Pumpkin Fizz

Another new beverage greets us today, in the form of stolen delicacies on behalf of the Weasley twins:

"Fred and George disappeared for a couple of hours and returned with armfuls of bottles of butterbeer, pumpkin fizz, and several bags full of Honeydukes sweets" (Prisoner of Azkaban 264).

It seems to me that the easiest way to make pumpkin fizz would be to simply add something fizzy to the recipe for Pumpkin Juice we tried earlier this year. However, I was not really a fan of that recipe... so I'm thinking we should try something different. I quite like the pumpkin fizz served at the Three Broomsticks in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, but it's been so long since I've had some, that I couldn't even guess how they make it. Lucky for us, I found a recipe at Kitchen Konfidence for a pumpkin and apple cider fizz cocktail that looks promising!

You Will Need:

1.5oz pumpkin puree (fresh or homemade)

1.5oz vanilla vodka (easily eliminated if you're a teetotaler... or underage)

2 oz apple cider

1.5oz ginger beer (which, in case you didn't know, is the much stronger British version of ginger ale. If you're in the US, hit up a health food store for ginger beer-- most sell it by the can-- or use Vernors ginger ale, which is way stronger than canada dry!)

1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, then add the vodka, pumpkin, and cider. Shake until well chilled.

2. Strain into a glass (filled with ice if you like) and top it off with ginger beer. Enjoy!

I'm not a huge fan of vanilla vodka, so I think next time I'll go with the kiddie version. Better than the pumpkin juice we made here before, but I think I still like the Three Broomsticks Pumpkin Fizz better. Cheers!

Butterbeer

Yes, it's true, we have already encountered the first mention of butterbeer in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, but the first mention of bottled (and therefore, we can assume, cold) butterbeer occurs after one of Harry's many anti-dementor lessons:

"'Here-- you've earned a drink-- something from the Three Broomsticks. You won't have tried it before-' He [Lupin] pulled two bottles out of his briefcase. 'Butterbeer!' said Harry, without thinking. 'Yeah, I like that stuff!'" (Prisoner of Azkaban 246).

And how could he not like it? Anyone who has had the joy of visiting The Wizarding World of Harry Potter has surely tasted their delightful rendition of butterbeer. In case you aren't able to just pop down to Orlando, Florida for a butterbeer (holy moly, I miss being able to do that!), there are dozens of recipes floating around the Internet that you can try. Quite awhile ago, I created my own very simple version, which is what we'll use today. It's very sweet, but then again, so is every other recipe for butterbeer I've tried!

You Will Need:

1 bottle caramel-colored cream soda (you'd be surprised how many brands are clear! Try Virgil's or IBC)

Butterscotch schnapps (or butterscotch flavor syrup, if underage wizards will be partaking!)

whipped cream

butterscotch ice cream topping

1. Pour a small amount of your schnapps/syrup into a tall glass or stein (not more than 1/2" or you'll be dying from the sweetness!)

2. In a separate small cup or bowl, add some whipped cream (a few dollops or so). Add a nice squeeze of butterscotch topping, and whisk together well.

3. Pour your cream soda over the schnapps/syrup, leaving at least 3/4" left at the top of the glass.

4. Float the butterscotched whipped cream on top of the cream soda, et voila! Butterbeer!

*Do NOT stir, or else the butterbeer will foam up everywhere!

In my opinion, this tastes almost exactly like the butterbeer served at Universal Orlando (with the added bonus of being alcoholic!). Super easy! Super tasty! But be careful, drink too much and you'll end up like Winky in Goblet of Fire-- sloshing butterbeer down your front while you fall asleep hiccuping on the kitchen floor!

Levitating Sherbert Balls

Today we continue plowing through Harry's first visit to Honeydukes:

"Creamy chunks of nougat, shimmering pink squares of coconut ice, fat, honey-colored toffees; hundreds of different kinds of chocolate in neat rows; there was a large barrel of Every Flavor Beans, and another of Fizzing Whizbees, the levitating sherbert balls that Ron had mentioned; along yet another wall were "Special Effects" sweets: Droobles Best Blowing Gum (which filled a room with bluebell-colored bubbles that refused to pop for days), the strange, splintery Toothflossing Stringmints, tiny black Pepper Imps ('breathe fire for your friends!'), Ice Mice ('hear your teeth chatter and squeak!'), peppermint creams shaped like toads ('hop realistically in the stomach!') fragile sugar-spun quills, and exploding bonbons" (Prisoner of Azkaban 197).

As I brought up in my last entry, according to Ms. Rowling's grammar, levitating sherbert balls are in fact the same thing as Fizzing Whizbees (and yes, in the book, it is spelled s-h-e-r-b-e-R-t). The Honeydukes shop (at Universal Orlando) disagrees, and Dinah Bucholz includes a recipe for Sherbert Balls in The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook. 

