Thursday, July 16, 2009

Harry Potter Day


Harry Potter Day
Originally uploaded by watchjennybake.
Any day a Harry Potter book or movie comes out is a self-declared Harry Potter Day. Luckily for the universe, they decided to split the last book into two movies, meaning there will be two more Harry Potter Days in our known world. Two summers ago I made treacle tart and pumpkin pasties, and decided to bring back the treacle tart again this year.

I'm hoping by the time the next Harry Potter Day rolls around, I will have mastered modeling chocolate. I'm dying to make chocolate frogs. And if anyone knows where to find Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean that Jelly Bellies made in the past, please let me know (although really I needed them for today).

Treacle Tart
Treacle is another name for golden syrup, a light molasses popular in the UK and other places. It is delicious, and while I've seen corn syrup used in some treacle tart recipes, it isn't treacle if it isn't golden!

This tart isn't a hit with everyone - it seems like people either love or hate it. The molasses is sweet, sure, but the lemon and ginger really make it a complicated treat. Of course, this is Harry Potter's favorite treat, so to me it belongs on every Harry Potter Day.

Cauldron Cake
I really wanted to make a cauldron cake this year, since Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince chronicles how Harry actually gets quite good at potion making because of whoever the Half-Blood Prince is (didn't want to spoil it for you if you didn't know). A recipe I found on Potterparties.com gave me the idea of putting a marshmallow in the middle of a cupcake prior to baking. After it had baked the full 20 minutes, the marshmallow had bubbled and browned, creating a cauldron in the cupcake that wanted to be filled with something. I wanted something to fit the unreal universe of Harry Potter, so I dyed vanilla pudding neon green.

Categories: Cake, Chocolate, Harry Potter, Pudding, Tart, Treacle

10 comments:

David T. Macknet said...

Treacle ... isn't molasses. We've bought some, here: it's burned sugar (preserved with sulfur). Not what you'd want, really, to substitute for molasses. Bleh!

The cake/pie sounds yummy, though!

Eliana said...

Happy Harry Potter Day to you! Your treats look wonderful.

Unknown said...

love it all! i have always wanted to make/try treacle tart. looks yummy! i can't wait to see the movie

Michele said...

Wow! So adorable!

Anna said...

THIS IS SO AWESOME!!! I'm going to have to try baking some Harry Potter goodies...and then go see the movie again!

Ms. Baking said...

Your blog lookes amazing!
and the baked goods you make also look yummy.
I just started a blog for baking too.
I've never baked before, so it's like a progress making blog.
Hope you check it out!

Happy Baking! :)

syarlilady said...

Harry Potter Day! Why I never thought of that before? I love Harry Potter and I love baking. I like how the treacle tart looks like. However, I would skip the ginger.beclisti

Molly Jean said...

How cute is that?! Love the dyed green filling!

Anonymous said...

Im having a harry potter party this friday and I think Im going to try putting the marshmallow in the cupcakes- thanks!

Unknown said...

I love to make cauldron cakes every year, my children love them. It has become a yearly tradition. I also put pudding in mine but I use pistachio pudding because its already green and I put black food coloring in the chocolate cake mix so the cauldrons are black. We call them cauldron cakes with putrid pudding, I know it doesn't sound too appetizing but it tastes good and it's fun. We also sprinkle pop rocks candy in varying flavors and colors on them just before serving, it makes the cauldron sound like magic!
Real treacle tarts are the best! yum!! yours looks so good!!! great idea.