{ Profiteroles with Butterbeer Sauce }

Do you know what yesterday was? Well, it was Ron Weasley's 36th Birthday! In honor of him, I decided to whip up a treat. What could be more fitting of Ron than for me to post it a day late?

Ron is one of my favorite characters. I mean, I have a LOT of favorites, but Ron ranks right up there in the top, top. He's probably my 2nd favorite right after Luna. The thing I love about Ron is how fabulously flawed he is. Jo can really write her some fantastic true to life people. Ron is a good friend, but he's also very jealous, he's a slacker, but he can do amazing things when he puts his mind to it, Ron needs attention, Ron pouts, Ron is caring, Ron is a good son, Ron can be a brat. I love him.

Rupert Grint is perfection as Ron.

My favorite movie is quite controversial: Half Blood Prince. HBP is famously panned as being the least accurate movie. I can't help that I love it. It has great humor, it's a lot of fun but with very serious moments, and I enjoy it tremendously. My favorite scene in all the Potter movies is this one- starring, you guessed it- Ron.

He eats a box full of candy with a very strong love potion in them. I love the way Rupert Grint plays this scene. I've seen it 100 times, but I still laugh every time.

In HBP Hermione, Harry, Neville, and Ginny are all invited to go to the Slug Club dinner party with Professor Slughorn. Ron is not invited. Not only is Ron not invited, Slughorn can never even get his name right. At the party, Slughorn serves a lovely dessert: Profiteroles.

Since my buddy Ron didn't get to have any- and let's be honest, he'd of loved to, I made him some for his birthday. Mine have a Butterbeer sauce. I win, Slughorn. I win.

Profiterole is just a fancy name for your basic cream puff. They are made from a Pâte à Choux pastry. I know that sound intimidating, but Pâte à Choux is easy. SO easy. Fancy names are scary, but this stuff is easy peasy.

You can fill your profiteroles with a variety of things like your basic whipped cream, a pastry cream, custard, ice cream etc. You can even fill them with jam. For these, I filled them with vanilla pudding. Yes, from a box mix.  You can make your own if you'd like though!

The Butterbeer sauce is also very easy to make. You basically just cook and stir. Anyone can do that, right?

When you are finished you will have a most impressive looking dessert that really wasn't hard at all! Your friends and family don't need to know that (cue the 80's Rice Krispy Treat commercial).

Happy Birthday, Ron! Have a profiterole tower or two!

Tina

See all my Harry Potter posts here, including crafts, recipes, travel tips for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and two massive parties.

Profiteroles with Butterbeer Sauce

by Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers

1 recipe Pâte à Choux- prepared and baked as instructed here

2 boxes Instant Vanilla Pudding prepared as stated on boxes, cooled and thickened

1 recipe Butterbeer Sauce (below)

After your cream puff pastry has fully cooled, use a spare icing tip (or a knife) and carefully poke a hole in the bottom of each puff.

Using a pastry bag fitting with an injector tip and filled with your pudding, inject each puff with pudding until full.

Drizzle with slightly warm Butterbeer Sauce and serve. Great with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Fill only puffs you intend to eat at that time. Save the rest of the shells in an airtight container. They will keep for a few days. You can re-crisp these if they become soft by baking for about 5 minutes on 350 F. 

Butterbeer Sauce

by Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons light corn syrup

In a small sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add in milk, brown sugar and corn syrup. Cook until thickened, but do not allow to boil. Remove from heat, add vanilla. Allow to cool until warm. Serve warm. Store in refrigerator for  up to one week.

{ Happy Birthday, Dobby! Butterbeer Mini Cake}

Today is the birthday of one of my favorite characters in the Potterverse.

Dobby the House Elf.

Now, let me tell you a little secret. When Dobby first arrived in Chamber of Secrets Ididntlikehim.

