Chocoballs

Next on the list of Honeydukes delights? Cream-filled chocolates!

"'It's this sweet shop,' 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 these 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).

If you'd like, you can fill your chocoballs with clotted cream (which is very tasty), but it costs around $8 a (very tiny) bottle. I'll stick to strawberry mousse, thanks.

To Make Strawberry Mousse, You Will Need:

2 cups hulled fresh strawberries

1 Tbs sugar

1/2 pint heavy cream

3 egg whites

1. Chop hulled strawberries in a food processor, leave a few chunks. Mix in the sugar.

2. In a bowl, whip the cream with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.

3. In another bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer (with clean beaters) until stiff peaks form.

4. Fold the whipped cream into the strawberries. Mix well.

5. Fold the egg whites into the strawberry mixture. Mix well. Pop in the fridge until you're ready to use it.

For Strawberry Chocoballs, You Will Need:

Melting chocolate (couverture-- I recommend Wilton Melting Chocolate)

Strawberry Mousse (the above recipe makes about 100 times more than you need)

Candy/truffle molds

1. Melt your chocolate according to manufacturer's instructions.

2. Squeeze a bit of melted chocolate into each truffle cavity. Use your (washed!) fingers to be sure that a thin layer covers the whole cavity. Let the chocolate set.

3. Use a teaspoon to drop a small amount of strawberry mousse into each little chocolate bowl.

4. Squeeze more chocolate over the strawberry mousse, encapsulating it inside the chocoball. You make need to use your fingers again to gently smooth it out  bit.

5. Let the chocolate set, and then place the molds in the fridge for at least ten minutes. The colder the chocolates, the easier they will be to un-mold.

6. Carefully pop the chocoballs out of the molds. Be gentle and patient. I popped the bottoms off several of mine before I got the hang of it.

Though a little bit labor-intensive, these are quite delicious! And bonus, they look really impressive when you tell people you made them yourself! Enjoy!

Pepper Imps

We are entering a section that will take awhile to get through-- Ron's first description of Honeydukes:

"'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).

So first, we take on Pepper Imps. I have not, however, been able to find any real instructions on how to make this candy. So I'm going to make it up! A heads up, pepper imps are eventually described as being black in color, but I couldn't find black food coloring. And even if I could, I think I'd be afraid that it would stain my candy mold!

At The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Honeydukes sells red Pepper Imps, which taste like cinnamon, similar to red hots. But cinnamon doesn't conjure up the image of smoking at the mouth, so I will use cayenne pepper!

You Will Need:
Cooking spray
Corn starch
1/4 cup Light Corn Syrup
1/8 cup water
1/2 cup Sugar
Cayenne Pepper
Tabasco Sauce (I added this as an afterthought)
Candy Molds
Candy Thermometer

1. Combine the water, sugar, and corn syrup in a small saucepan. Add a bit of the cayenne pepper.

2. Spray your candy mold with cooking spray and dust with the cornstarch. Tap off the excess.
3. Heat the mixture on medium, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved. Continue cooking, stirring often, until the mixture is 300 degrees. Remove from the heat.

4. Quickly stir in some more cayenne pepper, and a few dashes of Tabasco sauce.
5. Use a teaspoon to drizzle the syrup into the candy molds. Work quickly, as the mixture will begin to harden pretty fast!

6. Let the candy harden. When the candies are cool, pop them out and rub off any excess cornstarch or oil with a paper towel.

Be careful when you enjoy these! They really do pack some heat! My Dad, who loves spicy things, couldn't finish his! Looks like my first candy recipe was a success! Hooray!

Chocolate Pudding

Food is always seems to be delicious when the Weasleys are around, even if Mrs. Weasley isn't the one cooking!

"'How're we getting to King's Cross tomorrow, Dad?' asked Fred as they dug into a sumptuous chocolate pudding" (Prisoner of Azkaban 63).

Lucky for us, there is a recipe for a British-style chocolate pudding in The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook. Ms. Bucholz also includes a recipe for American-style pudding, but I wouldn't generally describe something whose equivalent can come in plastic Jell-O cups as "sumptuous." Today we shall make a Sumptuous Chocolate Pudding!

