butterbeer
I am going to host a Harry Potter viewing and book release party next Friday night (we are all going to the midnight release of OotP at Barnes & Noble). I have decided that I just have to serve butterbeer, so I’ve been combing the internet for recipes. Here is everything I know about butterbeer (from this most excellent article on the Harry Potter Lexicon):
- very popular drink served cold in bottles or hot by the mug (“foaming tankards of hot butterbeer”) at the Three Broomsticks
- House-Elves can get drunk on butterbeer, but it doesn’t [appear to] have that effect on humans (GoF)
- How is butterbeer made and what does it taste like? When asked about this by “Bon Appetit” magazine, JKR responded: “I made it up. I imagine it to taste a little bit like less-sickly butterscotch.”
Needless to say, there are TONS of recipes out there. I think it *should* be mildly alcoholic — it isn’t like there’s a drinking age in England.
This one looks mildy promising, although I am not the biggest cream soda fan. Still, it fits JKR’s description. And her party prep was UNBELIEVABLE.
Alamo Drafthouse here in town made one with apple cider, butterscotch, mead, and something else. That sounds promising. Maybe I should use sparkling cider, and that woudl take care of the fizz factor. Hmmm.
An interesting article in today’s New York Times, about other preparations being made across the nation, particularly by booksellers. Check near the end of the article for what some of the smaller bookstores are doing . . . .
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/16/business/media/16POTT.html?th=&pagewanted=all&position=
Uber-WHOA!! I just made a hasty reply to an old-azz thread of yours google dug up for me (about butterick’s elusive cassock pattern), then I checked out your “main” on a whim and WHOA O.o you’re here in Austin and dig HP- Hallelujah, small frickin world! ;D Personally I’ll be camped out at the south Borders for OOP, and FYI the reason I was lookin for that cassock pattern to begin with was for a Snape costume (big AR fan here lol). Also, I highly recommend the Alamo DH’s butterbeer- liked it so much I got the recipe for it at the CoS premiere, but all I can recall now is that it had apple juice and… mead in it, I think (wth that is). :/ Anyhoo, thanks again for the tip- I owe ya one. ;]
Sorry to post yet AGAIN but I’m trying to buy that pattern at butterick.com and I’ve hit a snag. The size option has me befuddled- I’m not sure what the numbers equate to. Is it chest circumference or waist or what? Thanks in advance!
Men’s patterns are sized based on the chest size – if you’re female, you’d probably want to use your bust measurement for it.
BTW, the cassock pattern is pretty cool. I made it a couple of years ago for a play and it looked quite authentic. It’s an “old school” pattern with lots of pieces and quite a bit of detail and takes some time and lots of fabric. When I made it I skipped the pockets which saved a couple of hours of work.
As for the Alamo Butterbeer … I wasn’t lucky enough to get to try it, but I heard it was awesome. A friend of mine said it had apple cider, mead, and butterscotch. Thing is, she said at least ONE ingredient was NON-alcoholic, and I can’t figure out which one. We made some last night with butternips, hard cider, and mead (which is a wine made from fermented honey, btw), and it was pretty tasty. However, it doesn’t adhere to the one non-alkie ingredient rule.
Any ideas? Also — was the Alamo butterbeer fizzy?
I think you can buy a butterscotch flavored soda from sodapopstop.com or popsoda.com.
I found a good recepie for butterbeer, but its non alchoholic, but im sure you could find some type of alcohol to put in it, its made with cream soda, butterscotch, butter and half-and-half
Found the following at a website when i was looking up drink recipes. Uses buttershots, which is a butterscotch schnapps. Never tried it with rootbeer though. Sounds yummy.
(http://www.angelfire.com/or/houseoffools/HOFdrinks.html)
Butter Beer (also sometimes called Aphrodite): Pretty simple. Buttershots and Root Beer. I use Barq’s, usually, but it also tastes good with something creamier like A&W or Mug. Mixing generic root beer with Buttershots is almost always a bad idea. Using any butterscotch liqueur other than Buttershots, likewise. I use the glass I’m pouring it into to measure it. I generally use 1/3 Buttershots and 2/3 root beer, but some like it stronger.
