The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook (29 page)

You can simplify this recipe by using chocolate cake mix and instant chocolate pudding. It won't be as good, but it will look impressive. And if you're still a kid, or a kid at heart, you'll enjoy it anyway.

The whole ordeal is over. The monster behind the mysterious attacks has been destroyed — by Harry Potter, of course — and Harry's good name, as well as Hagrid's, is restored. The feast following Harry's recuperation is one of the best he's ever seen, and life just gets better when Professor Dumbledore announces, while Ron eats a jam doughnut, that Lockhart is leaving for good (see
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
, Chapter 18).

½ cup warm water

4½ teaspoons (2 packets) dry yeast

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter

1 cup whole milk

2 large eggs

5 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1½ teaspoons salt

4 cups peanut oil (see note)

Raspberry jam, for filling (pastry bag with metal tip required)

Confectioner's sugar, for dusting

1. Combine the water, yeast, and 1 tablespoon sugar in a mixing bowl and let it stand until the yeast is dissolved and the mixture is puffy. Heat the butter and milk in the microwave or in a small saucepan over low heat until the butter is melted. Whisk the eggs into the milk mixture.
   

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Whisk together the milk and yeast mixtures and pour it into the flour mixture. Attach the dough hook and knead the dough on the slowest speed for about 10 minutes; after the first few minutes the dough should clean the sides of the bowl. If the dough is very sticky, add more flour ¼ cup at a time. Remove the dough from the mixer and knead it for 30 seconds on a lightly dusted surface. You can also knead this dough by hand, either in the bowl or on a floured surface. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, turning to coat the dough on all sides. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and leave it to rise in a warm, draft-free place, about 1½ to 2 hours, until doubled in size.
   

3. Remove the dough from the bowl and roll it out ½-inch thick on a floured surface. Cut circles of dough with a 3-inch cutter. Cut the remaining scraps into 3-inch pieces. Place the dough circles and scraps on a piece of floured parchment paper and leave them to rise for 1½ to 2 hours until doubled in size.
   

4. Line two or three baking sheets with four layers of paper towels. Clip a candy thermometer onto a 4-quart pot and pour in the peanut oil. Heat the oil over a medium flame until the thermometer registers 350°F (or a piece of bread dropped in the oil bubbles instantly but doesn't turn dark brown right away).
   

5. Carefully place three or four doughnuts into the 4. oil. Fry until golden, about 1 to 1½ minutes per side. Bring the temperature back up to 350°F between batches. Transfer the doughnuts with a metal slotted spatula to the paper-towel-lined baking sheets. Repeat until all the doughnuts and scraps are fried.
   

6. Sift the confectioners' sugar generously over the warm doughnuts. When the doughnuts are cool, fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain metal tip with the jam. Plunge the tip into the bottom of each doughnut and squirt in a small amount of jam.
   

Makes about 1½ dozen doughnuts

If you plan to make these doughnuts often, it is worthwhile to invest $5 in a flavor injector, the kind with a sharp needlelike squirter. If you use one of these, plunge the needle tip through the side; it will leave a barely detectable hole.

Harry is furious. He just lost his temper with Professor Umbridge, and when he enters the Great Hall for dinner everyone's talking about it. Unable to eat, he angrily asks why no one believes Dumbledore anymore. An equally angry but sympathetic Hermione forcefully suggests they leave the Great Hall, and a hungry Ron sadly leaves his apple pie behind (see
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
, Chapter 13).

Pie Crust

2½ cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1¼ sticks (10 tablespoons) cold butter, cut into chunks

10 tablespoons vegetable shortening, chilled and cut into chunks

½ cup ice water

Filling

8 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and chopped

Juice and grated zest of 1 lemon

¾ cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 egg, lightly beaten, to brush over the crust

Sugar, for sprinkling the crust

1. For the crust, place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Scatter the pieces of butter and shortening over the flour mixture. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse yellow meal without any white powdery bits remaining, about 20 pulses. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle ½ cup water over the mixture and toss with a rubber spatula until the dough sticks together. Add more water 1 tablespoon at a time if the dough is dry (better too wet than too dry). Divide the dough in half, form into disks, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.
   

