The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook (28 page)
Can't think what to do with the bread that's going stale on the counter? Don't throw it out — use it in your next batch of ice cream instead. It sounds like a strange combination, but British cookbooks have been giving recipes for it since the first recipe appeared in a cookbook in 1772.
About 4 slices cinnamon bread
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
5 large egg yolks
¾ teaspoon rum extract
Process the bread in a food processor until it turns into crumbs. Measure out ½ cup, spread it on a baking sheet, and toast until dark brown but not burned. Cool to room temperature.
Combine the cream, milk, and brown sugar in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until hot but not bubbling. Temper the egg yolks by slowly pouring 1 cup of the hot mixture into the egg yolks while whisking constantly.
Pour the egg yolk mixture into the pot while stirring and cook until slightly thickened and steaming, but not bubbling. Remove from the heat. Pour the mixture through a sieve and stir in the rum extract. Cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming, and cool to room temperature. Chill until very cold, about 6 hours or overnight. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Add the bread crumbs and churn another 2 minutes before transferring to an airtight container and placing in the freezer.
Makes about 5½ cups
Do not use whole wheat bread for this recipe. It is brown, true, but it imparts an unpleasant grittiness to the ice cream.
Apple Crumble is a popular dessert, and if you serve it with ice cream anyway, why not just combine the two? This is one of the best ice creams you'll ever eat.
Apple “Filling”
¼ stick (2 tablespoons) butter
1 tart apple, such as Granny Smith, peeled, cored, and chopped into ¼-inch pieces
1 sweet apple, such as Gala, peeled, cored, and chopped into ¼-inch pieces
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Crumble “Topping”
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ stick (4 tablespoons) butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
Ice Cream
1fi cups heavy cream
1fi cups whole milk
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
For the apples, heat the butter in a skillet and add the apples, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring and scraping constantly, until the apples are softened and caramelized, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, cool to room temperature, and chill until cold.
For the crumble, preheat the oven to 350°F. Whisk together the flour, sugars, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles wet sand. Spread the mixture on a baking sheet and bake 15 to 20 minutes until crisp and golden. Cool to room temperature, then chill until cold, uncovered to keep it from getting soft.
For the ice cream, combine the cream, milk, and sugar in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until hot but not bubbling. Temper the egg yolks by slowly pouring ½ cup of the hot mixture into the egg yolks while whisking constantly. Pour the egg yolk mixture into the pot while stirring and cook until slightly thickened and steaming, but not bubbling. Remove from the heat.
Pour the mixture through a sieve and stir in the vanilla extract. Cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming, and cool to room temperature. Chill until very cold, about 6 hours or overnight. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Add the apples and crumble and churn another 2 minutes before transferring to an airtight container and placing in the freezer.
Makes about 6 cups
This is a great way to use up your mincemeat filling if you're making mince pies — and if you don't want the bother of making the ice cream itself, just soften a quart of store-bought vanilla ice cream, fold in the mincemeat filling, and refreeze the ice cream until firm.
1½ cups heavy cream
1fi cups whole milk
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup mincemeat filling from Mince Pies (Chapter 5)
Combine the cream, milk, and sugar in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until hot but not bubbling. Temper the egg yolks by slowly pouring ½ cup of the hot mixture into the egg yolks while whisking constantly. Pour the egg yolk mixture into the pot while stirring and cook until slightly thickened and steaming, but not bubbling. Remove from the heat.
Pour the mixture through a sieve and stir in the vanilla extract. Cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming, and cool to room temperature. Chill until very cold, about 6 hours or overnight. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Fold in the mincemeat filling with a rubber spatula before transferring ice cream to an airtight container and placing in the freezer.
Makes about 5 cups
This is a surprisingly good recipe. Rather than folding in a cup of crumbled Christmas pudding, as some recipes suggest, this recipe imitates the flavors of the famous pudding by incorporating some of the ingredients that go into making it.
1½ cups heavy cream
1fi cups whole milk
¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
About 10 whole cloves
About 10 whole allspice
3 large egg yolks
¾ teaspoon rum extract
¼ cup dark raisins
¼ cup golden raisins
¼ cup dried currants or dried sweetened cranberries
½ cup chopped toasted almonds
Combine the cream, milk, brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and allspice in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until hot but not bubbling. Temper the egg yolks by slowly pouring ½ cup of the hot mixture into the egg yolks while whisking constantly. Pour the egg yolk mixture into the pot while stirring and cook until slightly thickened and steaming, but not bubbling. Remove from the heat and stir in the rum extract.
Pour the mixture through a sieve. Cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming, and cool to room temperature. Chill until very cold, about 6 hours or overnight.
Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Add the dried fruits and the almonds and churn another 2 minutes before transferring to an airtight container and placing in the freezer.
Makes about 5½ cups
Whenever Hagrid pats someone, the result is usually dramatic, meaning the recipient gets knocked down. So when Hagrid shows his appreciation to Harry and Ron for getting him out of Azkaban, he pushes them into their plates of trifle (see
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
, Chapter 18).
Although the classic trifle should be some kind of cake or biscuit placed in the bottom of a dish, wetted with wine, and then layered over with custard or fruit and whipped cream, trifle appears so many times in the Harry Potter books that a chocolate variation is called for. Any chocoholic will agree!
1 recipe Chocolate Cake from Harry's First Birthday Cake, baked and cooled (Chapter 4)
1 recipe Chocolate Glaze from Chocolate Éclairs, prepared with 1 teaspoon instant coffee
1 recipe Chocolate Pastry Cream from Chocolate Éclairs, prepared and chilled
1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup toffee bits
Place 1 cake layer in the bottom of a round 9-inch serving dish, preferably clear glass, about 3 inches deep. Eat the other cake layer as you work.
Pour the glaze over the cake layer and spread to the edges of the dish. Allow it to harden (you can refrigerate it for a few minutes to speed it up), then pour the pastry cream on top of the glaze and spread it to the edges. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold, or up to 2 days.
Before serving, combine the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl and beat until stiff peaks form. Remove the plastic wrap and spread or pipe the whipped cream over the chocolate pastry cream. Sprinkle the toffee bits on top and serve.
Serves 8 to 10