Harry Potter fans, this Butterbeer Cake is for you! Butterscotch cake, cream soda, and marshmallow all in one spellbinding dessert. The perfect Harry Potter Cake!
I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to do a Harry Potter themed recipe.
I am a huge fan of the books and movies, so the fact that I have a Game of Thrones themed cake and no Harry Potter cake is shameful, really. Alas, that all changes today with this Butterbeer Cake!
Butterbeer is a delicious combination of cream soda, butterscotch, and marshmallow. Except it doesn’t really taste like butterscotch or cream soda, just of some amazing blend of flavors and heavenly marshmallow creme topping. I didn’t even care that it was carbonated (which I normally don’t like).
I’m going to go ahead and blame the delay on this recipe on the fact that I actually didn’t try Butterbeer until very recently. In fact, I didn’t think I’d like it.
I don’t like butterscotch, or cream soda, or pop, so I was expecting to hate it through and through for its sickly sweetness. I was only going to try it so I could say I had.
My first introduction to Butterbeer was over the summer while we were in London. I dragged Ryan, his dad, and his stepmom (some more willingly than others) to the Warner Brothers Studios to do the Harry Potter tour.
Ryan and I bought one Butterbeer to share because I swore I would only have one sip of it. Souvenir glass? Pshh, why would I want one??
Needless to say, I finished half the drink before Ryan could even have a sip of it. SO. GOOD.
Contrary to the name, there is actually no alcohol in Butterbeer at all.
The fizzy beverage is all-ages friendly. However, if you’re looking to incorporate a bit of booziness into this Harry Potter Cake, you can always soak the layers in a Butterscotch schnapps simple syrup!
You can get butterbeer in the regular, soda pop version, or frozen (like a slush), or hot!
As much as I loved the original pop-like version of Butterbeer, I didn’t know there were actually superior versions of this.
Fast forward a few months and we’re in Orlando celebrating my birthday, which includes numerous days at the Disney parks and, of course, Universal to check out the Harry Potter lands, among other things. My friend Eva insisted that I HAD to try the frozen Butterbeer, and that it was better than the original.
Lunch on our first day was at the Leaky Cauldron (for real!!) and that’s where we ordered our frozen Butterbeer.
We had planned to get an original Butterbeer too, but the girl taking our order asked if we wanted to try the warm Butterbeer. She said it was her favorite and they only have it available during the colder months. We did not have high hopes for it but ordered it anyhow.
Both the frozen (like a slush) and the warm were leaps and bounds better than the original. How do you improve on something that’s already so good, right??
I think the warm one was my favorite, actually. Perfectly comforting and delicious. Needless to say, I had Butterbeer Cake running through my mind before we even left the parks.
How to Make this Butterbeer Cake
This butterscotch cake gave me a little bit of trouble in terms of nailing down the perfect texture, flavor, and color.
Cake Tip!
Don’t use pink cream soda unless you want your cake to be pink!
The first batch was probably the best bake overall, except I could only find hot pink cream soda, so that’s what I used. Unfortunately, this made the layers an ombre kinda pink when I cut into them. The layers also shrank quite a bit post-baking, so I probably overbaked it.
For the second attempt at this Butterbeer Cake, I managed to find clear cream soda, but that same store didn’t have the exact brand of pudding that I used the first time, so I tried the store brand.
The cake baked up with a whole lot of tunneling through it — either due to the brand of pudding I used or due to improper mixing techniques. Likely the latter. Sigh.
Attempt #3 used Jell-O instant pudding, clear cream soda, and proper mixing. Success! The first two batches were happily eaten anyway — naked cake layers and all — and they were delicious.
This Butterbeer Cake, like the drinks, is fairly sweet — but it’s intended to be. I mean, you’re combining cream soda, butterscotch, and marshmallow… it’s kinda hard to tone that down (and why would you want to?).
If you’re a Harry Potter fan, or have one in your life, you’re going to want to add this Harry Potter Cake to your baking list!
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I convert this recipe?
- The recipe as-is will also work in two 8″ pans. For three 8″ pans, 1.5x the recipe. Baking time may need to be adjusted.
- To make cupcakes, all you need to do is reduce the baking time — start checking at 15mins or so. The recipe will make 18-24 cupcakes depending on size.