Normally, this would mean that we would make some Sherbert Balls. Unfortunately, Ms. Bucholz' recipe includes citric acid, which I have only been able to find online, and I really have no other need for it other than this recipe. And since I am a poor starving artist, I won't be spending my rent money on esoteric ingredients. The recipe does look like a lot of fun though, so if you feel like giving it a try, you should check out Dinah's book and make yourself some "Levitating" Sherbert Balls!

Fizzing Whizbees

Our next new item in our list of sweets is one of my very favorite things sold at Honeydukes:

"Creamy chunks of nougat, shimmering pink squares of coconut ice, fat, honey-colored toffees; hundreds of different kinds of chocolate in neat rows; there was a large barrel of Every Flavor Beans, and another of Fizzing Whizbees, the levitating sherbert balls that Ron had mentioned; along yet another wall were "Special Effects" sweets: Droobles Best Blowing Gum (which filled a room with bluebell-colored bubbles that refused to pop for days), the strange, splintery Toothflossing Stringmints, tiny black Pepper Imps ('breathe fire for your friends!'), Ice Mice ('hear your teeth chatter and squeak!'), peppermint creams shaped like toads ('hop realistically in the stomach!') fragile sugar-spun quills, and exploding bonbons" (Prisoner of Azkaban 197).

You may have noticed that according to the grammar in the above sentence, Fizzing Whizbees are "levitating sherbert balls." However, Honeydukes at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter disagrees, as does Dinah Bucholz. The first time I tried Fizzing Whizbees at Honeydukes, I popped one in my mouth and was thrown into a fit of giggles that literally took probably ten minutes to subside. They are simply a joy-inducing sweet. Because of this, today we shall make my interpretation of Universal Orlando's interpretation (and thus approved by J.K. Rowling herself!) of Fizzing Whizbees:

You Will Need:

a bee-shaped candy mold

melting chocolate (I like Wilton Candy Melts)

Pop Rocks of your chosen flavor

1. Melt your chocolate according to the manufacturer's instructions, and scrape into a pastry bag (unless you're using Wilton, in which case you can melt it right in the bag and cut off a corner!).

2. Fill your mold with a small amount of melted chocolate, just covering the bottom.

3. Sprinkle a small amount of Pop Rocks over the chocolate.

4. Cover the Pop Rocks completely with more melted chocolate, filling the mold. Smooth the top with the side of a toothpick or your (washed!) finger.

5. Allow the chocolate to set completely before popping them out of the mold.
6. Enjoy!

These are just like the Fizzing Whizbees I had at Honeydukes, and they're so much fun! I definitely recommend that you give it a try!

Hot Butterbeer!

Yes, the moment has finally arrived! The most popular food item in the Harry Potter series is finally upon us, following Ron and Hermione's very first trip to Hogsmeade:

"By the sound of it-- everywhere. Dervish and Banges, the wizarding equipment shop, Zonko's Joke Shop, into the Three Broomsticks for foaming mugs of hot butterbeer, and many places besides" (Prisoner of Azkaban 158).

Butterbeer is the most popular item for sale at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and is available cold or frozen. These options are a natural choice, since Orlando's average temperature in the summer is around 100 degrees, and it falls below 50 for maybe a month or two each year. However, the first (and several more) mentions of butterbeer in the books specify that it is in fact a hot beverage. Since there are tons of butterbeer recipes out there (and I do think that the bottled version sometimes enjoyed by the characters is probably cold), I will feature butterbeer on this blog with each first mention in the remaining books. Our first recipe is for hot butterbeer and comes from here.

You Will Need:
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup butterscotch topping (I couldn't find this, so I used melted butterscotch chips)
2 Tbs whipped butter, at room temperature
1.5 cups vanilla cream soda (I used diet, since just the other ingredients shoot this beverage close to 400 calories per glass!)

1. Combine the condensed milk, butterscotch, and butter in a microwave safe container and heat in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir (if not completely melted and smooth, heat for a few more seconds).

2. Pour the vanilla cream soda into another microwave safe vessel and heat in the microwave. Be careful, because if it gets too hot, the carbonation will disappear. Start with about 45 seconds.
3. Divide the warm butterscotch mixture between two glasses or mugs. Fill each glass with half the warmed cream soda. Stir gently.

This is super delicious! The carbonation does dissipate quickly, but it's still so yummy! It's no surprise that in the winter, our favorite trio hits up the Three Broomsticks every chance they get to warm up with foaming mugs of hot butterbeer! Enjoy!

Sugar Quills

And so we continue with Ron's introduction to Honeydukes sweets:

"'It's this sweetshop,' said Ron, a dreamy look coming over his face, 'where they've got everything... Pepper Imps-- they make you smoke at the mouth-- and great fat Chocoballs full of strawberry mousse and clotted cream, and really excellent sugar quills, which you can suck in class and just look like you're thinking what to write next'" (Prisoner of Azkaban 77).

