think this would make? They look delicious!
Sounds delicious…I’m not a baker at all…and haven’t found butterbeer near me…wondering what’s the purpose of the butterbeer reduction, is it all flavor, or is that 1/2 cup essential for the crumb/moisture of the cupcakes? Thanks in advance, love this flavor profile, hope to make some soon for my son’s Harry Potter themed birthday!
Can I use butterscotch extract instead of the beer and add wet content in another form, like water or something? Or is it the contents of the beer itself that give it flavor?
Hi Kristina! I have not tested the cupcakes without the butterscotch beer so I can't say for sure how they'd turn out. The butterscotch beer adds flavor and moisture to the cupcakes.
I made this as a 2 layer 8 inch cake for my nephew’s birthday. It was so fun! My husband said it was amazing, and my 80 yr old MIL said it was out of this world! Thanks for the great recipes, Ginny!
Made these and they were a big hit! Super yummy & pretty. My two qualms I had with them were the following.
1. I don’t know if it was the Toll House brand butterscotch chips I used, or if all butterscotch chips are this way, but I couldn’t get them to melt all the way. It was beyond annoying but it didn’t effect the taste.
2. If you are making small cupcakes, the recipe may make you 24 cupcakes. I made what I felt were normal size cupcakes & it only made me 11. So I had to make more of them. Also tripled the frosting & the drizzle.
Just a FYI for anyone planning on making these
These were so GOOD!
Absolutely amazing cupcakes! Kids loved them. I will definitely make these again.
I can’t figure out where the buttermilk went into the recipe? At what step? I wanted to make them perfect but didn’t see that in any of the steps?
To my previous comment, I’m just crazy and didn’t read it correctly apparently 🤣🤣
I tried making these and I creamed the butter and sugar by hand (I didn't have an electric mixer) but when I added the reduced soda the butter clumped up??? What did I do wrong???
Hi Ginny. This looks very yummy!!
Just a silly question. The recipe calls for 3 cups of butterbeer or creamsoda. Would the creamsoda be the type in a can or is the butterbeer made with creamsoda. Where I live we don't get cream soda. Any suggestions for a substiture?
Delicious! But could only squeeze out 20 cupcakes with this recipe. Would have been better as 12 larger ones. Perhaps double it if you want 24?
@louisa I was thinking about trying a butterscotch schnapps reduction with a bit of vanilla!
Have you tried freezing them? I'm wanting to prepare ahead of time for my daughter's HP birthday party.
In the oven now. The batter is amazing. So can't wait for them to come out of the oven. What brand of butterscotch chips did you use? The Tollhouse ones will not melt all the way.
Is this high altitude recipe?? If so what altitude is it for I live in colorodo springs so would this recipe work as is here or would I need to make adjustments??