The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook (4 page)

Serves 8 to 10

For quick and easy trifle, use store-bought sponge or pound cake and instant vanilla pudding instead of the homemade custard.

Yellow Loaf Cake

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1½ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

½ cup whole milk, at room temperature

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease and flour an 8½″ × 4½″ loaf pan. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
   

2. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each to combine and scraping down as needed, about 30 seconds. Add the vanilla and beat until combined.
   

3. Add the flour mixture and milk alternately, beginning and ending with the flour and using the slowest speed on your mixer. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and gently fold the batter together with a rubber spatula, taking care not to over mix.
   

4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake about 1 hour, or until the cake feels firm when touched lightly in the center or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan.
   

Custard

1½ cups whole milk plus ½ cup heavy cream or 2 cups whole milk

½ cup granulated sugar (divided)

¼ cup cornstarch

¼ teaspoon salt

4 large egg yolks

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

¼ stick (2 tablespoons) butter (only if not using any heavy cream)

1. Combine the milk or milk and heavy cream, ¼ cup of the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a small saucepan. In a medium bowl, whisk the yolks with the remaining ¼ cup of sugar until smooth.
   

2. Heat the milk mixture over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until it is hot but not bubbling. Reduce the heat to low. Pour 1 cup of the hot mixture in a slow stream into the egg yolk mixture while whisking quickly to temper the egg yolks. Pour the egg yolk mixture slowly back into the saucepan while stirring constantly. Return to medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and begins to boil. (Once the mixture begins to thicken, it must be handled gently so the cornstarch won't lose its thickening power.)
   

3. Remove the pan from the heat and add the vanilla. Add the butter if you did not use heavy cream. Stir gently until the butter is melted and combined. Strain the custard through a sieve into a bowl to ensure a smooth custard. (Use a rubber spatula to push the custard through the sieve.) Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold.
   

They had the soup; they had the salmon; now they're listening to Uncle Vernon talk about his work while they eat lemon meringue pie. Soon Aunt Marge will have too much brandy and soon Harry will get into lots of trouble (see
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
, Chapter 2).

Pie Crust

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

½ teaspoon salt

½ stick (4 tablespoons) cold butter, cut into chunks

4 tablespoons vegetable shortening, chilled and cut into chunks

4–6 tablespoons ice water

Lemon Filling

1¼ cups granulated sugar

1/3 cup cornstarch

1½ cups water

4 large egg yolks, lightly beaten (save the egg whites for the meringue)

½ cup lemon juice

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

¼ stick (2 tablespoons) butter

Meringue Topping

4 large egg whites, at room temperature

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup granulated sugar

1. For the crust, combine the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse 2 or 3 times to combine. Sprinkle the butter and shortening over the flour mixture and pulse about 15 times, until the mixture resembles coarse yellow meal. Turn the mixture out into a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle 4 tablespoons ice water over the flour mixture, and toss with a spatula until the dough starts to clump together. If the dough is dry, add more ice water 1 tablespoon at a time. Gather the dough together in a ball, pat it into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for 1 hour or up to 3 days.
   

2. On a floured surface, roll out the dough to an 11-inch circle. Fold the dough into quarters and brush off the excess flour after each fold. Unfold the dough into the pie pan, fitting it in carefully without pulling or stretching. Trim the dough, leaving 1 inch of overhang; fold the overhang under and crimp the edges, either by pressing down with the tines of a fork or by pinching with your fingers. Prick the bottom and sides with a fork. Place the crust in the freezer for about 30 minutes. While the crust is freezing, preheat the oven to 425°F.
   

3. Spread a sheet of aluminum foil inside the frozen pie crust; press the foil into the edges and be sure to cover the rim. Fill the crust with pie weights or beans and bake until the crust is dry and set, 15 to 20 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350°F, remove the foil, and continue to bake until the crust is golden brown, about 8 more minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
   

4. For the filling, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and water in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan and stir until the cornstarch is dissolved. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. Whisk in the yolks and continue cooking and stirring until the mixture is thick and bubbling. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and butter. Stir gently until fully incorporated.
   

5. For the meringue, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, salt, and vanilla until soft mounds form. Add the sugar gradually while beating on medium speed. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until the egg whites are stiff and glossy but not dry.
   

6. To assemble and bake the pie, preheat the oven to 350°F. Pour the filling into the crust. Spread the meringue over the filling, taking care to seal the edges to prevent the meringue from shrinking. Make peaks and swirls in the meringue with the back of a spoon or fork.
   

7. Bake the pie until the meringue browns, about 15 minutes. Cool the pie before serving. Serve cold or at room temperature.
   

Serves 8

Save your baking of lemon meringue pie for dry weather. Humidity can cause your lovely meringue to weep, which means you'll find beads of caramel-colored moisture gathering atop your snowy mound.

For perfectly beaten egg whites, make sure the beaters and the bowl are squeaky clean and grease free; a tiny amount of grease can cause the whites not to beat properly. A tiny amount of yolk won't affect the outcome. Add the sugar slowly only when soft mounds begin to form.

The last day of Aunt Marge's visit, Aunt Petunia serves soup, which Harry manages to get through uneventfully before finally losing it and blowing up Aunt Marge (see
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
, Chapter 2).

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, rinsed and patted dry

1 onion, finely chopped

2 carrots, sliced

2 celery ribs, finely chopped

6 cups water

1 tart apple, such as Granny Smith, peeled, cored, and diced

1 tablespoon curry

1 tablespoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 cups cooked long grain white rice (½ cup dry rice will yield about 2 cups cooked)

Shredded sweetened coconut, optional, for serving

1. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or wide pot. Sear the chicken over high heat on both sides until golden and crispy, about 4 minutes per side. Remove chicken from the pot and set aside.
   

2. Pour off the fat, leaving about 2 tablespoons in the pot. Add the onions, carrots, and celery, stirring and scraping over medium heat until the onions are softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the water, apple, curry, salt, and pepper.
   

3. Add the chicken back to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, until the chicken is tender. Remove the chicken from the pot. Discard the skin and bones, cut the chicken into bite-size pieces, and return it to the pot. Using a wide spoon such as a serving spoon, skim the fat off the surface. Stir in the rice.
   

4. To serve, sprinkle a small handful of coconut, if using, over each bowl.
   

Serves 6

Ah, sweet revenge! The summer that Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia put Dudley on a strict diet, Harry revels in his knowledge of the good food hidden upstairs in his room while Dudley starves in the kitchen. When Harry informs his friends of the severe diet imposed on the whole family, they loyally send him fabulous birthday cakes. The following four cakes are an imagining of what Ron, Hermione, Hagrid, and Sirius sent to Harry (see
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
, Chapter 3).

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1½ sticks (12 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

½ cup raspberry jam

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Whipped cream, for serving, optional

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl and set aside.
   

2. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one a time, beating after each until incorporated and scraping down the sides as needed. Add the flour mixture and mix on the slowest speed until combined. Finish by scraping down and folding the batter together with a rubber spatula.
   

3. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and bake for about 20 minutes until the cakes are golden brown around the edges — the tops of the cakes will be pale — and the cakes feel soft but set when touched lightly in the center or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack and cool completely.
   

4. To assemble the cake, place one cake on a cardboard round top-side down and spread with the raspberry jam all the way to the edges. Top with the second cake, top-side up, and dust generously with confectioners' sugar. Serve with whipped cream and have it with tea.