What? C'mon. I am NOT alone here. He was a weird little annoying thing cause Harry all sorts of issues. I actually feared he was the Jar Jar Binks of the Wizarding World. Once he made it to the screen, I was even LESS convinced. However, time wore on, pages were read, love was built, tears were shed.

I apologize, deeply, and fully, dear Dobby. I'm sorry I thought such things of you. You were brave and loyal. You'd be a true Gryffindor. So, I made you some cake. It's Butterbeer flavor AND House Elf sized!!

I made this cake with a set of 4" Wilton pans. They come in a pack of three. Each pan takes about the same amount as 2 cupcakes. So, basically, this cake is 6 cupcakes big.

I used the rest of the batter to make cupcakes, because why not?

Happy Birthday, little guy! Tonight I raise a glass of Butterbeer to toast in your honor.

Want more Happy Birthdays to Dobby? Check out Darla's from last year! Butterbeer Krispy Cake!

Tina

See all of my Harry Potter recipes here.

See my Harry Potter Parties here and here!


House Elf Sized Butterbeer Cake
by Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers

Needed: 4" Wilton pans (comes in set of 3)
Butterbeer Cake & Butterbeer Icing recipe

{Butterbeer Cupcakes}

Yes, it's another Harry Potter inspired post.

This surprises anyone?

Well, not only is it nearly Halloween, but, it's also the birthday of yet another favorite character. Really, she's the glue that holds so many of them together.

She's awesome.

She is Molly Weasley.

photo property of Warner Bros. Studios

She's an amazing mother and a talented, powerful witch. I love her.  Her kids are definitely her first priority and she sure makes them tow the line. No slackers in the Weasley family. She's so strong. She lived through the death of her 2 brothers in the first wizarding war,  she raised 7 children (6 of them boys), became a member of the Order of the Phoenix, watched one son abandon the family,  nursed  her husband and 2 of her sons through grave injuries, and watched another son die.  Oh, and, she totally took down Bellatrix Lastrange single-handedly mere hours after her son died.

Bellatrix Lestrange: "What will happen to your children when I've killed you? When Mummy's gone the same way as Freddie?"

Molly: "You — will — never — touch — our — children — again!"

And let's be honest here, she's got one of the best lines in the entire series.

         Molly: "Not my daughter, you b!t@h!"

The Weasley family may have been poor, but they were never lacking in morals or love, thanks to Molly and Arthur. Molly also considered Harry her own. In Order of the Phoenix when Sirius proclaims that Harry is not her son, she replies back hotly that "He's as good as!".

So, basically... she's.. yeah. awesome.

Today is her birthday. She's normally making the food for people. I know how that feels, so, these, Molly, are for you.

I know Butterbeer Cupcakes have been done and done again, but these? So easy. They start with a box mix. I know, right? Just splash in a few extras, whip up some easy buttercream, and you are done.

Oh, yeah, they also taste AWESOME. Butterbeery. Good. Molly would like them, I know.

That is, if Ron left her any... You know how he is.


Happy Birthday, Molly!

Tina



See all my Harry Potter posts (recipes, crafts, and two massive parties!) here.

If you haven’t already,  you can ‘like’ my Facebook page here, and follow me on twitter here, and you can follow me on instagram here.


Easy Butterbeer Cupcakes
by Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers

Yellow Cake Mix (and eggs/oil it calls for)
Vanilla Cream Soda
1/2 teaspoon Butter Flavoring
1/4 cup Butterscotch ice cream topping

Prepare cupcake pan with liners and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 F.

Prepare cake as directed on back of box, except use the vanilla cream soda in place of the water that the recipe calls for. After mixing the cake mix, cream soda, eggs, and oil, add in the butter flavoring, and the ice cream topping. Mix again until distributed.

Scoop batter into cupcake liners and bake for approx. 19 minutes. 