2. To assemble and bake the pie, adjust the oven rack to the lowest position and place a baking sheet on the rack. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
   

3. Remove one of the disks of dough from the refrigerator and roll it out on a floured surface to an 11-inch circle. Fold the dough into quarters, brushing off the excess flour with a pastry brush after each fold. Unfold the dough inside a 9-inch pie pan. Trim the overhang to 1 inch. Put the pan in the refrigerator while preparing the filling.
   

4. Combine the filling ingredients and pour them into the prepared crust, mounding the apples in the center.
   

5. Remove the second disk of dough from the refrigerator and roll it out on a floured surface to a 10-inch circle. Fold the dough into quarters and then unfold it onto the pie. Trim the dough even with the edges of the pan. Fold the over-hang over the edges of the top crust and crimp it to seal the edges, either by pressing down with the tines of a fork or by pinching with your fingers. If desired, cut out shapes of leaves from the scraps of dough and attach them with a little water.
   

6. Brush the beaten egg over the crust with a pastry brush. Cut slits in the top crust to form air vents. Sprinkle the crust generously with sugar. Place the pie in the oven in the middle of the baking sheet (the baking sheet will catch drips and prevent smoking). Bake the pie for 1½ to 2 hours, or until the crust is golden and the juices are bubbling out.
   

Serves 8

A helpful hint to prevent a soggy crust and soupy filling: put the filling ingredients into a pot and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 20 minutes until the apples are softened and release their juices. Drain the filling thoroughly and cool to room temperature before using. You may need to reduce the baking time by ½ hour.

Ron and Hermione are quarreling. Again. Hermione is furious because Ron can't apologize for insulting Nearly Headless Nick — his mouth is stuffed too full of food. Harry's not getting involved. He'd rather enjoy his dinner, finishing off with his favorite dessert of treacle tart (see
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
, Chapter 11).

Tart Crust

2½ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup confectioners' sugar

½ teaspoon salt

2 sticks cold butter, cut into chunks

2 cold large egg yolks

1/3 cup cold heavy cream

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Filling

1 cup golden syrup or light molasses or corn syrup

2¼ cups fresh bread crumbs

Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for brushing over the crust

1. For the crust, place the flour, confectioners' sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Scatter the pieces of butter over the flour mixture. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse yellow meal without any white powdery bits remaining, about 20 pulses. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl. Beat the egg yolks with the cream and vanilla and pour them into the flour-butter mixture. Toss with a spatula until the dough clumps together. If the dough is dry, add 1 more tablespoon heavy cream (better too wet than too dry). Divide the dough in half, form into disks, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.
   

2. Just before you are ready to roll out the dough, prepare the filling. Warm the golden syrup in a saucepan until it is runny, or microwave it for 1 minute. Combine the golden syrup, bread crumbs, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a mixing bowl and mix well.
   

3. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. On a floured surface, roll out the larger disk to an 11-inch circle. Fold it into quarters, brush off the excess flour with a pastry brush after each fold, then unfold it into a 9-inch tart pan, easing the sides gently into the pan and pressing the dough into the fluted edges. Trim the dough even with the rim. Roll out the second disk 1/8-inch thick. Cut the dough in long strips for the lattice topping.
   

4. Scrape the filling into the prepared crust and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Lay half the strips of dough over the filling in one direction and the other half in the opposite direction to form a lattice. Trim the overhang. Gently brush the beaten egg over the lattice.
   

5. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 375°F and bake another 25 minutes until the crust is browned and the filling puffs up in the center. Serve warm with custard or whipped cream.
   

Serves 8

Tart dough is hard to roll out because it is sticky and tears easily. Make sure the surface you work on is generously floured. If the dough sticks, simply scrape it off, clump it back together, and reroll it. If the dough breaks or tears, don't worry. You can easily patch it in the pan with extra pieces of dough and a bit of water.