Making butterbeer at home is the magical activity you need in non-magical times

With many countries on indefinite lockdown, feels like Covid-19 is the real-life Voldemort wreaking havoc on everyone across the globe.

Taking inspiration and following the recipe from the Harry Potter Studio Tour in England, and the Wizarding World in the United States, I whipped out my non-magical utensils to create a fat helping of butterbeer.

Butterbeer is a favourite treat of Harry and his friends, and also mine. Time to put on that chef’s hat witches, wizards and muggles! Let’s brew some magic in the kitchen, shall we?

As Hagrid once said, “what’s comin’ will come, an’ we’ll meet it when it does.”

Ingredients:

½ a stick of butter on room temperature

⅓ cup of light brown sugar

2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon of ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon of ground cloves

A pint (or 20 ounces) of vanilla cream soda

2 scoops of vanilla icecream

Disclaimer: despite what the name of the beverage suggests, there is no alcohol inbutterbeer.

When J.K Rowling wrote the Harry Potter books, the drink was targeted specifically towardschildren. Therefore, it uses butterscotch, vanilla ice cream, vanilla cream soda or vanilla extract –but no alcohol.

Instructions:

Step 1: Defrost

Allow ice cream to soften by defrosting it for 30-45 minutes.

Bring butter to room temperature for approximately two hours prior to prepping thebatter.

Step 2: Mix and whisk!

Empty butter and all other spices in a large bowl. Use a tablespoon to first soften butter, beforewhisking the mixture with a hand blender.

Follow it up by using a large wooden spoon, to make sure the batter is smooth and clump-free.

Step 3: Heat and freeze

Add the previously kept aside ice cream to the above mixture, and freeze it for at least 30-45minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the pint of cream soda in a pot until warm (but still carbonated) for approximately 3-5 minutes. You can also just go with a very cold cream soda for a more frozen/slushy drink.

Step 4: Serve

Fill a glass with a scoop of the ice cream mixture, and pour warmed or chilled cream soda over it.

Top it up with more ice cream or whipped cream – whichever once you fancy.

There, you have it! A magical treat and that too, without any wand!