- For other conversions go here.
Can I make it in advance?
- The cooled cake layers can be baked ahead of time, double wrapped in plastic wrap, and frozen for up to 3 months. Take out 2-3 hours before assembly.
- The frosting can be placed in an airtight container and refrigerated for 1 week for frozen for 3 months. Bring to room temp and rewhip before using.
- The finished cake (whole or sliced, stored airtight) can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Can I get the measurements by weight/grams?
- There is a Metric option in the recipe card. If you click it it will convert everything to grams.
- This conversion is done automatically and I cannot guarantee the accuracy but many readers have had success using the metric option on my recipes.
Tips for this Butterbeer Harry Potter Cake
- The color of your cream soda will affect the color of your cake. Try to find clear or brown cream soda.
- I tried the recipe for this butterscotch cake with a couple of different instant pudding mixes and found the Jell-O one to yield best results. Other brands will work okay, though. I did not use fat-free.
- I used clear vanilla extract as it has a sweeter, cream-sodaish flavor, but you can use regular vanilla instead.
- The marshmallow frosting is a bit softer than a typical American buttercream due to the fluff that’s added. If you like, you can use Homemade Marshmallow Fluff instead.
- Adding butterscotch sauce between the layers is a delicious flavor burst, but it will make your cake more susceptible to sliding around during assembly. You can place 3-4 bamboo skewers into the top of the cake as support. You’ll need to trim the skewers to the proper height of the cake.
- I used store-bought butterscotch sauce due to laziness, but you could easily make your own. Note that I had to boil the store-bought one for 5mins to reduce it, as it was a bit thin.
- To help ensure cakes come out of the pans cleanly I use homemade cake release or spray my cake pans with Pam for Baking and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
- Learn how to keep your cakes moist using Simple Syrup.
- To help ensure your cake layers bake up nice and flat, check out my How to Bake Flat Cake Layers post!
Butterbeer Cake
Ingredients
Butterbeer Cake:
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/4 tsps baking powder
- 3.5 oz butterscotch instant pudding mix one package
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups cream soda clear
- 1 tsp clear vanilla extract *
Marshmallow Frosting:
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 14 oz marshmallow fluff store bought or homemade
- 1 tsp clear vanilla extract
Assembly:
Instructions
Butterbeer Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour three 6″ cake rounds and line with parchment.
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, pudding mix, and salt until well combined. Set aside.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on med-high until pale and fluffy (approx 3mins).
- Reduce speed and add eggs one at a time fully incorporating after each addition. Add vanilla.
- Alternate adding flour mixture and cream soda, beginning and ending with flour (3 additions of flour and 2 of cream soda). Fully incorporating after each addition.
- Bake for about 40mins or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Place cakes on wire rack to cool for 10mins then turn out onto wire rack. Allow to cool completely.
Marshmallow Frosting:
- Beat butter until creamy. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Beat for 3 mins.
- Add marshmallow fluff and vanilla extract and beat until fluffy (2-3mins).
Assembly:
- Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or serving plate. Top with 2/3 cup of frosting and spread evenly. Top with 1-2 Tbsp butterscotch sauce (optional), swirl into frosting. Repeat with remaining layers and apply a thin coat of frosting all over the cake. Chill for 20mins. ***
- Use the remaining frosting to frost the top and sides of the cake. Chill for 20mins.
- Using a teaspoon, drizzle butterscotch sauce along the top edges of the chilled cake, allowing some to drip down. Pipe dollops on the top using an Ateco 867 or Wilton 6B tip. Fill in the top of the cake with more butterscotch sauce and spread evenly. Sprinkle with gold sanding sugar if desired.
Yanez Koenig says
Would this work as cupcakes? And would the icing pipe okay?
Olivia says
Hi Yanez! Yes, it should be fine as cupcakes. Just reduce the baking time — start checking at 15mins or so. The frosting is on the softer side, but I was able to pipe dollops on top of the cake with it.
Maiya says
I made this recipe for my boyfriend’s birthday last week and he said it’s the best cake he’s ever had. I made the cake following the exact recipe, but switched out the marshmallow frosting for regular buttercream. If you’re debating on making this recipe; do it! You won’t be disappointed. I can’t recommend this recipe enough.