You Will Need:

1 stick unsalted butter

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used semi-sweet chocolate chips, a good choice in my opinion)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 cup whole milk

1. (Generously) Grease and flour a 1.5 quart pudding bowl or a heatproof glass or ceramic bowl with a tight-fitting lid (grease and flour the lid too). Casserole dishes work well too. Place some kind of trivet (overturned shallow bowl, jam jar lid, etc.) inside a large pot with a lid. Be sure the pudding dish fits inside it... I forgot which dish I usually use to make steamed puddings and started out with one that was too big. Lame.

2. Melt the butter and chocolate together in the microwave and whisk until smooth. Set aside to cool.

3. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a separate bowl.

4. In yet another bowl, whisk together the sugar, vanilla, eggs, and milk until smooth.

5. Whisk the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture until smooth.

6. Add in the flour mixture and mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until combined. 

7. Scrape the batter into the prepared pudding dish. Cover the bowl with the lid, making sure it is secure. Note that in this photo, I obviously didn't realize yet that my pudding dish was too big. Your dish should be much more full.

8. Place the pudding dish inside the pot, on top of the trivet. Add water until it reaches halfway up the side of the pudding bowl. Place the top on the pot and boil for 3 hours, checking the water level occasionally and adding more water if necessary. 

9. Remove the pudding from the pot (carefully!) and uncover. Let it cool for 30 minutes (oops, I didn't do that). Then turn it upside down on your serving plate to un-mold it. Serve warm with whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Holy sumptuousness, Batman! This pudding literally melts in your mouth! Delicious and decadent, rich but not overpowering. So tasty. So so tasty. I highly suggest you make some for yourself (especially if you are celebrating your last night at the Leaky Cauldron before heading off to another year at Hogwarts!). Enjoy!

Sundaes

What could be better on a summer day than to sit at Florean Forescue's in Diagon Alley and eat free ice cream sundaes all day? Clearly Harry agrees:

"Harry didn't have to do his homework under the blankets by flashlight anymore; now he could sit in the bright sunshine outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, finishing all his essays with occasional help from Florean Fortescue himself, who, apart from knowing a great deal about medieval witch burnings, gave Harry free sundaes every half an hour" (Prisoner of Azkaban 50).

In The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook, Dinah Bucholz includes several ideas of sundae creations Mr. Fortescue might have served to Harry at his ice cream parlor. We'll try out two of them today.

For a Triple Strawberry Burst Sundae:

Place 1 scoop of strawberry ice cream in a dish/sundae glass. Cover with chopped fresh strawberries and strawberry syrup. Repeat layering once if desired.

For a Nuts About Sundaes Sundae:

Place a scoop of pistachio ice cream in your dish. Sprinkle a handful of chopped nuts, and squirt in some chocolate syrup. Repeat layering once if desired.

These are some very tasty frozen treats. Check out The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook for recipes for even more sundaes! Enjoy!

Pudding

"'Last year, I got an official warning just because a house-elf smashed a pudding in my uncle's house!' he [Harry] told Fudge, frowning" (Prisoner of Azkaban 45).

Yes, it's true that today's food item technically references a specific pudding we made earlier. But that specific pudding is not named here, and there are a couple times later when puddings are mentioned in a vague, non-specific sort of way, making this the first appearance of just "pudding." I think I've mentioned before that "pudding" in Great Britain simply means "dessert." But I have found a recipe to make today that, according to the website where I found it, is a staple in the refectories (cafeterias) of British boarding schools. So today we will make Semolina Pudding.

You Will Need:

1/4 cup butter

3 cups milk

1/2 cup semolina (yes, you really must use semolina flour, you cannot substitute another kind)

1/2 cup sugar

Cinnamon

2 medium egg yolks

Jam for serving

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Smear the inside of a pudding dish (or casserole dish with tight-fitting lid) generously with butter and set aside.

2. Heat the milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat until hot but not bubbling.

3. Remove from the heat and slowly whisk in the semolina. Whisk continuously so lumps don't form! Return to the heat and continue whisking as you bring the mixture to a boil. It thickens quicker than you'd think, so don't stop whisking!

