In the fall of 2001, I was introduced to the World of Harry Potter. I was playing Bunco with some ladies one night and one gal told me how excited she was about the very first Harry Potter movie coming out. She said that I really needed to read the book because it was SO magical!
It was a few months before the movie premiere, so I decided to buy the book and start reading it to my oldest son who had just turned 7. I read to him every night and we both were entranced. Needless to say, I went on to read the whole series while my oldest son has read the entire series more than 9 times! I even got up at 2:30 am to finish Deathly Hallows because I just needed to know how it all ended! I, myself, am a Ravenclaw; my oldest is a Hufflepuff; my hubby and daughter are Slytherin (although my daughter has a lot of Hermione’s characteristics). My youngest son, whose middle name is Ronald AND is a redhead…can you guess his house? Gryffindor! He must be a Weasley.
My other 2 children have also grown up to be fans of Harry Potter and we would attend book release parties at Barnes and Noble and I host backyard movie nights to celebrate Harry’s birthday on July 31 every year. I make wands out of chopsticks, have a Sorting Hat ceremony, photo ops and serve Gilley water, Fever Fudge, Golden Snitch cake pops, chocolate frogs and cauldron cakes. My oldest even gives a wand lesson to our guests.
In June 2015, my oldest son had the opportunity to go on a month-long tour in England and Scotland to see various Harry Potter film sites with a Cal State San Marcos professor who taught a Harry Potter course. There were 28 girls and 3 boys from all over the country. They saw ALL of the filming sites including Warner Brothers Studios London, Harry Potter’s homes in Godric’s Hallow and on Privet Drive. They had a flying broom lesson at the same castle where Harry, Ron and Hermione learned how to fly. The group even visited Dumbledore’s final resting place. They went to King Crossing and tried to get through Platform 9 ¾ and rode the Hogwarts Express through Scotland.
During this exact same time, I took my other 2 children to Universal Orlando to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I was really blown away by all of the details of Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. We were completely immersed in one of our favorite worlds, bringing life right off the page and out of the movie screen.
Of course, we got our wands at Ollivander’s so that we could try the spells our in the two interactive lands. Plus we enjoyed fish and chips and Butterbeer at The Three Broomsticks. Truly, a magical place! I think my son had about 7 Butterbeers while we were there and I loved the Earl Grey Tea and Lavender ice cream at Florean Fortescue’s Ice–Cream Parlour in Diagon Alley. My daughter’s favorite treat is anything chocolate so the Cauldron Cakes were her favorites.
In honor of the Boy Who Lived’s birthday, I have conjured up some copycat recipes of our favorite Wizarding World of Harry Potter treats for you to try. Butterbeer Fudge and Cauldron Cakes!
Copycat Butterbeer Fudge
Ingredients
Butterbeer Fudge Layer:
- 10 tbsp salted butter (1 ¼ sticks)
- 4 ounces marshmallow crème (¾ cup) (a little over half the 7 ounce jar)
- ¾ cup sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup granulated white sugar
- ¼ cup caramel ice cream syrup/topping
- 1 11 ounce bag of butterscotch chips
White Chocolate Layer:
- ½ cup granulated white sugar
- ½ cup salted butter (1 stick)
- 3 ounces marshmallow créme (a little over ½ cup) (the rest of the 7 ounce jar)
- ¼ cup sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Line an 8×8 inch baking dish with parchment paper that has been sprayed with cooking spray and set aside.
- To make the bottom Butterbeer Fudge Layer: In a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat, heat up the salted butter, marshmallow crème, sweetened condensed milk, granulated white sugar, and caramel syrup, stirring constantly.
- Once the mixture starts to boil, set a timer for 4 minutes, and stir the mixture thoroughly for the entire time. The mixture should turn a golden-brown color.
- At 4 minutes, the butterbeer fudge layer will start to thicken. Add in the butterscotch chips and mix until smooth.
- Remove from the heat and keep whisking the mixture for another 1-2 minutes. It should continue to thicken, but not enough that it won’t pour.
- Pour into an 8×8 pan and set in the freezer to chill.
- To make the white chocolate layer: Use another saucepan to heat up the granulated white sugar, salted butter, marshmallow crème, and sweetened condensed milk, stirring continuously.
- Once the mixture starts to boil, turn the heat down to medium and set a timer for 2 minutes, and stir the mixture constantly.
- Take the pan off heat and incorporate the white chocolate chips until melted. Do not overstir as white chocolate tends to seize very easily.
- As soon as the chocolate has melted, immediately pour white chocolate over the butterscotch layer and gently smooth to the edges.
- Place fudge in either the refrigerator for 2-3 hours or freezer for an hour until completely set and chilled.
- Cut into small 1-inch cubes and serve.
Notes
Pro-tip: For a fun “foam” that resembles the foam on a butterbeer drink, you can make the white chocolate layer thinner than the butterscotch layer.
Copycat Cauldron Cakes
Yields 12 cauldrons
12 devil’s food cupcakes
1 recipe for Chocolate Glaze (below)
1 recipe for Marshmallow Filling (below)
Approximately 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Edible gold glitter
Chocolate Glaze
6 ounces (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 tablespoons butter
In a double boiler, melt together the chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth. Glaze will be relatively thick. Remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes before use. If chocolate thickens too much, return to heat and stir until smooth and melted once more.
Marshmallow Filling
1 cup Marshmallow Fluff (or prepared marshmallow cream)
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
In a medium bowl, beat together the marshmallow fluff, shortening, sugar, and vanilla extract until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.
To assemble
Using a cupcake corer or sharp knife, cut out a cavity in the bottom of the cupcake. When using a knife, I run it in a circular motion around the cupcake, while always pointing the knife towards the center (this will make the cavity cone-shaped).
Dip the top of the cupcake into the chocolate glaze. Flip the cupcakes right side up and let rest until the chocolate sets, about 30 minutes. To speed up the process, place cupcakes in the refrigerator.
To make the cauldron feet, take 3 chocolate chips and form a small triangle, placing each chocolate chip roughly an inch from the others. Place the top of a cupcake onto the chocolate chips and push down ever so slightly so the chocolate chips will stick into the chocolate glaze. Repeat for the rest of the cupcakes.
Place remaining chocolate glaze into a piping bag and pipe a chocolate rim around the edge of the opening to the cauldron. If chocolate is too thick to pipe, heat chocolate glaze up until warm and allow to sit until glaze thickens slightly. If chocolate glaze is too runny to pipe, wait a few minutes until the glaze thickens to a pipe-able consistency. Alternatively, you could use a knife to spread the glaze around the edge of the cupcake.
Fill a pastry bag with marshmallow filling and pipe into the cavity of the cupcakes. Garnish the top with edible gold glitter.
To make a cauldron handle, melt the remaining chocolate chips, stir until smooth, and place into a pastry bag. You don’t need a special tip for this step; I simply cut off the very end of the pastry bag which was sufficient. On a non-stick mat or wax paper, pipe out the handles (feel free to use any pattern you’d like). I recommend measuring the cupcakes with a ruler to determine how wide you need to make the handles before piping.
Let the chocolate set until hardened, approximately 30 minutes, before very carefully peeling off of the non-stick surface and placing into the top of each cupcake.
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Let’s Hear From You
Are you up to the task of making one or both of these recipes to celebrate Harry Potter’s birthday? Are there other Wizarding World treats you’d like to see me attempt a copycat version of? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