Thank you for helping me make his birthday extra special!
Olivia says
Hi Maiya! Thanks so much for the amazing feedback! I’m so glad you both loved it 🙂
Teresa says
Super easy recipe! Oh my gosh thank you thank you for sharing!
I make this cake on a pop up surprise cake stand for an 11 year old girl who is a major Harry Potter fan.
My entire family loved the flavors.
I did use the store brand pudding mix because name brand one was out of stock.
Your recipe was super easy to follow and turned out perfect.
Again, thank you for sharing.
Olivia says
Hi Teresa! Thanks so much for the feedback! I’m so happy you all loved it 🙂
Charlotte says
Hello! I’m planning to make this cake for my sisters birthday on Sunday. How long in advance can the cakes and buttercream be made before assembly? Thanks!
Olivia says
Hi Charlotte! For the Cake: Cool the layers, double wrap in plastic wrap, freeze for up to 3 mos. Take out 2-3 hours before assembly.
For the Buttercream: Place in an airtight container and refrigerate for 1 week for freeze for 3 mos. Bring to room temp and rewhip before using.
Cameron says
A quick question. Does the Cream Soda need to be flat or can it still be fizzy when prepping the batter?
Olivia says
Hi Cameron! Mine was fizzy but either way will work 🙂
Tracy says
I made this cake for my daughter’s Sweet 16 birthday. It was absolutely fantastic!! Thank you for the wonderful recipe. I look forward to making more of your recipes.
Olivia says
So happy you loved it, Tracy! I can’t wait to hear what else you make 🙂
Albert says
I am looking to bake this cake for my wife’s birthday and was wondering if the baking time is different if I decide to go the 8″ route.
Olivia says
Hi Albert! Baking time would be very similar, maybe a bit less as the layers will be slightly thinner.
Gina says
Hi!
Thanks for this recipe!
I’m going to try this cake next week for my daughter’s 18th birthday, but in this time of self quarantining and grocery hoarding, I can’t find any instant butterscotch pudding mix, only cook and serve pudding mix. Do you think it would make a difference?
Olivia says
Hi Gina! I can’t say for certain, but if that’s all that you have then give it a try 🙂
Gina says
Thanks, trying it tomorrow 🤞
Katie says
Hi Gina! I ran into the same problem! How did the cook and serve work out for you? I want to make the cake later this week, but it’s all I’ve been able to find.
Melissa says
I’m in the same boat. Just saw this recipe and need it for Wednesday. I’ve found either cook and serve or instant sugar free in the grocery store. Would one be better than the other?
Olivia says
Hi Melissa! Instant is ideal but either should work totally fine. The cake is already pretty sweet so I think the sugar free one would be fine!
Megs says
Have you ever used this to make cupcakes? i have to bring treats to work next week and cupcakes are easier then cake. too thick for cupcakes?
Olivia says
Hi Megs! I haven’t myself but I know others have. It will work totally fine, all you need to do is adjust the baking time — start checking at 15mins or so.
Megs says
Thanks! I will be making them next week then!!!
Carol says
I just made this cake, and it is delicious! The only changes I made were adding 1/4 cup more cream soda because the batter seemed really thick to me, and I only used 1/3 cup frosting between the layers. It’s a surprise for my cousin, who will get it tomorrow, but I had some scraps from leveling the cakes and I couldn’t wait to try it. The cake would be good by itself, for those who don’t like frosting. The flavor is subtle, but it’s perfect. I absolutely love the frosting! I thought it would be too sweet with the marshmallow fluff, but it wasn’t at all. The consistency was great, not the best for intricate piping, but just fine for spreading and dollops on top. I would recommend following the advice to reduce your butterscotch sauce or buy a thicker brand. I could only find Smuckers in the squeeze bottle, and while it worked, it was messier than I would like and way too sweet.
Overall, amazing cake! This is definitely a new favorite.
Olivia says
Hi Carol! Thanks so much for your great feedback, I’m so glad you loved it! I love the frosting too 🙂
Phoebii says
Hi Liv,
I would love to try out this cake, but here in Singapore we do not have the Jell-O instant pudding mix. Do you know what can I substitute it with?
