The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook - Dinah Bucholz [73]
Whenever Hagrid pats someone, the result is usually dramatic, meaning the recipient gets knocked down. So when Hagrid shows his appreciation to Harry and Ron for getting him out of Azkaban, he pushes them into their plates of trifle (see Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 18).
Although the classic trifle should be some kind of cake or biscuit placed in the bottom of a dish, wetted with wine, and then layered over with custard or fruit and whipped cream, trifle appears so many times in the Harry Potter books that a chocolate variation is called for. Any chocoholic will agree!
1 recipe Chocolate Cake from Harry's First Birthday Cake, baked and cooled (Chapter 4)
1 recipe Chocolate Glaze from Chocolate Éclairs, prepared with 1 teaspoon instant coffee
1 recipe Chocolate Pastry Cream from Chocolate Éclairs, prepared and chilled
1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup toffee bits
Place 1 cake layer in the bottom of a round 9-inch serving dish, preferably clear glass, about 3 inches deep. Eat the other cake layer as you work.
Pour the glaze over the cake layer and spread to the edges of the dish. Allow it to harden (you can refrigerate it for a few minutes to speed it up), then pour the pastry cream on top of the glaze and spread it to the edges. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold, or up to 2 days.
Before serving, combine the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl and beat until stiff peaks form. Remove the plastic wrap and spread or pipe the whipped cream over the chocolate pastry cream. Sprinkle the toffee bits on top and serve.
Serves 8 to 10
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.
Jam Doughnuts
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).
Do oily cakes sound appetizing? Well, that's what the Dutch settlers called them (oeliekoeken) when they introduced these little fried cakes in America. In England, when most people celebrate Pancake Day, the residents of the town of Baldock (about 30 miles north of London) celebrate their own version, called Doughnut Day. In England the most popular type of doughnut has no hole and is filled with jam.
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
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.
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