Butterbeer Ingredients:
Root Beer or cream soda
Butter
Cream
Butterscotch (chips, sauce or both!)
How to make it:
Pour the (root beer/cream soda) in a cup, and the butter & butterscotch into a a small bowl. Put the bowl of butter and butterscotch in the microwave and melt it.
Then put the root beer in the microwave, but not for long because you want it to be moderately warm, or it isn’t fizzy and good anymore!
Pour some melted butter and butterscotch in the root beer but not too much! Then pour some cream (coffee cream) in. Then stir it all up. It might take a few tries to make it to your liking!
For Chilled Butterbeer (Very tasty!)
8oz ginger ale or cream soda (seems to work better!)
2-3 tablespoons of butterscotch syrup
Mix in a tall glass and serve over ice.
For Hot, Frothy Butterbeer (These do not include Cream Soda or Root Beer)
Version 1:
2 1/2 cups of milk
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 level teaspoon of butter
OR
Version 2:
2 1/2 cups of milk
1/2 cup of butterscotch chips
1. Heat milk in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients. Blend with a small
handmixer if you have one, to make it frothy.
3. Bring the mixture almost to boiling, but not quite.
4. Pour into mugs and serve!
.: Recipes :.
Warning: Little Snitchers please be sure to have an adult present with you
while you are making these lovely treats.
^0^
Hogwart’s Trifle
INGREDIENTS:
2 large Swiss roll cakes
1 x 330ml carton Tropicana Tropics
4 large bananas
175g green and/or black seedless grapes
2 x 500g pots thick and creamy strawberry yogurt
sugar-coated chocolate chips to decorate
You will also need 20 clear plastic bowls (25cl)
PREPARATION:
1. Cut each Swiss roll into ten slices and position one slice in the bottom of each bowl.
2. Peel the bananas and slice them thinly. Wash and halve the grapes. Divide the fruit between the bowls.
3. Pour 2 tbsp Tropicana into each bowl and leave to be absorbed for 10 minutes.
4. Spoon 1-2 tbsp yogurt over each trifle, and leave in the fridge until ready for use.
5. Just before serving, sprinkle with the coloured chips.
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Snape’s Fizzing Jelly Slugs
INGREDIENTS:
4 packets quick-set jelly
1 litre lemonade
1 packet Rowntree’s Bursting Bugs
You will also need a clear plastic bowl (25cl) per guest
PREPARATION:
1. Make up two of the jellies according to the packet instructions, using lemonade instead of water for stage two.
2. One-third fill the bowls, then leave until set.
3. Position two or three bugs in each bowl.
4. Make up the other two jellies, again using lemonade.
5. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes and then pour over the first layer and bugs.
6. Allow to cool for an hour, and then decorate with an additional bug on the top.
PREP/COOK INFORMATION:
Prep time: 10 minutes
Serves: 20
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Cauldron Cakes
INGREDIENTS:
100g caster sugar
100g butter
2 medium-sized eggs
100g self-raising flour
a few drops vanilla essence
25g cocoa powder
1 tbsp milk
To decorate:
2 x 300g packs milk chocolate cake covering
175g icing sugar
You will also need 20 paper cases
PREPARATION:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4.
2. Cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
3. Crack in one egg at a time, adding 1 tbsp flour to prevent the egg separating.
4. Add the rest of the flour, a few drops of vanilla essence and whizz until pale.
5. Put two-thirds of the mix into a separate bowl.
6. Add the cocoa and milk to the remaining third and mix thoroughly.
7. Return the cocoa mix to the rest of the cake mixture and stir in slightly; this will give a marbled effect when cooked.
8. Stand the paper cases in a bun tray and add a heaped teaspoon of mixture to each.
9. Place in the oven and cook for about 10 minutes until golden and the top bounces back when prodded. Remove and leave until cold.
10. If the cakes have risen into peaks, cut off the top to leave a flat surface.
11. Break the chocolate into a heat-proof bowl and place over a pan of hot water until it has melted.
12. Cover each cake with the chocolate topping and leave to set.
13. Make up the glacé icing and place in the piping bag with a line nozzle. (If you don’t have an icing set, drizzle the spiral on using a teaspoon.)