4. Remove from the heat again and whisk in the egg yolks, butter, and as much cinnamon as you'd like. Mix well.

5. Transfer to the pudding dish, sprinkle on some more cinnamon, cover, and bake for 35-40 minutes.

6. Serve on it's own or with a spoonful of your favorite jam.

If you eat this pudding warm (delicious!), it will have the consistency of cream of wheat or other hot cereals. If you let it cool (and presumably heat it up again to eat it), it will firm up and be more like traditional bread-y puddings. 

This pudding is quite tasty! I was very pleasantly surprised. It's a super easy recipe-- I definitely understand why it often accompanies lunch at boarding schools! Enjoy!

Beer

There are an awful lot of options to choose from when offered a beverage at the Leaky Cauldron, and today our food item is one of the many Tom has available:

"'You've got him, Minister!' said Tom. 'Will you be wanting anything? Beer? Brandy?'" (Prisoner of Azkaban 42).

There are so many types of beer to choose from, and many of those beers appear as ingredients to delicious recipes! So today we shall make one of my favorite soups, one which has nothing at all to do with Harry Potter, but is in fact a famous dish served at Le Cellier, the Canadian restaurant at Epcot in Disney World. But I like it, so we're making it! So here we go, with my vegetarian version of Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup!

You Will Need:

1/2 pound vegetarian bacon, cut into 1/4" pieces (Morningstar Farms is an excellent choice for this recipe)

1 medium red onion, cut into 1/4" pieces

3 celery ribs, cut into 1/4" pieces (the first time I made this, I didn't use celery, because someone was allergic to it, and I actually think I like it better without it! So, decide for yourself!)

4 Tbs butter

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups No-Chicken stock

4 cups milk

1 pound grated white cheddar cheese

1 Tbs Tabasco sauce

1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce

Coarse salt and black pepper, to taste

1/2 cup pale ale at room temperature

Chopped scallions or chives for garnish

1. "Cook" your "bacon" stirring over medium-high heat for a minute or two, in a 4-5 quart pot. I recommend adding your butter at this point, because vegetarian bacon doesn't provide its own grease to brown in, like animal-bacon does.

2. Add the red onion and celery (and butter, if you haven't added it yet). Cook, stirring, until the onion has softened, about 5 minutes.

3. Reduce the heat to medium (and be sure it's actually there, if you're using an electric stove). Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for about 4 minutes. Between this and the next step, it's very easy to scald the bottom, so keep stirring!

4 Whisk in the stock and bring to a boil for 1 minute. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Add the milk and continue to simmer for 15 minutes. Do not boil after you add the milk.

6. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese, Tabasco sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper until the cheese is melted and the soup is smooth.

7. Stir in the pale ale. If the soup is too thick (I've never had that problem), add some warm milk.

8. Serve the soup hot, garnished with chopped scallions or chives.

I do so love this soup! Like I said, I think it's better without the celery, but either way, it's very tasty! Enjoy!

Brandy

We have finally reached the last food item consumed at that fateful dinner before Harry accidently blows up his Aunt Marge like a balloon:

"They got all the way through the soup and the salmon without a single mention of Harry's faults; during the lemon meringue pie, Uncle Vernon bored them all with a long talk about Grunnings, his drill-making company; then Aunt Petunia made coffee and Uncle Vernon brought out a bottle of brandy" (Prisoner of Azkaban 27).

We could, of course, enjoy a nice snifter of brandy the way Marge and Vernon do-- though without the explosion. But that's boring. And there are so many recipes in which brandy is an ingredient! So today we shall make Brandy Balls from a recipe I found on the Internet.

You Will Need:

1 5oz can evaporated milk

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup brandy

1 16oz package Vanilla Wafers, crushed very fine

2 cups finely chopped walnuts, if desired

1 cup confectioner's sugar for rolling

1. In the microwave (or in a double boiler), melt the chocolate chips with the evaporated milk, and stir until smooth.

2. Add the crushed vanilla wafers and brandy to the melted chocolate and mix until well blended.

3. If you'd like, you can roll small balls of the dough in crushed walnuts (I didn't), and then (or only) roll them in the confectioner's sugar. Store covered in the refrigerator.

You may have noticed that these delicious delicacies do not get cooked at all, so be wary! They have a delightful kick, and are super delicious, but eat too many and you could be "flying" like Aunt Marge! Enjoy!