Harry Potter Sorting Hat Cupcakes

Harry Potter Sorting Hat Cupcakes ✨ Ingredients for Cupcakes: •1 1/4 cups of flour •1 1/4 tsp of baking powder •1/2 tsp of salt •1/2 cup of softened butter •3/4 cups of sugar •2 large eggs •2 tsp of vanilla extract •1/2 cup of buttermilk •baking spray •cupcake liners Ingredients for Frosting/Fondant: •1 cup of solid white vegetable shortening •1 tsp of vanilla extract •12 tsp of water •4 cups of powdered sugar •1 tbsp of meringue powder •optional pinch of salt •3/4 cups of cocoa powder •family sized pack of M&M’s •white fondant •brown food coloring •circle cookie cutter •frosting bag and tip Instructions: •Preheat oven to 350 F. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside and beat butter and sugar in an electric mixer until fluffy. •Add eggs one at a time and beat after each one. Add vanilla extract and mix again. •Bring mixer to medium speed and add the dry ingredients in thirds. After each dry addition add some buttermilk until both are gone. •Grease cupcake pan and add liners. Evenly pour the batter in and make sure to not fill it too high. Bake for 20-23 min and let cool. •To make the frosting, beat the shortening, vanilla, and 8tsp of water together. Next add the powdered sugar, meringue powder, and salt and mix until blended. •To make it chocolate, add the cocoa powder and the remaining 4 tsp of water. Keep in mind it will be a stiff consistency. •Sort the colors of the M&M’s into red, blue, green, and yellow. Cut a hole in the center of each cupcake and evenly fill with the M&M’s. Make enough for each house! •Warm up the fondant in the microwave for 5 seconds and add brown food coloring until it matches the color of the frosting. •Roll it out thin and use a cookie cutter to cut circles that are big enough to cover your cupcakes. Put a dab of frosting on the hole of the cupcake so the fondant sticks. Crinkle the edges slightly for a hat brim effect. •Now stick your frosting in a frosting bag and make the tip of the hat! You can mold it and make creases to make it look more like the Sorting Hat! •If you try this recipe out, let us know which house you got first!