Allow to fully cool before adding Butterbeer Buttercream

Butterbeer (Butterscotch) Buttercream
by Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers

3/4 cup butter (softened)
1/4 cup shortening (I prefer Crisco)
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup butterscotch ice cream topping
pinch of salt
Milk*

Beat the butter and shortening until fluffy. Slowly add in the powdered sugar. Beat for about 3 minutes. Add in the salt and ice cream topping. Mix until distributed.

*you shouldn't need any milk with the liquid ice cream topping, but if you find the buttercream too thick, add milk 1 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency.

Drizzle extra butterscotch topping on top of cupcakes & add sprinkles if desired.

{Butterbeer Shake}

(See all my Potter recipes & parties here)

So, today is yet another of my favorite character's birthdays. For years, Remus Lupin was my favorite character outside of the Harry Potter Trio. Then, I met the wonder that was Luna Lovegood, and it was over. She was, is, and will forever be my favorite character. When I grow up, I wanna be Luna Freaking Lovegood.

Lupin was a great father figure character to Harry though, and I really loved that about him. He treated Harry with respect and kindness all while being stern with him when needed.

As you all know by now, I'm a little bit of a Harry Potter uber fan. You can see my prior Harry Potter posts here.

So, Happy Birthday Lupin! I kinda heart you, Moony.

Last night, I posted a photo of my puppy, Luna on Instagram. My friend Darla sent me the cuuuutest lil Butterbeer cork necklace. I jokingly said that Luna needed one for her collar. A few days later, guess what was in my mail?

So, here is Luna (who wouldn't stand still, thus the blurry photo) wearing her Butterbeer Cork.

 (by the way, you can follow me on instagram, SugarBeanBakers, original, I know!)

I hashtagged the photo #Butterbeer, and clicked to see the other photos. I saw one of a Starbucks Butterbeer Frap. WHAT WHAT? It's totally real, on their secret menu (did you know Starbucks has a secret menu? Cause they DO! I love to order off it!).

Today, after church, I scurried to the closest one (sadly 15 mins away) and ordered.

TA DA!

Now. It's OK. Sorry, Starbucks. It'll do in a pinch, but they use a toffee nut flavoring it in that is just too nutty for Butterbeer.

I had talked about trying to make a Butterbeer Shake with Darla last night. After the Frap that was 'only ok', I thought it was so time to do it.

It's a really simple recipe. 

Vanilla ice cream, butter flavoring, vanilla cream soda, butterscotch & caramel ice cream topping.

Zoom it all up in a blender, and shazam!

Butterbeer Shake.

I asked the Bean to come in and taste it for me. Before I knew what happened, he'd drank it ALL, and I had none for a photo. I had to make another. I had to beg and plead, but he finally agreed to drink the second.

Yeah, right.

Since this is mixed with cream soda and not milk, it will try to separate if you don't drink it right down, but just give 'er a stir and you are back in business.

When I was at Wizarding World, I exclaimed that the Butterbeer tasted like liquid cake batter. As he was drinking this, the Bean said, this tastes like cookie dough. I asked what I  had said Butterbeer tasted like, and he said "Cake batter! That's what this tastes like!". I think it's pretty dang close- shake wise.

That said, like most shakes, and most definitely Butterbeer, it's very sweet... but yummy.

Happy Birthday, Remus, the shakes are on me!


Tina


If you haven’t already,  you can ‘like’ my Facebook page here, and follow me on twitter here, and you can follow me on instagram here.

Butterbeer Shake

Recipe by Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers

(serves 1, easily doubled/tripled/etc)

1 cup softened vanilla bean ice cream

1/2 cup vanilla cream soda

1/2 teaspoon butter flavoring

1 Tablespoon butterscotch caramel ice cream topping* 

(or 1 1/2 teaspoons butterscotch ice cream topping & 1 1/2 teaspoons caramel ice cream topping if you can't find the combo)

*more to drizzle

Add in a blender and blend until smooth. Be wary of the soda, it will fizz up a bit when you start to blend. Top with whipped cream if you wish & drizzle with extra ice cream topping.