By YorkTest
To mark the 20th anniversary reunion of the original Harry Potter cast on HBO on New Year’s Day, food sensitivity specialist YorkTest created seven spellbinding recipes people can follow to create their own Hogwarts-inspired treats.
From butterbeer and chocolate frog cupcakes to pumpkin pasties and treacle tarts, these recipes can help you relive the magic as you sit down to watch Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson reunite after all these years.
The recipes include some vegan and dairy-free alternatives for those who want to take part in the excitement without eating any animal or dairy products. As these recipes are from the United Kingdom, measurements are in grams, liters, etc. – good luck!
Butterbeer
(vegan and dairy-free options)
Properly introduced in “Prisoner of Azkaban” when Harry, Ron and Hermione visit Hogsmeade, butterbeer is made out butterscotch, sugar and water and was known to contain just enough alcohol to get house elves drunk. Want to create the foaming pint for yourself?
YorkTest has created a recipe with zero alcohol, so the entire family can enjoy it. This recipe can be dairy-free for those who are allergic to or have an intolerance to lactose or milk proteins, or those who choose to be vegan. This recipe is standard gluten, wheat, egg and nut free.
1 cup/236 ml club soda or cream soda
½ cup/120 ml butterscotch syrup or a vegan alternative
½ tablespoon butter or vegan spread, softened
Heavy cream or soya cream
Traditional glass pint tankard mugs
Pour the butterscotch syrup into a bowl. Butterscotch is essential to give butterbeer its magical flavor. Add the softened butter or spread. Combine the syrup and butter mix by mixing well. Pour the cream soda or club soda into the mixture and stir. Set aside for now.
In a separate mixing bowl, whip the heavy whipping cream or vegan cream until it forms stiff peaks. You can do this by hand or with a mixer. Pour the cream/club soda and butterscotch mixture into two clear mugs, and finish with a scoop or two of whipped cream.
Chocolate Frog Cupcakes
Perhaps the most famous food in Harry Potter land, chocolate frogs are one of the most popular wizarding sweets, not least because they come with a collectible card of a notable witch or wizard. If you don’t have any cards of famous Hogwarts alumni lying around, why not make chocolate frog cupcakes instead?
For the cupcake:
150 grams self-raising flour
30 grams cocoa powder
140 grams caster sugar
175 grams softened butter or margarine
3 large eggs
50 grams cooking milk chocolate or chocolate vermicelli
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ tablespoon milk
For the buttercream icing:
280 grams softened butter
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons milk
25 grams edible eyes (you can get these from most major grocery stores)
540 grams icing sugar
A few drops of green food coloring
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line your muffin tin with 12 cupcake cases. Grate your milk chocolate or vermicelli.
Place all the cupcake ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, caster sugar, eggs, softened butter, vanilla extract, milk and grated chocolate) into a large bowl and mix it well until it’s all combined. You can do this by hand or with a food processor.
Divide the mixture evenly between each case. Place the cupcakes into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. Check if they’re cooked by placing a skewer into one cupcake and making sure it comes out clean.
Leave your cupcakes to cool while you make your icing. Beat the butter for the icing in a bowl until it’s soft. Then, add in half the icing sugar and keep beating it until the mixture is smooth.
Add in the rest of the icing sugar, 2 tablespoons milk and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract. Continue to beat until smooth. Add in more milk if the mixture is too stiff. Add a few drops of green food coloring, and stir until you get a bright, vibrant color.
Pipe the mixture evenly onto each cupcake. Place two edible eyes onto each cupcake and marvel at your chocolate frog creations!
Yield: 12 cupcakes
Treacle Tart
(vegan and gluten- and dairy-free alternatives)
The mighty treacle tart is Harry’s favorite dessert, and it’s both comforting and relatively simple to make, too. Find out how you can make a treacle tart to rival any that Mrs. Weasley could make.
We’ve included vegan alternatives. This includes using aqua faba, the water left over in a tin of chickpeas instead of eggs. This is a great alternative for those who are vegan, but also those with egg allergies and intolerances.
For the pastry:
250 grams plain flour or gluten-free flour
140 grams cold unsalted butter or vegan sunflower oil spread
3 tablespoons icing sugar
¼ teaspoon fine salt
2 egg yolks or 8 tablespoons of aqua faba
For the filling:
400 grams agave syrup
1 ball step ginger in syrup, finely chopped, plus 40 grams of syrup
1 lemon, zested
Two eggs or 8 tablespoons aqua faba
100 grams fine fresh white breadcrumbs or gluten-free panko breadcrumbs
Put the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter or vegan spread and rub together to create a fine breadcrumb-like texture. Stir through the icing sugar, then quickly add the egg yolks or aqua faba and 2 tablespoons water, mixing swiftly with a knife to combine.
