Happy early birthday Harry Potter! It’s on July 31st if you were wondering. Instead of a misspelled cake from Hagrid, let’s celebrate with a big ol’ glass of frozen butterbeer.

I was definitely within the target demographic for Harry Potter as the books were released in the US. So I grew up reading them as they came out. I enjoyed them. It was magical and captivating and written in a way that kind of matured as the series progressed.

And so, being a long-time fan, I was excited to see the Harry Potter section (now sections) at Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Orlando. It was fun and the theming was immaculate. Down to the food.

They offered butterbeer as both a regular and a frozen option. And in the colder months, I think they also offer butterbeer-flavored hot chocolate. Since I first went in the heat of summer (probably the worst time to go), my wife and I opted for the frozen variety.

We were hooked

So then I had to learn how to make it myself. Naturally. We even have a couple of souvenir cups from some of our very first trips.

And this is actually the second recipe on the site inspired by my not-so-secret love affair with certain Orlando area theme parks. My fried potato and onion strings recipe was inspired by the parks and it is also currently the most viewed recipe on the site. So check it out.

What even is Frozen Butterbeer?

While I’m not sure what the author originally intended, or what I even first thought as I read through the series, it is a sweet drink where cream, vanilla, and butterscotch flavors combine.

I’m basing my recipe on what I had at Universal Studios. It uses cream soda as a base with butterscotch sauce mixed in for flavor and a butterscotch-infused whipped topping. It is non-alcoholic (though I suppose you could add your own to the recipe).

Since this is a frozen butterbeer recipe, we will also blend it together with some ice. Honestly, I haven’t tried it any other way because why would I not want a frozen treat?

Also, because it is frozen, try to have everything that is going into the recipe be as cold as possible. It’ll help keep everything frozen longer after you blend it together. Cold cream soda will especially help.

And I also must admit that I usually use this beast of a Margaritaville machine to whip up a batch of this stuff. But don’t worry, it is not a required tool. It is complete overkill. A simple blender will work great. I just like the fact that I can shave the ice into it before blending it together, and then that I can dispense the drink right from the blender.

A Sum of Its Parts

When I originally planned on making this frozen butterbeer recipe, I went to the store looking for some butterscotch sauce. Typically I would just buy some Smucker’s butterscotch sundae syrup and use that while making the butterbeer. But I couldn’t find any in the store.

So I decided to make some myself since I really wanted frozen butterbeer. You can use either store-bought butterscotch or make your own homemade butterscotch sauce. If you are looking for it in the store, look near the chocolate syrup, by the ice cream toppings, or even somewhere around the ice cream aisles themselves.

The drink is topped off with delicious butterscotch whipped cream – that I usually mix into my drink after I have taken just a sip or two. This is a homemade recipe that is based on my original whipped cream recipe, just replacing the sugar with butterscotch sauce.

You can also add some cream soda to the mix if you want it a little more pourable than the typical stiff whipped cream peaks.

When I whipped together this batch of frozen butterbeer, we put on one of the movies and watched it all together. My niece and nephew got huge whipped cream mustaches and enjoyed every minute of it.

Keep your magic alive!

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Harry Potter’s Frozen Butterbeer

Recipe by Marc PetersonCourse: DrinksDifficulty: Easy

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking timeminutes

Total time

15

minutes

Enjoy Harry Potter’s favorite drink with this frozen butterbeer recipe – a sweet drink where cream, vanilla, and butterscotch flavors combine

Ingredients

• Butterscotch Whipped Cream Topping

• 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream

• 1/3 cup butterscotch sauce

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 tablespoons cream soda (optional)

• Frozen Butterbeer

• 4 to 5 cups cream soda

• 3/4 cup butterscotch sauce

• 4 to 5 cups ice cubes

• 1 batch butterscotch whipped cream topping (from above)

Directions

• Butterscotch Whipped Cream Topping
• Combine cream, butterscotch sauce, vanilla, and cream soda (if you are using it) in a tall mixing bowl
• Use a hand mixer, a stand mixer, or an immersion blender with a whisk attachment to whip it together, moving the tool throughout the cream for 2 to 5 minutes until medium peaks form
• Frozen Butterbeer
• Add the cream soda, butterscotch sauce, and ice into a blender and mix on high until smooth
• Add more ice if needed and blend until smooth
• Pour into cups for serving, and top each cup with 2 to 4 tablespoons of butterscotch whipped cream topping

Notes

• Try to start off with cold ingredients, it will keep everything frozen longer
• Definitely tastes better when watching the movies…

The post Harry Potter’s Frozen Butterbeer Recipe appeared first on Do You Roux?.