14. Starting in the centre, pipe a spiral on one cake at a time with the chocolate topping. Drag a cocktail stick across this like spokes on a wheel to create a cobweb effect.
PREP/COOK INFORMATION:
Prep time: 1 hour
Serves: 18
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Hagrid’s Eye Balls
INGREDIENTS:
25g Rice Krispies or Rice Snaps
75g good-quality milk chocolate
8 tbsp icing sugar
2 x Nestlé Giant Smarties
black writing icing
You will also need clingfilm
PREPARATION:
1. Cut pieces of clingfilm to measure about 12cm square.
2. Break up the chocolate and melt it in a bowl over a saucepan of boiling water.
3. Remove from the heat and add the Krispies or Snaps.
4. Mix well until coated then leave to cool for a couple of minutes.
5. Put a heaped teaspoonful on to each clingfilm square, shape it into a sphere, twist the ends together to secure and then leave in the fridge to harden.
6. Put the icing sugar into a bowl and add enough hot water to make a thick paste.
7. Remove the clingfilm from the chocolate Krispies and coat completely with the icing.
8. Stick a Smartie on to the ‘eyeball’, and add a large dot of writing icing as the pupil.
PREP/COOK INFORMATION:
Prep time: 40 minutes
Serves: 24
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Flitwick’s Wands
INGREDIENTS:
1 packet Cadburys Milk Chocolate Fingers
5–6 tbsp icing sugar
PREPARATION:
1. Put 5–6 tbsp icing sugar in a bowl and add enough hot water to make a stiff but workable glacé icing.
2. Dip the first 2–3cm of finger into the icing and leave on a cooling rack to dry. Repeat with the other end of the wands.
PREP/COOK INFORMATION:
Prep time: 15 minutes
Serves: 30
^0^
Ginger Harry’s
INGREDIENTS:
100g (4oz) butter
3 tbsp golden syrup
350g self-raising flour
1-2 tsp ground ginger
100g caster sugar
1 egg, beaten
To decorate:
yellow fondant icing
red fondant icing
black writing icing (or make glacé icing)
apricot jam
You will also need a gingerbread-man cutter
PREPARATION:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4.
2. Melt the butter and syrup together in a saucepan over a gentle heat.
3. Place flour, ginger and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the melted butter and syrup, stir in slightly and then add the egg.
4. Knead until smooth and then leave for 15 minutes to cool.
5. Roll out to a thickness of 6mm and cut out your Ginger Harrys.
6. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet and cook in the centre of the oven for about 8 minutes, or until golden. Remove and leave to cool.
7. To make the red and yellow striped jumpers: Dust your worktop and rolling pin with icing sugar and roll both fondants into rectangles about 3mm thick. Using the cutter, cut out 12 jumper shapes (from the neck to the waist) in each colour. Any scraps can be kneaded into a ball and re-rolled.
8. Place a red and yellow fondant jumper on top of each other, cut off the arms and then cut the trunk into three horizontally.
9. Taking two biscuits at a time, spread a very thin amount of jam on the arms and trunk.
10. Starting at the neck, place a red stripe on one biscuit and yellow on the other. Alternate the stripes, using red arms on the biscuit with two yellow stripes and vice versa.
Repeat for the other biscuits.
11. Using black writing icing, pipe on the eyes (or a pair of spectacles if you think you’re up to it).
Cook’s Tip: If the cuttings are difficult to roll out a second time, warm them in the microwave for about 10 seconds, knead them into a ball and try again.