Form this into a ball and wrap and chill for 30 minutes. Roll out to the thickness of a pound coin, and line a 22 cm fluted tart tin with the pastry, leaving an overhang. Return to the fridge for 30 minutes.
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a pastry case with baking parchment and baking beans, then place in the oven on the baking sheet, and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the parchment and bake for 10 more minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.
Leave the pastry to cool before trimming off the overhanging edges with a small, serrated knife. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
Mix the syrup, ginger, ginger syrup, lemon, eggs or aqua faba and breadcrumbs in a bowl, briefly mixing everything together until combined. Pour the filling into the pastry case and put in the lower part of the oven to bake for 35-40 minutes or until the filling is just set.
Once ready, remove from the oven and leave to cool down for approximately 15 minutes before serving. Serve with ice cream, custard, cream or a vegan alternative.
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Pumpkin Juice
Pumpkin juice could be seen as a detoxing and energizing drink. But in Harry Potter, it’s one of the most popular wizarding beverages, and Harry even dreams about drinking it while traveling in the Flying Ford Anglia in the “Chamber of Secrets.”
You don’t even need to go out and find a full pumpkin; instead, you just need to get your hands on canned pumpkin puree and spice.
240 grams pumpkin puree
2 liters apple cider vinegar
32 grams sugar
32 grams brown sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon vanilla
Combine all ingredients into one large jug and stir well. Pour into glasses and enjoy!
Yield: 8 servings
Knickerbocker Glory
If you want to re-create Harry Potter recipes, you can’t leave out one of everyone’s least favorite muggle. Knickerbocker glory is Harry’s cousin Dudley Dursley’s favorite pudding. And not only is it easy to make, but you also can add whatever topping you like to it.
500 grams fresh or frozen raspberries (if frozen, make sure they’ve defrosted properly)
2 tablespoons icing sugar
12 scoops vanilla ice cream
200 grams fresh blueberries
Honeycomb pieces
Pour half the raspberries into a food processor and blend with the icing sugar. Sieve your raspberry puree over a bowl until it’s smooth. Layer your ice cream in a tall sundae glass with alternating layers of raspberry puree, blueberries and fresh raspberries.
Top your sundae with as many honeycomb pieces as you want for extra sparkle, and eat immediately.
Yield: 6 servings
Steak and Kidney Pie
A quintessentially British dish, steak and kidney pie was not only served at dinnertime in the Great Hall from time to time, but eagle-eyed fans will also know it was sold as a specialty at every wizard’s favorite hangout, the Leaky Cauldron. This could be perfect for your Hogwarts-themed party.
300 grams puff pastry
700 grams braising or chuck steaks
2 lamb kidneys
200 grams lamb kidney, diced
Splash of red wine or Worcestershire sauce
800 ml beef stock
For egg wash:
6 eggs
6 tablespoons water
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Heat oil in a frying pan and then fry the beef until it’s brown. Remove the beef from the pan, then add the kidneys until they’re brown on both sides. Add the beef back into the pan, then pour the stock into the pan.
Bring to the boil, then simmer for 90 minutes. Keep adding stock if you need more liquid. Add salt, pepper and red wine or Worcestershire sauce into the mixture, then remove from the heat and wait for it to cool.
Add your mixture, once cool, into a pie dish. Roll out your pastry so it’s 5 mm thick, and place it on top of your mixture in the pie dish. Trim the edges as you need.
Combine your eggs and water and whisk until it’s smooth. Brush on top of your pastry. Bake for 30 minutes until it’s golden brown and the pastry has puffed up.
Yield: 4 servings
Pumpkin Pasties
“Anything off the trolley, dears?” Another pumpkin delight on the menu for your meal, pumpkin pasties were the first kind of wizarding food that Harry gets to consume on the Hogwarts Express when he impresses Ron by buying everything from the trolley.
Similar to Cornish pasties, but filled with pumpkin, these are great nibbles to snack on throughout the day.
1 roll of shortcrust pastry
210 grams (half a tin) pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon butter
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon allspice
2 tablespoons sugar
A pinch of nutmeg
A pinch of cardamom
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Combine the pumpkin puree with room temperature butter and stir in seasonings and sugar. Set aside. Sprinkle flour onto a flat surface and roll the dough until it’s around 3- to 4-mm thick. Cut the dough into circles with a pastry cutter or the edge of a glass.
Spoon half a teaspoon of the mixture into the circles, then fold over to create a half moon shape and crimp the edges with a fork. Using a small, sharp knife, cut three tiny slits on the top. Why not do this in the shape of Harry’s famous scar?
Bake for 15-20 minutes until they’re nice and golden. Transfer them to a cooling rack and leave them for around 5 minutes before diving into your little feast.
Yield: 18 pasties
