The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook (5 page)
Serves 8
A lot of delicious foods were created by accident, and this might be one of them. According to legend, the cook of the White Horse Inn in Bakewell (a town in Derbyshire, in the center of England) was asked by the landlady to make a strawberry tart. The cook forgot to mix the jam into the almond custard and tried to cover it up by spreading the jam on the tart shell, creating a whole new dessert. This popular cake imitates the flavors of the famous Bakewell Tart.
Almond Cake
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup finely ground almonds
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1½ sticks (12 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon almond extract
½ cup whole milk, at room temperature
Butter Frosting
2 sticks (16 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons whole milk
To Finish the Cake
½ cup cherry preserves
Maraschino cherries, for decorating
Toasted sliced almonds, for decorating
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Whisk together the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl and set aside.
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one a time, beating after each until incorporated and scraping down the sides as needed. Add the almond extract and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture and milk alternately, beginning and ending with the flour and mixing on the lowest speed to combine. Finish by scraping down and folding the batter together with a rubber spatula.
Divide the batter evenly between the 2 pans and bake for about 25 minutes, until the cakes feel soft but firm when touched lightly in the center or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack and cool completely.
For the frosting, beat all the frosting ingredients together until smooth, creamy, and fluffy, scraping down the sides as needed, about 7 minutes.
To assemble the cake, place 1 cake top-side down on a cardboard round. Spread the cherry preserves on top of the cake all the way to the edges. Top with the second cake, top-side up. Spread about 1 cup of the frosting on top of the cake. Place the remaining frosting in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe a border around the edges of the cake. Line the inside of the border with maraschino cherries placed about 1 inch apart. Sprinkle the middle space with the toasted sliced almonds. You can also pipe stars against the cherry filling, 1 inch apart, for a pretty touch.
Serves 8
Custard is very, very British. In the mid-1800s a British chemist whose wife was allergic to eggs invented a custard thickened with cornstarch instead of eggs, which he sold as a powder, and since then custard sauce appears with just about every dessert. True cooks prefer to make a rich egg custard rather than using the instant powder that's easier to make but doesn't taste as good. Also, the British often refer to layer cakes as “sandwich cakes.” Like the Victoria Sponge, the layers are dense and rich rather than light and fluffy.
Sponge Cake
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1½ sticks (12 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
Custard Filling
1 cup whole milk plus ½ cup heavy cream or 1½ cups whole milk
¼ cup granulated sugar, divided
3 tablespoons cornstarch
Pinch salt
3 egg large yolks
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon butter (if not using heavy cream) Whipped cream, for serving, optional
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two 8-inch cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl and set aside.
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each until incorporated and scraping down the sides as needed. Add the flour mixture and mix on the slowest speed until combined. Finish by scraping down and folding the batter together with a rubber spatula.
Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and bake for about 20 minutes until the cakes are golden brown around the edges — the tops of the cakes will be pale — and the cakes feel soft but set when touched lightly in the center or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack and cool completely.
To make the custard, combine the milk or milk and heavy cream, 2 tablespoons of the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a small saucepan and mix until the cornstarch is dissolved. Whisk the yolks with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar in a medium bowl until smooth.
Heat the milk mixture over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until it is hot but not bubbling. Reduce the heat to low. Pour ½ cup of the hot mixture in a slow stream into the egg yolk mixture while whisking quickly to temper the egg yolks. Pour the egg yolk mixture slowly back into the saucepan while stirring constantly. Return the pan to medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and begins to boil. (Once the mixture begins to thicken, it must be handled gently so the cornstarch won't lose its thickening power.)
Remove the pan from the heat and add the vanilla. Add butter if you did not use heavy cream. Stir gently until the butter is melted and combined. Strain the custard through a sieve into a bowl to ensure a smooth custard. (Use a rubber spatula to push the custard through the sieve.) Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold.
To assemble the cake, place one cake layer top-side down on a cardboard round. Spread the custard over the cake until within ½ inch of the border. Top with the other cake layer, top-side up. Dust the top of the cake generously with the confectioners' sugar. Keep refrigerated, but bring to room temperature before serving. Serve with whipped cream and have it with tea.
Serves 8
Being that Sirius was sending letters to Harry via tropical birds, it follows that the cake he sent him would contain tropical flavors, like citrus and mango.
Citrus Cake
2 cups cake flour
1 cup granulated sugar, divided
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1½ sticks (12 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
½ cup whole milk
3 large egg yolks, at room temperature
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
Mango Filling
3 ripe mangoes, peeled and cut into chunks
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup water Pinch salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 large egg yolks
¼ stick (2 tablespoons) butter
Juice of 1 lemon
Whipped Cream Frosting
2 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
A few drops yellow food coloring
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
To make the cake, whisk together the flour, ½ cup of the sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter and beat until the mixture resembles yellow crumbs. Add the milk, yolks, grated zest and juice of lemon and orange, and vanilla and beat until smooth, using the whisk attachment.
In a separate clean bowl with clean whisk, beat the egg whites until soft mounds form. Continue beating while adding the remaining ½ cup sugar gradually. Beat until stiff but still glossy. Whisk ¼ of the beaten egg whites into the batter to lighten it, then fold in the rest of the egg whites using a rubber spatula. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the cakes are spotty brown and feel firm when touched lightly in the center. Do not overbake or the cakes will be dry. Cool in the pans, then invert the pans to remove the layers. If desired, the layers can be wrapped in plastic and frozen until needed.
To make the filling, process the mangoes in a food processor or blender until smooth, then push through a sieve with a rubber spatula, pushing down to extract as much juice as possible. Discard the pulp. Transfer the sieved mango to a medium saucepan. Add the sugar, water, salt, and cornstarch and stir to dissolve. Cook over medium heat until warm, stirring constantly. Whisk in the egg yolks and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbling. Remove from the heat, add the butter and lemon juice, and stir until melted and combined. Transfer the filling to a bowl, cover the surface directly with plastic wrap, and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until needed, up to 2 days.
Make the frosting just before you're ready to assemble the cake. Whip the frosting ingredients together until stiff peaks form.
To assemble the cake, split the cake layers in half. Place one cake layer on a cardboard round and spread 1/3 of the mango filling over it. Repeat with the next two layers, spreading 1/3 of the filling over each, and top with the remaining cake layer. Cover the top and sides with the whipped cream frosting. Tint the remaining whipped cream with the yellow food coloring. Scoop the yellow frosting into a pastry bag fitted with the star tip and pipe decorative borders and rosettes around the edges of the cake.
Serves 8