Thank you so much 🙂
Olivia says
Hi Phoebii! Hmm, good question. You can leave it out and increase the sugar to 1.5 cups, but it wont have the butterscotch flavour :\ Do you have butterscotch sauce that you can drizzle on the layers?
Phoebii says
Hi Liv,
Thank you for the reply, yes we do have butterscotch sauce here in Singapore. Maybe I will drizzle on the cake layers like what you said. Thank you once again 🙂
Linda Chan says
Hi Liv,
You did it again ! Thank you for another amazing recipe. I made this for my son’s 20th birthday and everyone loved it 🙂 I can’t decided which cake to make next 😉
Olivia says
Thanks so much Linda! I’m so happy to hear everyone loved it. I can’t wait to see what you make next!
Anisha says
Made this and it was a massive hit. The cake itself is super tasty. However, had lots of trouble with the frosting. It ended up being the consistency of what you get out of like a duncan hines or betty crocker tub of frosting. It was both sticky but also wouldn’t really spread and wanted to clump together. Not fluffy like a regular buttercream. I used it in the layers and then ended up doing a basic vanilla buttercream on the outside because I couldn’t do a crumb coat with the other one to save my life.
Any ideas what I may have done wrong? I’d like to try my hand at this again just so I can get it right.
Olivia says
Hi Anisha! So glad the cake was a hit, but sorry you had troubles with the buttercream! I remember mine being more on the softer side due to the marshmallow fluff, but it was not sticky or anything. Did you make any adjustments to the recipe? What brand of mm fluff did you use?
Ani says
This looks awesome! Can’t wait to try t myself. Question, what did you use for the drip effect on the outside?
Olivia says
Hi Ani! I used a teaspoon to do the drip.
Lindsey York says
Hi, I am so excited to try this cake. Did you use Jello instant butterscotch pudding or the cook and serve? Im having some trouble finding jello butterscotch instant pudding mix. Thank you for your help.
Olivia says
Hi Lindsey! I used instant. You could give it a try with the cook and serve. I’m not sure how it would affect the texture though.
Alaina Infantino says
Hi—-how many cups of batter does this recipe yield? I would like to turn it into a 2 tier cake—-one 8-inch and one 10-inch cake.
Olivia says
HI Alaina! I’ve never measured the cups of batter before. Converting pan sizes is always tricky. Here’s a site I use as a guideline: http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html
audrei says
I find instead of strait butterscotch in between the layers i thinned it and turned it into a soak for the cake. so good. you can thin it with the cream soda. it makes for an even more moist cake. you can also do a circle of buttercream and. very thick almost fudge like in consistency butterscotch in yhe center for the inbetween layers. you get the tasty pop of flavor and no slippage of the layers. also if you like whipped topping make a whip cream and add your fluff. this whipped icing isnt as sweet. but just dont add as much fluff or you will have a gloppy mess. tasty cake I could barely keep from eating the batter.
Olivia says
Hi Audrei! I love the idea of a butterscotch soak on the cake. I’ll have to try that! So glad you liked the recipe 🙂
Mari says
Hi there! This cake looks amazing. Just curious if cake/frosting will hold in heat or out of refrigerator?
Thank you.
Olivia says
Hi Mari! What kind of heat? It will be ok out at room temperature for a few hours.
Sophie Geoghegan says
I think the metric conversions are wrong. I just made it and it was liquid. The 1 1/4 cups of creaming soda works out to 310 grams. And the recipe says 612gm. When I made it to the recipe it was all liquid. I can’t even remake it because I live in Australia and had to deprive order the pudding mix. It’s in the oven but I’m not holding much hope that it will taste or look very good. 😩
Olivia says
Hi Sophie! Sorry about the mishap! The metric conversions are automatically calculated by a tool and not something I verify. That seems like way too much for the grams so I’ve updated the recipe to reflect what it should be.
Laura says
Thanks for the recipe 🙂 I’m just wondering if I could substitute the pudding mix for vanilla instead? I’m in Australia and the American food import store only has the vanilla available. I’m thinking I could find some butterscotch essence maybe to make up for it.
Olivia says
Hi Laura! That should work totally fine. Let me know how it turns out!
Laura says
I used the vanilla and it turned out well! Thanks again 🙂
Olivia says
Glad to hear that!!