To make Sugar Quills like the ones pictured above (from Honeydukes at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter), you should follow my recipe for Pepper Imps, but leave out the cayenne and Tabasco sauce, and add in your choice of food coloring. Then you'll want to either use a feather-shaped mold, or very quickly drizzle your feather shape on a sheet of wax paper.

That seems pretty labor-intensive.

I decided to use Wilton's Candy Melts: Way faster, and they taste like chocolate! Another plus? A pastry bag filled with melted couverture is much easier to free-hand feathers with than a teaspoon of melted sugar syrup!

You Will Need:
A bag of Wilton's Candy Melts in your chosen color
Wax paper

1. Melt your candy/chocolate according to the bag's instructions.
2. Cut a tiny hole in one corner of the bag and quickly begin using the melted chocolate to "draw" your feathers on the wax paper.

3. If you want to get really fancy, after the feathers have hardened, you can melt two feathers together with an ink pen in between! That way you really can suck on your sugar quill while thinking about what to write next!

These are super easy to make, and would make a cute addition to a dessert table at a Harry Potter party! Enjoy!

Pumpkin Juice

One of the most exciting things to try at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is pumpkin juice. Very sweet, but also pumpkin-y and delicious! I do think it's funny that a British school of Wizardry in existence for thousands of years would serve pumpkin juice... since pumpkins are native to North America, which wasn't "discovered" until 1492...

Maybe the wizards found it before Columbus did.



Regardless, the first occurrence of pumpkin juice is during Harry and Ron's epic car ride to Hogwarts:

"He [Harry] had stopped noticing the fantastic cloud shapes now and was thinking longingly of the train miles below, where you could buy ice-cold pumpkin juice from a trolley pushed by a plump witch" (Chamber of Secrets 72).

Dinah Bucholz includes a recipe for Pumpkin Juice in her cookbook, as well as in the digital collection of summer recipes published last June. So that is the recipe I'll use today.

You Will Need:

1 cup of cooked and mashed pumpkin (or canned pumpkin, which is what I used)

2 cups apple juice

1 cup white grape juice

1 cup pineapple juice

1. Place all the ingredients in a pitcher and stir until the pumpkin is incorporated and not lumpy.

2. Chill in the fridge until very cold.

3. Serve over ice and enjoy.

I have to say, this quails in comparison to the pumpkin juice sold at Universal Orlando (and theirs is basically just apple cider mixed with pumpkin and spices). You can't even really taste the pumpkin in this recipe. Honestly, if I had to describe the taste... it's closer to apricots than anything else. Luckily you can purchase it from the website above!

I recommend skipping the homemade pumpkin juice. 

Go have a butterbeer instead.

Strawberry-and-Peanut-Butter Ice Creams

Today's food is one of the many that is offered at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Sadly I didn't find that out until my very last day of living in Orlando! Lucky for our favorite trio, they discovered this delight at Florean Fortescue's early:

"The bag of gold, silver, and bronze jangling cheerfully in Harry's pocket was clamoring to be spent, so he bought three large strawberry-and-peanut-butter ice creams, which they slurped happily as they wandered up the alley, examining the fascinating shop windows"(Chamber of Secrets 58).

Now, the way Ms. Rowling has written our ice cream flavor, with hyphens, led me to think that it is one single flavor of ice cream, and not one scoop of each. However, I am concerned that swirling peanut butter into strawberry ice cream might not turn out so great. Because of this, I will use Dianh Bucholz' recipe from The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook.

For Strawberry Swirl Ice Cream, You Will Need:

 1 pound strawberries, roughly chopped (can be frozen)
3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
3 large egg yolks
1 cup strawberry jam

1. Process the strawberries with 1/4 cup of the sugar until smooth (if you're using frozen strawberries, like me, your texture won't really be "smooth").

2. If you want, push the mixture through a sieve to remove the seeds. I left my seeds in.
3. Transfer the strawberry mixture to a medium saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is reduced and very thick. Set aside.

4. In a separate saucepan, heat the heavy cream, milk, and remaining sugar over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until hot but not bubbling.

5. Temper the egg yolks by whisking in 1 cup of the hot milk mixture (whisk constantly!). Then pour the egg yolk mixture into the saucepan while constantly whisking.
6. Continue whisking over medium-high heat until the mixture is hot but not bubbling. Pour the mixture through a sieve if you'd like. (Can you tell I'm not really a fan of the whole sieve thing?)
7. Whisk in the strawberry mixture until smooth and transfer to an airtight container.

8. Allow to cool to room temperature before chilling in the refrigerator until very cold (at least 6 hours).
9. Remove the cold mix from the fridge and give it a quick whisk to reincorporate the strawberries.
10. Pour into your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

11. Transfer the ice cream into a clean airtight container and swirl in the (whisked) jam. Don't swirl too much, or it will just become incorporated. Place the container in the freezer until firm.