I actually wasn’t planning on making my own butterscotch sauce. But I had another recipe to make that required butterscotch and the store was all out. Normally I just purchase some Smucker’s butterscotch sundae syrup. But the section where ice cream toppings are was empty, as were the end caps near the freezer section with the ice cream. But in the end, it was kind of nice to be forced to make this from scratch. It added to my overall kitchen repertoire.

Basically, I’m saying I’m that much more awesome now. And you can be too!

This recipe hews very closely to the buttery salted caramel sauce that I have made before. However, there are some key differences that will make this taste entirely different than that caramelized sauce.

Making this took me a couple of tries actually. I was thinking too much of my caramel sauce. I’ve made that sauce many times, so I wasn’t approaching this recipe fresh. There were some preconceived notions and methods. And they were wrong. Though I have failed, you do not have to. Learn from my mistakes.

Butterscotch vs Caramel

So what was my great mistake?

I tried cooking everything for far too long. When making caramel, you have to cook the sugar long enough that it will melt and then begin to caramelize. And because I was so used to making that caramel sauce, I tried to do it the same way but with the main altered ingredient (more on that below). Butterscotch does not need to cook long, and in fact, should not caramelize. Essentially I kind of made a toffee sauce.

So in my first attempt, I ended up making a weird hybrid caramelized butterscotch. It wasn’t bad, but the flavor had too much caramel to it. And it wouldn’t work for my purposes. So I looked more into making butterscotch and changed the error of my ways.

Besides the cooking time, the biggest difference between a caramel and a butterscotch sauce is granulated white sugar vs brown sugar. Brown sugar is what helps give butterscotch its signature flavor.

Brown sugar is a type of sugar that still has some molasses content in it. This can be due to how the sugar is processed, or by just adding molasses to some refined sugar.

Using Your Butterscotch Sauce

The recipe I wanted to make with butterscotch sauce was some good old Harry Potter Butterbeer. It is an interesting combination of cream soda and butterscotch. Plus it is really fun and great for drinking while watching any of the Harry Potter movies.

However, butterbeer is not the only option for using your homemade sauce. Try topping ice cream, pancakes, or waffles, whisking it into hot chocolate, filling a cake with it, drizzling it over cupcakes/frosting, mixing it with whipped cream, or just eating a straight spoonful.

Note that if you are using it with ice cream you will definitely want to let the sauce cool down before topping it. No sense melting your ice cream with hot-off-the-stove butterscotch.

Whatever your end goal with butterscotch, it is relatively easy to make your own sauce at home and well worth the effort. In no time you can have your own homemade golden-yellow sauce cooked to perfection.

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Homemade Butterscotch Sauce

Recipe by Marc PetersonCourse: Desserts, SaucesDifficulty: Moderate

Servings

12

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

Total time

15

minutes

A golden-yellow sauce homemade from brown sugar, butter, and cream that is perfect for drizzling over all sorts of desserts

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)

• 1 cup brown sugar

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 teaspoon large flaky salt

Directions

• Add the butter and brown sugar to a saucepan on medium heat, stirring occasionally until the butter is all melted and fully combined with the brown sugar – it will look kind of like dark wet sand
• Whisk the cream into the brown sugar mixture until fully combined
• Add in the vanilla and salt and whisk it together
• Cook it to the desired consistency then remove from heat and let cool before using – cooking longer will release moisture and lead to a thicker sauce

The post How to Make Homemade Butterscotch Sauce appeared first on Do You Roux?.