MiniMe is going to an all-night Harry Potter movie marathon tonight and she wants to bring butterbeer. Of course–it’s the quintessential Potteresque food, and I’m excited to see if we can make up something that works.
According to a recent news article, it took the chefs at Universal Studios three years to come up with the formula they thought was the best, then in a five-item taste-test, JK Rowling picked her favorite–which was the one that is now served at the park. It really is the yummiest thing.
Of course, she’s not the only one who’s planning to bring the yummy drink, which means (because MiniMe and I are both very competitive) ours has to be the best! We have a little bit of an advantage, having been to Universal Studios’ Wizarding World of Harry Potter and sampled butterbeer ourselves. (*go for the frozen version. It’s amazing.)
There are two parts to the butterbeer. First is the beverage itself, which, as I mentioned, is much better frozen than not.
And the second part, the piece de resistance, is the foam on top. It makes it. Sooo….here’s what MiniMe and I are planning to do. Tell me what you think, okay? We have time to tweak this before tonight.
The Beer itself:
- Cream soda, and we’re going to let it go flat because….
- …we’re going to put it in the blender with ice to make it frozen/smoothie-ish
- Caramel and/or butterscotch flavoring–we’re going to try a combination of each alone, and then both together. Yum.
- Just a little bit of ice, just enough to give it a frosty feeling and make it not too thick.
- But there’s another element to the drink that I can’t quite figure out…it tastes like cookies. Can’t figure out what to put in there to give it that extra “ooomph!”
The foam (the best part!):
We’re either going to do meringue with caramel and/or butterscotch flavoring, or we’re going to try whipping up some cream, maybe with some egg whites to make it super light, and the flavoring.
The other option is to go for marshmallow creme and add flavoring to it, and then whip it up with some egg whites. Hmm.
Whatever it is, it has to be super light and fluffy, but it has to “hold” the foaminess–hence the meringue option.
Have you had butterbeer? What do you think of our ideas? Any suggestions?
We’ll let you know how it goes!
July 12th, 2011 at 10:46 am
I’m doing the same thing over the next two days! I got meringue and cream of tartar to mess with whipping cream. The Hogwarts version is so sturdy… and I picked up butter, rum, and caramel flavoring. I’ll be following your progress avidly!
July 12th, 2011 at 10:47 am
Totally doing the same thing today. Good luck!
July 12th, 2011 at 10:48 am
For the cookie flavor maybe nutmeg?
I can’t wait to try this tonight! I’m doing acid pops.
July 12th, 2011 at 11:26 am
Hi Colleen, your butterbeer concoction sounds delicious. I’ve never had it, but now I want to try one.
I like the idea of meringue with caramel for the foam. I have a thing for caramel. Now the beer itself, since I’ve never had it, I can’t really say what would be best. However, I like the idea of the caramel and butterscotch mix. If that doesn’t work, so go with caramel…yummy!!!
Peace and love,
Paula R.
July 12th, 2011 at 1:06 pm
That sounds like a really fun event! *crosses fingers* that your Butterbeer turns out to be amazing and I sincerely hope a good time is had by all.
July 12th, 2011 at 5:06 pm
We’ve GOT it!!
Honestly, I think we managed to copy it–at least in taste and consistency. (If not in ingredients, since JKR disallowed any use of corn syrup in the official butterbeer, and we had to use some.)
July 12th, 2011 at 8:46 pm
Good job, Colleen. Now how does your stomach feel after sampling so many different concoctions?
My anti-spam words have been pretty interesting today. The first was Blood, and now this is vampire….stop sending subliminal messages Colleen…lol!!
Am loving Vampire Voss, btw. Not feeling Dimitri right now, but I’m sure that will change once I find out why he’s so “stiff”. Have a fabulous rest of the evening.
Peace and love,
Paula R.
July 14th, 2011 at 9:30 am
I heard the acid pops were awesome! I want to make some. PS I saw your brother the same night at his new place of work!
July 14th, 2011 at 9:31 am
How did yours turn out? We should swap recipes.
July 14th, 2011 at 9:31 am
Ohhh…cream of tartar. That could work.
We ended up using whipping cream and marshmallow fluff. Worked great!
July 14th, 2011 at 9:32 am
There was quite an array of Harry Potter food. Someone even made a cake in the vein of the first one that Hagrid brought him–someone even sat on it to make it squashed. LOL.
November 12th, 2011 at 7:33 pm
I like the idea of meringue with caramel for the foam. I have a thing for caramel.