PREP/COOK INFORMATION:
Prep time: 40 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Serves: 24
^0^
Wizard Crumpets
INGREDIENTS:
12 crumpets, or 6 muffins cut in half
bottle of ketchup – or try Heinz’s limited-edition Green Sauce (green tomato ketchup)
175g Red Leicester cheese
12 button mushrooms
12 cherry tomatoes
1 large green pepper
vegetable oil
PREPARATION:
1. Spread a layer of ketchup or Green Sauce over the crumpet or muffin.
2. Grate the cheese and then sprinkle this over the ketchup.
3. Wash and dry the mushrooms, trim the stalks and slice into four ‘T’ shapes. Place on top of the cheese as eyes.
4. Halve the cherry tomatoes and add as the nose.
5. Slice the pepper horizontally to form rounds, and cut each into four to form a mouth (looks a bit like a ‘W’).
6. Preheat the grill to hot, and brush the vegetable facial features with oil.
7. Place under the grill until the cheese is bubbling. Allow to cool slightly before serving.
PREP/COOK INFORMATION:
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Serves: 12
^0^
CHOCOLATE FROGS
(Makes 12 to 14 frogs)
INGREDIENTS:
1. 1 (12-ounce) bag chocolate chips, or 12-ounce bar chocolate, broken into pieces
2. 1 teaspoon grated chocolate
3. 1 plastic mold for bite-size chocolate frogs
4. Small candy eyes
Place chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave chocolate on high power for 2 minutes. Stir. Continue microwaving in 15-second increments until chocolate is almost completely melted. Remove from microwave and grate 1 teaspoon additional chocolate over the melted chocolate; stir until smooth.
Fill mold with melted chocolate, reserving about 1 tablespoon melted chocolate. Refrigerate molds until chocolate is firm, about 2 hours. Remove frogs from molds. Place candy eyes onto the frogs with remaining melted chocolate. Store at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
Note: If no microwave is available, melt the chocolate in a saucepan (with the help of an adult).
^0^
Butterbeer
INGREDIENTS:
Root Beer or cream soda
Butter
Cream
Butterscotch (chips, sauce or both!)
PREPARATION:
Pour the (root beer/cream soda) in a cup, and the butter & butterscotch into a a small bowl. Put the bowl of butter and butterscotch in the microwave and melt it.
Then put the root beer in the microwave, but not for long because you want it to be moderately warm, or it isn’t fizzy and good anymore!
Pour some melted butter and butterscotch in the root beer but not too much! Then pour some cream (coffee cream) in. Then stir it all up. It might take a few tries to make it to your liking!
For Chilled Butterbeer:
8oz ginger ale or cream soda (seems to work better!)
2-3 tablespoons of butterscotch syrup
Mix in a tall glass and serve over ice.
For Hot, Frothy Butterbeer: (These do not include Cream Soda or Root Beer)
Version 1:
2 1/2 cups of milk
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 level teaspoon of butter
OR
Version 2:
2 1/2 cups of milk
1/2 cup of butterscotch chips
PREPARATION:
1. Heat milk in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients. Blend with a small handmixer if you have one, to make it frothy.
3. Bring the mixture almost to boiling, but not quite.
4. Pour into mugs and serve!
Serve in a traditional English Metal Tankard.
^0^
Pumpkin Juice
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups diced pumpkin
2 cups apple juice
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 cup pineapple juice
PREPARATION:
Juice the pumpkin and add the pumpkin juice to the pineapple and apple juice. Add honey and blend in a blender. Serve iced.
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Dragon Snot
INGREDIENTS:
Green sherbet
Sprite
PREPARATION:
This is more appealing in a witch’s cauldron if you have one. Simply mix green sherbet and sprite together.
^0^
Bat Wings
INGREDIENTS:
Chicken wings
Barbeque sauce
PREPARATION:
Place chicken wings in Barbeque sauce and bake in 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes.
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Lightning Bolt Cupcakes
INGREDIENTS:
Chocolate cupcakes
Yellow frosting
Sprinkles
PREPARATION:
Frost chocolate cupcakes and draw a lightning bolt on top with yellow frosting and add some sprinkles.
^0^
- Disclaimer –
Thanks to Harry Potter Movie Informer and iVillage for the tips.
WOW! Thanks, Qwerty Bob! I can’t wait to try some of these out at my next movie release party …
Just a little thing, not that anyone cares: There is a drinking age in England. It’s 18 although 16 year olds can have one glass of wine, or half pint of cider or beer if they are also having a meal and accompanied by an adult. Americans always think there is no drinking age for some reason but it isn’t true.