Harry Potter Week: Day 5 - Butterbeer!

Harry Potter Week: Day 5 - Butterbeer!

How could we have a complete menu of all things Harry Potter if we didn't have Butterbeer?  Obviously, we could not.  The movies always made me wonder what exactly butterbeer was.  Was it actually an alcoholic beverage?  Is it more like a virgin buttered rum?  And, if there is in fact no booze in it, then why does Hermoine act liquored up and hang all over Harry and Ron while walking back to Hogwarts?  Of course, you could look online here and find out what it really is, but where's the fun in that?

I love that it's spilling over the side!

Anyhoo, I borrowed a recipe, but I adapted it a bit.  Actually, I tried it both ways. I think it's a matter of preference.

Butterbeer
adapted slightly from Bakingdom

FOR THE BUTTERBEER
6 12-ounce bottles chilled cream soda
3 teaspoons (1 tablespoon) imitation butter flavor, or 2 tablespoons clarified butter

FOR THE FOAM
 2 cups heavy cream
6 tablespoons sugar, or splenda for sugar free version
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons imitation butter (if using clarified butter, double the amount to 3 teaspoons, or 1 tablespoon)

I've tried both cream soda and root beer.  I found the cream soda with the sugared whipped cream to be a littttttttle too sweet.  Maybe reduce the amount of sugar in the foam?  I didn't try that, but what I did try, was to substitute root beer instead.  It wasn't so sickly sweet with the root beer, but like I said, it's a matter of preference.  It would also be pretty tasty with a shot or two of rum.  =)

Thank you all for joining me this week during my Harry Potter madness!!  And, thank you J K Rowling for your creative mind.  I still enjoy the movies and watch them every so often.  In fact, most of the food that I featured this week was for a low key Harry Potter Fest.  We almost made it through all the movies over Memorial Day Weekend. 

Someday, I'd like to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  I should probably start saving now.

Harry Potter Week: Day 4 - Cauldron Cakes

Harry Potter Week: Day 4 - Cauldron Cakes!

Day 4 brings us to Cauldron Cakes! Yay! They're so cute, with their little chocolate handles, chocolate chip "feet" on the bottom and wickedly good filling. As with any recipe, there are so many variations, you just need to choose what you like! 

  

Cakes after baking.

Pipe a ring or two of frosting around the edges

I chose to use my favorite chocolate cake recipe, which is actually the Hershey recipe, and the Hershey frosting recipe too. However, you could definitely use your own go-to cake recipe, or even a boxed mix is good. Buttercream or a ganache would be nice for the frosting. 

Next, I piped in some filling into the cake, and filled the top of the cauldron.

I added the little chocolate handles I had made earlier (melted chocolate, piped onto some parchment in the shape you want).

The filling options are endless. You could really have a field day here. A chocolate pudding to resemble the Liquid Death potion Harry concocts in the Half Blood Prince. Or, maybe a gold dusted chocolate filling like Darla has done, to resemble Felix Felicis. I chose to do a purple whipped cream filling, perhaps as a love potion gone wrong? Not sure, but purple is one of those Halloween colors, and I thought it would look good. So, there we go.

Deilicious Cauldron Cakes for everyone!

 

Tomorrow is the last day of our tribute to Harry Potter. See you then!

Harry Potter Week: Day 3 - Treacle Tart, Chocolate Frogs and Licorice Wands

Harry Potter Week: Day 3 - Treacle Tart, Chocolate Frogs and Licorice Wands

Well, if you're anything like me, when you see the scene on Hogwart's Express with the trolley car, you wanted to try everything on it!  All those magical goodies, waiting to be explored!  Chocolate frogs that actually jumped, Bertie Botts every flavor beans (ok, maybe not those), licorice wands, acid pops, cockroach clusters...and the list goes on.  Another favorite of Harry's, in the books, at least, was treacle tart.  I had to do a little research to see exactly what treacle tart was, but I was finally able to track down a couple of recipes.

