Harry Potter’s Butterbeer Recipe
Butterbeer, as it is known in the original, is the cult drink in the fantasy world of “Harry Potter.” The English author Joanne K. Rowling invented Butterbeer for her children’s and young adult book series.
Butterbeer is particularly popular among the wizard Harry Potter and his fellow students at Hogwarts. This magical drink is served frothy hot in steaming mugs, providing a comforting warmth. However, it also tastes delightful when cold.
Rowling told “Bon Appétit” magazine that when she conceived of Butterbeer, she imagined it to have a flavour reminiscent of slightly sweet butterscotch—like a kind of caramel sweet that melts delicately on the tongue. As Butterbeer is non-alcoholic or contains only a small amount of alcohol, it is served at school events and sold to minors.
Nevertheless, there is a risk of addiction for the very small house-elves. For instance, the house-elf Winky drowns her sorrows in Butterbeer and unfortunately becomes a perpetual alcoholic.
A Well-Kept Secret
The author mentions Butterbeer in all the Harry Potter books, yet the recipe remains a closely guarded secret. Harry Potter fans eagerly crowd around to sample the Butterbeer served in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios.
However, the official ingredients are not disclosed by Universal Studios, who ultimately developed the recipe. Our Butterbeer recipe comes pretty close to the magical drink.
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Whisk
Ingredients
- 1 Vanilla Pod
- 2 tsp Butter unsalted, soft
- 2 tbsp Brown Sugar
- 200 ml Double Cream
- 400 ml Milk
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ½ tbsp Cocoa Powder
- 250 ml Malty Drink or malt beverage for the non-alcoholic version
Instructions
- Split the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape out the seeds with the back of a knife.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the sugar. Allow the sugar to melt and caramelise lightly over medium heat, stirring constantly. It should not become too dark, or the caramel will taste bitter.Deglaze the caramel with half of the cream and continue to simmer while stirring until the caramel has dissolved.
- Combine the milk, cinnamon, vanilla seeds, and cocoa powder in a container and whisk together well. Add the milk mixture to the hot cream mixture, bring to the boil, and simmer for 3 minutes while stirring.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the malty drink or for the non-alcoholic version, the malt beverage.Gently reheat the butterbeer over medium heat and turn off the heat. The butterbeer should not boil again.
- Whip the remaining cream with a hand whisk until stiff.Pour the warm butterbeer into heatproof glasses or mugs. Before serving, spoon the whipped cream on top of the butterbeer and sprinkle with a pinch of cinnamon to taste.
