Cinema Cakes: Practical Magic

Coconut vanilla bean sponge, lime cake soak, blackberry, lime, & mint coulis, salted maple Swiss meringue buttercream. A cake inspired by the film Practical Magic (1998).

Hi everyone! Happy June! Despite meteorological summer beginning on the 20th this year, I consider June 1st the honorary first day. So, here’s my first bake to kick off my 2025 summer recipes.

I had organized a poll on my Instagram story to determine the theme of my new cake series. After the success of my Astrology Cakes (and frankly, just having an absolute blast creating a cohesive baking series), I decided a new cake series was warranted. As this is my blog, I bake in conjunction with my interests. Two of which are perfumes and films. My Nosferatu Cake can fall into either of these categories and is what inspired me to attempt either a fragrance of film cake series. The poll was almost 50/50 for either series, so, because (again) this is my blog, I am doing both!

So, to begin my Cinema Cakes series, we have one of my favorite comfort and quintessential summer movies: Practical Magic (1998).

Practical Magic follows the chaotic love lives of two hereditary sister witches, Sally and Gillian Owens. After the death of their parents, Sally and Gillian move in with their eccentric aunts, Frances and Jet, who teach them witchcraft, ignoring the disapproval of their small coastal community. While living with their aunts, the girls learn of a curse placed on the women in their family: that any man who loves an Owens woman will die. As Gillian and Sally age, their lives go in very different directions, along with their dating preferences and coping mechanisms regarding the curse. This film is an extremely quick, easy, feel-good watch that is suitable for most!

Now, to the cake.

The base of this cake is a fluffy, nutty, coconut vanilla bean sponge, brushed with a lime cake soak. To capture a fresh coconut flavor, I use three types of coconut ingredients: coconut cream, unsweetened shredded coconut, and coconut extract. Anyone who has seen this film can understand this reference to the “Midnight Margaritas” scene with “Coconut” by Harry Nilsson playing loudly in the background.

For the filling, I’ve chosen a blackberry, mint, and lime coulis. The blackberry is a stand-in for the very toxic pivotal plot device: belladonna. If belladonna weren’t so poisonous, it would make a lovely cake filling, but in this case, blackberries will have to do! Additionally, pureed blackberries are a bit grisly, which references Gillan’s quote, “blood on the moon.” Because all of my coulis and purées use an acid, I’ve selected lime juice to match the cake soak. I’ve chosen to add a bit of mint to stay cohesive with the margarita theme, but also refer to the scene where Sally asks her daughter, Kylie, to grab some mint from the garden.

The frosting for this cake is a salted maple Swiss meringue buttercream. This uses my go-to Swiss Meringue Buttercream Recipe with the additions of extra salt and maple syrup. The maple syrup is to reference the scene in which Gillian, Kylie, and Antonia are concocting a banishing spell disguised as maple syrup. The extra salt references Sally’s closing monologue of the film in which she says, “always throw spilled salt over your left shoulder.”

The decoration of this cake was intended to feel a little whimsical and summery, given the atmosphere of the film. Yellow florals are perfect to capture this. The star in the center of the cake piped in white frosting to mimic the star Sally draws on Jimmy’s chest in whipped cream during a working. This star can also represent the component of Sally’s childhood love spell, “Amas Veritas,” in which she writes her true love’s “favorite shape will be a star.” I’ve topped the cake with more blackberries (just for looks!) and white rose petals to represent the Amas Veritas casting scene and the rose bush that grows over Jimmy’s grave.

This cake was an absolute joy to develop and bake. As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts and any suggestions you have for my Cinema Cakes series!

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