Darla at Bakingdom did an amazing job of some mini treacle tarts.  But, I didn't have any cute little tins like she had, so I opted for a larger tart pan.  I did borrow her recipe though.  I don't think she'll mind.  In fact, I think we could be BFF's...if she only knew who I was.  I mean, she loves sci-fi, I love sci-fi.  She loves baking, I love baking.  Heck, our names even rhyme!  Clearly, it was meant to be.  Treacle tarts, however, were not.  Ignoring the fact that the darned thing spilled over, I really didn't like the taste of it.  Maybe it's a British thing?  Not sure.  But, the taste of molasses was SOOOO overwhelming, it overpowered all other flavors.  It was more like molasses tart, with a side of burnt crust.  Ok, the burnt crust was my fault, but the treacle just wasn't happening.  Click here for the complete recipe, courtesy of Bakingdom.

Chocolate Frogs

I had more luck with the chocolate frogs.  I couldn't get them to jump though.

Cute little frog mold.

Coat inside with chocolate.

I melted down some caramel with a little milk.

Mixed in some chopped pecans.

Another filling was chocolate with rice krispies.

Fill the frogs with caramelly goodness.

Cover with chocolate.

Chill in fridge, and voila!  Chocolate Frogs!!

Licorice Wands

The licorice wands weren't a complete success either, mainly because my 4 year old son was eating all the sprinkles off helping me.

Basically, melt some vanilla candy coating, and dip the licorice in.

Next, dip licorice into a bowl of sprinkles, turning to coat all sides.

If you'd like some better more recipes and pictures, check these out.  And, these!

Tomorrow, we're conquering Cauldron Cakes!  Don't forget to come back!

Fall Baking and Apple Coffee Cake

Even though it is September, and there was that one morning last week where I had to have my seat warmer on, it really doesn't feel like fall in north Texas.  It was 96 today.  Ugh.  Nevertheless, I have decided to plunge ahead into everything autumnal, and with any luck, the weather will follow me in.

My pinterest searches of late, have to do with halloween and Thanksgiving crafts that R and I can do together.  I'm looking at Thanksgiving recipes and cute halloween treats.  I've also been whipping up some pumpkin spice lattes, although I think the ginger I'm using might be a little too coarse.  So, I'm definitely ready for fall.  And, in honor of that, this weekend I made a delightful apple coffee cake.  I didn't change the recipe much.  Just a tweak here and there....

Apple Coffee Cake
adapted slightly SimplyRecipes.com

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 5 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 medium Cortland or other baking apple, peeled and sliced (I chopped mine)

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 9-inch square baking dish with or pie pan with a 4-cup capacity. (I used 2 small loaf pans)
2 In a medium bowl, whisk vigorously together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
3 In a separate small bowl, mix 1/4 a cup of the sugar with the cinnamon, set aside. (I added all this to the batter)
4 Using an electric mixer, beat the butter with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Beat in the egg until blended. Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk, beating after each addition until just combined.
5 Pour half of the batter in the bottom of the baking dish. Lay the apple slices on the batter so they just cover the batter (you may have to overlap some slices). Sprinkle the apples with the cinnamon-sugar mixture, reserving a teaspoon or two to sprinkle on top. Spread the rest of the batter over the apples. Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon-sugar on top. (I added the chopped apples to the batter, and mixed it all together.  I also mixed up some brown sugar, 2 T butter and oats, to sprinkle on to of the loaves.)
6 Bake the cake for 25 minutes or until it is golden brown and apples start to bubble at the edges. (I baked for about 20 min)

 

Overall, they turned out pretty good.  I didn't get a chance to cut them open, because I have a standing order for breakfast food every Sunday.  But, I'm sure they were beautiful on the inside too!

I have much more fall baking to do, so be prepared.  Also, next month I'll be posting a Harry Potter week of food and fun.  Be sure to stop by!!