For Peanut Butter Ice Cream, You Will Need:
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
5 large egg yolks
1 cup chunky peanut butter

1. In a medium saucepan, heat the heavy cream, milk, and sugar over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until hot but not bubbling.

2. Temper the egg yolks (like above) and pour back into the hot milk mixture while whisking constantly.
3. Continue whisking over medium-high heat until the mixture is hot but not bubbling and pour into another bowl.
4. Immediately cover the surface directly with plastic wrap so a skin doesn't form. Cool to room temperature, then chill in the fridge at least 6 hours.

5. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. I recommend adding and mixing in the peanut butter one scoop at a time using a rubber spatula while the mixer is still running (assuming your ice cream maker is like mine!). Or you can transfer the plain ice cream to an airtight bowl and then mix in the peanut butter. Adding large amounts of extras to homemade ice cream (like a whole cup of peanut butter) makes the ice cream softer, so you'll definitely need to pop it back in the freezer for awhile.

To assemble your strawberry-and-peanut-butter ice creams, add a scoop of each to either a cone or a bowl, and slurp to your heart's content!

yummy!

I will add that the Florean Fortescue's ice cream was better... but this version has no chemicals or preservatives, and isn't miles and miles away in Hogsmeade. So enjoy!

Cauldron Cakes

"What she did have were Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harry had never seen in his life" (Sorcerer's Stone 101).

Along with Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes are the thing Harry seems to eat most when on the Hogwarts Express. But we have no real clue as to what exactly they are. Dunah Bucholz interpreted them as pancakes in her cookbook, which does stand to reason since Harry often buys "stacks" of them. But why would a wizard make pancakes in a cauldron? At The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Honeydukes sells pastries shaped like cauldrons and calls them Cauldron Cakes. And they are really delicious (but like lots of things there, are almost painfully sweet). The Internet is rife with recipes for Cauldron Cakes, and while several of them look delicious, they don't quite fit what I have in my imagination. So today, I am making up my own recipe for Cauldron Cakes!

You Will Need

A box of Devil's Food Cake Mix (yes, cake mix is kind of cheating, but it costs $3 instead of the $20 that ingredients would cost to make it from scratch!)

Vegetable Oil

3 Eggs

Water

2/3 cup butterscotch pieces or chips

2 Tbs dark rum

3 egg yolks

1/4 cup sugar

4 egg whites

dash of salt

dash cream of tartar

3/4 cup heavy cream (not pictured)

chocolate chips or melting chocolate

1. Make your devil's food cake according to the manufacturer's instructions, pour into cupcake pans, and bake for a couple minutes less than manufacturer recommends (the cupcake pans cook faster than cake pans).

2. While the cupcakes are baking, prepare your butterscotch mousse! Melt the butterscotch, either in the microwave or with a double boiler. Stir until smooth.

3. Stir in the rum and let the mixture cool a little bit (mine was cool enough by the time I needed it).

4. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar and combine with the butterscotch mixture.

5. Beat the egg whites until foamy, then add the dashes of salt and cream of tartar.

6. Beat the egg whites until firm (but not stiff) peaks form.

7. Beat a little of the egg whites into the butterscotch to loosen, then pour the butterscotch mixture into the egg whites and mix gently but completely.

8. Whip the cream until soft peaks form and fold into the butterscotch mixture, mixing completely.

9. Put in the fridge to chill.

10. When the cupcakes are done, turn them out on a wire rack to cool.

11. The bottoms are the tops with cauldron cakes! When cool, use a sharp knife at an angle to cut a hole out of the bottom of the cupcake, hollowing out the center without poking any holes in the sides or bottom.

12. Use a teaspoon to fill the hollow cupcakes with the butterscotch mouse. There should be enough mousse to fill them to the very top. Place the filled back in the fridge at every opportunity so the mousse keeps chilling.

13. Melt your chosen chocolate. Note on melting chocolate: On a whim, I bought a bag of Wilton's Melting Chocolate at a craft store, and it is the best choice ever! It melts so much better than chocolate chips, and you can re-melt over and over, and you can melt it right in the bag and use it as a pastry tube. Genius.

14. Use a pastry bag with a small tip (or just cut the corner off a plastic bag) and pipe little cauldron handles on a piece of parchment paper. Check to see how wide your cupcake tops are and use that as a size guide.

15. Pipe a ring of melted chocolate around the top of your cauldrons.

16. When your handles have hardened, apply them to the tops of your cauldrons, using melted chocolate as adhesive.

How cute are these?? They are the perfect dessert to serve at a Halloween party (even if it's not Harry Potter themed!). And they are SOOO delicious. Quite possibly my favorite thing to appear on In the Kitchen With Harry Potter so far.

Enjoy!!