One of my best friends has asked me to make his birthday cake. He has given me free reign on the design. His only request is that it be Harry Potter themed. We both are HP fans and I am a bit overwhelmed by it at the moment. (Am trying to do it with making people since that is my biggest weak spot.) Any ideas and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Wow, there is so much that you could do for this cake! Maybe a Quidditch pitch or the Gryffindor crest? Sorting Hat?

I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

Was thinking about usingsome or all of these items: sorting hat, wand, owl, textbooks, house scarf, mauraders map. Definitely want to incorporate an envelope, zimbus, golden snitch, and hogwarts banner. Wish I could do evrything. Was wondering about maybe a trunk on the bottom with items on top and around it as if unpacking. Not quite sure yet.

Are you thinking of doing a tiered cake with fondant/gumpaste map, hat, snitch, etc. around/on it? That would be a cool look, and you would be able to incorporate a lot of your fave HP stuff and it still be cohesive.

Oh, another idea to put on the cake is a pair of Harry's glasses.

I like the tiered cake idea. Was originally thinking of just making a stack of textbooks or a trunk as a base. The tiered cake would be easier and more polished. I love the idea of the glasses. Would you use fondant or modeling chocolate for them?

Maybe you could do a big open/closed text book (If you do it open you could even write a spell, maybe having to do with the child's birthday which could make them feel special and be even more excited about the cake). Or you could even do a desk table seeing how they are students at school and all have a desk. There are so many things you can place on the book/desk then, such as a photo of Harry on his broom with the golden snitch (it could be done in fondant/gum paste mixture). Then you could place Harry's glasses on there and maybe a little sculpture of the sorting hat. A cute way to incorporate Griffindor would be to make a scarf or some article of clothing the red and yellow color. And if you wanted to place the Map Harry used, you could make a map and have in folded on top of the desk/book under his glasses maybe or a quill that is used (is it a quill? I thought that it was but I haven't refreshed my memory in a while).

If your leaning more towards tiers, you could dedicate each tier to a favorite part of the movie the child liked or is most memorable to them/you. It could be such a cute cake! Good Luck!

I just did one for an 11 year old but it was a FBCT. It turned out pretty good. If you google Harry Potter cakes you'll find lots of idea on the net. This one is pretty cool http://superhero-parties.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/amazing-harry-potter-cake2.jpg

I am loving all the ideas. Thank you guys.
- pmarks -Wow! Love your cake. That is awesome. How did you make the levetating bottle? Did you stick with fondant or did you use some modeling clay? Where did you find gold edible paint for the coins? Sorry for all the questions. If my cake could turn out half that cool, I'll behappy. It isn't due til the end of the month, but want to get it planned out so I can start on all the little fondant/gumpaste details that take so long.

Thank you guys for all the help.

which movie/book you focusing on? or any?

I vote for making the tri-wizard cup. and lying around it a wand, spellbook, quill and parchment paper, the sorcerers stone.. maybe a hippogriff feather or phoenix feather. just some ideas to get you started.

Wasn't really focusing on just one book or movie. Was just trying to get different things/ideas in general that screamed Harry Potter. Just hope I can pull it off. Thanks for all the ideas. Going to get the design pounded out this weekend. So excited.
-pmark- Thanks for the website.

Harry Potter themed cakes are my favorite. I have a few in my photos if you would like to see them.

Here is the desktop theme someone mentioned:
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-photo_875403.html

Originally I was going to incorporate a little trinket Harry collected from each book but unfortunately I ran out of time so I had to downsize.

I'm actually doing The Hogwart's Express later this month and my DD already picked out The Burrow ( the Weasley house) for her cake next year.

The possibilities are endess! Have fun with it!

-penniek- Love your cake. Can't wait to see your hogwarts express and the Wesley's burrow. I understand the problem with downsizing. When I started putting down on paper all the things I wanted to incorporate into the cake, the paper was covered. So alot of things won't make it onto this cake (not to mention some items are still a little out of my skill level).
-tesso- I love the idea of the triwizard cup, but don't think I can do it justice right now. (again my skill level ).