This cake was definitely a challenge since I’d never worked with fondant before, but how could you have a Harry Potter party without a snitch!?

Story Time

I would like to thank the patron saint of baking, coffee and everyone who crossed their fingers! Without all of that this cake would not have turned out as amazing as it did. If this is your first time making a Snitch cake (like it was mine), I highly recommend watching Ashlee Prisbrey’s YouTube video. It’s almost three hours long but you can skip around to the parts where you need help. I find her voice relaxing which helps when you’re staring at a ball of fondant thinking, “What have I gotten myself into!?” She breaks down all of the steps for the wings and gives great tips along the way. I varied from her method several ways such as using a box cake and gold spray instead of powdered gold. The next time I make something like this I want to try her suggestion of putting a layer of cheesecake in the center. That sounds amazing!

The wafer paper and stem wires are can be found on Amazon. Wafer paper is a little tricky to work with so be patient if this is your first time working with it. I found this out quickly when my first set of wings completely fell apart because I put too much water on them.

Visual Learners

Once the cake has completely cooled, slice a small piece off the bottom of one of the cakes, spread on a little ganache and stick it to a small cake base. The ganache will help to keep it in place. Spread a layer of ganache in the center and stick the two halves together. Continue to cover the entire ball.

Creating the wings

Like I said in the instructions, I don’t think I would be able to explain this step properly without causing a lot of confusion. Basically, cut out two even “wing” shapes. Lay a wire stem down along the longest side, giving enough room at the top to fold the wafer paper over it. Slightly wet the wafer paper above the stem and fold it over. You might not be able to tell in the photo but there were a few areas where mine tore. To fix this I cut small pieces of wafer paper, wet them and stuck them over the holes. Spray the front and back of the wings  and let them dry overnight. Once they’ve dried cut slits down the entirety of the wings. If you’re going to be moving the cake then make sure you keep the wings in a safe place where they won’t get hurt since wafter paper is pretty fragile. Since I didn’t lay mine down they ended up looking a little beaten up. If this happens to you then just say the Snitch was damaged in the game when it was caught. Easy save.

Working with the fondant

Roll out a large piece of fondant and lay it over the cake. Smooth it down while gently pulling, getting rid of any creases. Remove any excess at the bottom. Trace the design of the Snitch into the cake with a toothpick. This will help you make sure everything is lined up when you put the detail work on. Roll out strands of fondant. Based on the design you pick you’ll be able to see how many long and short strands you’ll need. Place these over the lines you traced in the fondant. Cover the whole cake in gold spray and place in the fridge until ready to eat.

It does take a good amount of time and patience but I think it was all worth it in the end. Good luck!!