The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook (31 page)

Serves 8

To make fresh bread crumbs, process 6 to 8 slices fresh bread in a food processor or blender. There is no need to remove the crusts.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione can hardly wait for the pumpkin tart to be cleared away so they can rush over to Hagrid and congratulate him on his new position as Care of Magical Creatures teacher. Now that his name has finally been cleared, thanks to our dauntless trio, Hagrid is a qualified wizard and can fulfill his lifelong dream to teach (see
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
, Chapter 5).

Tart Dough

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

¾ stick (6 tablespoons) cold butter or margarine, cut into pieces

1 large egg yolk

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

Chocolate Bottom

½ cup heavy cream

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Pumpkin Filling

1½ cups canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling

½ cup granulated sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ cup heavy cream

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1½ ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted, for drizzling, optional

1. To make the dough, place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Scatter the butter pieces over the flour and pulse about 15 times until the mixture resembles coarse yellow meal. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl.
   

2. Whisk together the egg yolk, cream, and vanilla and pour over the flour mixture. Toss with a rubber spatula until the dough begins to stick together. Knead very briefly to form a cohesive mass and form into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 2 hours or up to 3 days.
   

3. Preheat the oven to 425°F. On a generously floured surface, roll out the disk (make sure you flour the top of the disk as well) to an 11-inch circle. Tart dough is hard to roll out, but this is a very forgiving dough, especially if you use margarine in place of the butter. Simply gather up the torn dough, re-flour the work surface, briefly knead the dough into a ball, and roll it out again. Fit the dough into a 9-inch tart pan. If the dough breaks, you can patch it by gluing extra scraps with a bit of water. Prick the bottom of the shell with a fork, line with aluminum foil, and fill with beans or pie weights. Bake for 20 minutes or until the dough is dry and set. Remove the foil and weights, reduce the heat to 350°F, and bake another 7 to 10 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven to cool.
   

4. To make the chocolate bottom, place the cream and chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 2 minutes, stopping to stir every 30 seconds. Stir until smooth and pour into the bottom of the tart shell. Cool until set.
   

5. To make the filling, combine the pumpkin, sugar, 4. cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, and heavy cream in a medium saucepan and cook, stirring frequently, until hot but not bubbling. Whisk the eggs with the cornstarch and add to the pan. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbling. Remove from the heat. Cool to room temperature.
   

6. Pour the cooled filling into the tart shell and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. If desired, drizzle melted chocolate on top. Refrigerate until firm.
   

Serves 8

The best foods are always served at the Hogwarts feasts, especially the start-of-term feasts, and the one in Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts is no exception. While Harry goes for his usual treacle tart, Ron reaches for the chocolate gateau (see
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
, Chapter 8).

1 recipe Rich Chocolate Cake, baked, cooled, and split into 3 layers (recipe follows)

1 recipe Chocolate Pastry Cream from Chocolate Éclairs, prepared and cooled

1 recipe Chocolate Glaze from Chocolate Éclairs, prepared and cooled until thick enough to spread

Chocolate Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy cream

¼ cup confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted

½ chopped, toasted pecans, for topping

1. Combine the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and beat until stiff peaks form. Whisk ¼ of the whipped cream into the melted chocolate to lighten it, then fold the rest of the whipped cream into the melted chocolate.
   

2. To assemble the gateau, place 1 cake layer on a cardboard round or platter. Spread ½ of the chocolate whipped cream over the cake layer, then ½ of the chocolate pastry cream over the whipped cream. Repeat with another cake layer. Top with the last cake layer. Spread the glaze over the top layer and sprinkle the chopped pecans on top.
   

Rich Chocolate Cake

1 cup boiling water

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1½ teaspoons instant coffee

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

1½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1½ sticks (12 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature

1½ cups granulated sugar

½ cup packed dark brown sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
   

2. Whisk together the boiling water, cocoa powder, and instant coffee in a small bowl until smooth; set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt, and set aside.
   

3. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating after each until incorporated and scraping down the sides as needed. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add the hot cocoa mixture and beat until combined, scraping down the sides as needed.
   

4. Add the flour mixture and stir on the slowest speed until combined. Finish by scraping the bottom of the bowl with a spatula and folding all the batter together. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 45 minutes, until the cakes feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs attached. Be careful, as this cakes overbakes easily. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack and cool completely.
   

Serves 16

The easiest way to split the cake is to place it on a cake turner if you have one. Mark the cake into thirds either by eyeballing it or by placing toothpicks where you wish to cut. Begin slicing at the mark, using a large non-serrated knife such as a chef 's knife and turning the cake as you slice it. Carefully lift off each cake layer and place it on a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper.

Professor Snape would dearly love to see Harry expelled after crashing Mr. Weasley's flying car into the Whomping Willow. But that punishment, Dumbledore reminds him, is for Professor McGonagall to decide. How to distract Snape, then? Dumb-ledore takes him by the arm and mentions a custard tart being served at the feast before sweeping him away (see
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
, Chapter 5).

Tart Crust

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

¼ cup granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

1 stick (8 tablespoons) cold butter, cut into small pieces

1 large egg yolk

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Custard

1 cup whole milk

½ cup heavy cream

3 large egg yolks

¼ cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. For the crust, place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Scatter the pieces of butter over the flour mixture. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse yellow meal without any white powdery bits remaining, about 15 pulses. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl. Beat the egg yolk with the cream and vanilla and pour it into the flour-butter mixture. Toss with a spatula until the dough clumps together. If the dough is dry add 1 more tablespoon heavy cream (better too wet than too dry). Form into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.
   

2. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it out on a floured surface to an 11-inch circle. (If it is too stiff for rolling out, let it first rest on the counter for 10 minutes.) Fold it into quarters, brushing off excess flour with a pastry brush after each fold, and then unfold it into a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Ease the sides gently into the pan and press the dough gently against the sides. Use the rolling pin to roll the overhang off of the pan.
   

3. Freeze the tart shell for 10 minutes. Line the pan with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights. Bake until the dough is dry and set, about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and pie weights, reduce the heat to 350°F, and continue baking until the crust is golden, another 8 minutes.
   

4. Prepare the custard while the crust is baking. Heat the milk and cream in a small saucepan until hot but not simmering (do not boil). In the meantime, whisk the yolks, sugar, and cornstarch until smooth. Temper the yolk mixture by slowly pouring in ½ cup of the hot milk mixture while whisking vigorously. Pour the yolk mixture into the saucepan and continue to cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the wooden spoon scrapes up thickened bits of custard. Do not let the mixture simmer or boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla.
   

5. Raise the oven temperature to 375°F. Pour the hot filling into the hot crust and bake until the custard puffs up and is still jiggly when you move the pan, about 15 minutes. Remove the tart from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool. The custard will set up as it cools. Cool completely before serving.