Making my own magic (in the kitchen)

If you read the last post closely, you will have seen CAULDRON CAKES mentioned. Just the mentioning of cake had me instantly interested as I love making cakes and decorating them, and not forgetting eating them too. I came across a recipe (with the help of my friend Sammy). After making them though, I do slightly regret using this particular recipe because it was pretty intricate and just time-consuming. I start to lack patience when making cakes because I just want to eat them. But, I stuck it out and ended up with a decent end product.

This is how they were meant to look.

The recipe is from an American blogger (Source: http://www.pastryaffair.com/blog/2011/7/12/cauldron-cakes.html). This meant that the ingredients are listed in cup measurements instead of grams or ounces. So I started by mixing the eggs and sugar together. As I didn’t know how much a cup was, I tried to find a convertor online that told me how much 2/3 cup of granulated sugar is in grams. I found a list of measurements equivalents, so I had to use my brain (and my little brother’s) to find out how many spoons are equivalent to a cup. If you don’t already know where I’m going with this, I did it wrong. I didn’t put enough spoonfuls of sugar in.

At this point, I thought it would be best if I asked my mum to help me. She pulled out a cup from the cupboard, which is the cup size that Americans use. That made the rest of the measuring easier. I should add that I left out the coffee. I don’t drink coffee and we didn’t have any at home. I mixed the dry ingredients together (like the recipe says) and then began mixing it with the wet ones (which we think the recipe is suggesting. It’s not very clear). I started doing this by hand, thinking that it wouldn’t be difficult. I was wrong. The mixture became thick quite quickly, and after a while I gave up. We still had a lot of the dry ingredients left to add, so we used the machine to finish the mixing. It was incredible thick in the end. Not the normal cake batter that I’m used to.

The batter (yes, some of the dry ingredients fell out on  to the counter)

I put the cake batter in the cake cases. This went in the oven for 30 minutes. And voila! They look like brownies, which must mean that they’ll be mouth-wateringly tasty. I also realized that the cakes didn’t rise like normal cakes. This is slightly worrying because this is my first attempt.

I continued following the recipe and melted the chocolate and butter needed to cover the bottom of the cakes. We adapted the recipe by not putting in as much butter as it suggests. I don’t think it affected the taste or consistency. I dipped the bottom of cakes into the chocolate, and then left them to set in the fridge for a while. I also made the handles with the remaining melted chocolate. I tested the suggested method by only making two handles on the tray with the cakes.

Brownie looking cakes

After I dipped the cakes into the chocolate

While this was happening, I made the filling for the cakes. Once again, I adapted the recipe. Instead of the marshmallow filling, I whipped double cream to a thick consistency. In my opinion, this made the cakes tasty as they fulfilled my sweet-tooth standards.

Back to the fridge for the cakes and the prototype handles. The cakes were perfect; not even or perfect looking, but good enough for me. I tried to take the handles off of the tray. At this point, my mum came back in the kitchen, saw what I was doing, and laughed. She knew before I did that this wasn’t going to give me the handles I wanted. Some of the chocolate curled as I took it off the tray, which came in handy as decorations. My second attempt at handles was using the rest of the chocolate/butter mixture to stick mini fingers together. In the fridge they went. I think I should add that my kitchen is not equipped with non-stick paper like the recipe suggests using. We have basic baking equipment which means we have to use our imagination when we get in situations like this.

The prototype handle

I cut out little holes (or cavities) in the top of the cakes, which was for the marshmallow filling. Or in my case, the whipped double cream filling. In this went, and a little bit of the remaining melted chocolate on the outside. Then, the makeshift mini finger handles stuck in the cakes. And FINALLY, I am finished!!! It looks exactly like the recipe’s picture, right? (Sarcasm)

The final product. They look very homemade, I know.

So, it’s time for the taste test. Just so you know, I have never tried a Devil’s Food Cake. But judging on the consistency of the cake batter before it cooked, I’m not expecting a normal spongy cake that I’m used to eating. The mini fingers are obviously tasty. They also stayed stuck together by the chocolate acting as cement. The actual cake is not bad. BUT it’s not fulfilling my sweet-tooth cravings. I think I didn’t add enough sugar at the start because I got my measurements wrong when I was doing the conversions. The chocolate on the bottom and the whipped double cream does make up for the lack of sugar though. Aside from the taste, the texture is a bit dry for me. My family liked to cakes. My older brother even patted my head, meaning he’s pleased (I think). Overall, not a bad attempt and they are quite tasty. I still don’t think I’m going to be making it very often though. 

Sweets!

I have such a sweet tooth that I love all the sweet treats that J. K. Rowling invented for the Harry Potter series. The wide variety of sweets (and food in general) is where it becomes obvious that these novels are part of the fantasy genre (excluding the magic that makes the stories, of course!). Rowling did not ignore mealtimes and snacks in the series. Instead, she took these as opportunities to create unusual and fascinating dishes and foods.

The first book in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (because I am British), introduces the readers to these new and exciting foods through the wide repertoire of sweets. Solely looking for any sweet treats in the books was actually quite fun and interesting because I noticed more flavours and different kinds of sweets than I had remembered from the previous times I’ve read this book.

The initial instance of a sweet is by Professor Albus Dumbledore. When he and Professor McGonagall are at Privet Drive, waiting for Hagrid to arrive with Harry, Dumbledore offers McGonagall a sherbet lemon. He describes it as “a kind of Muggle sweet I’m rather fond of” (p13). McGongall’s reaction is not light-hearted. Instead, she responds to him “coldly, as though she didn’t think this was the moment for sherbet lemons” (p13). This simple (and probably often overlooked) conversation between these two professors says an awful lot about their characters. In McGonagall’s eyes, Dumbledore is not appreciating the seriousness of the situation and is not behaving accordingly (i.e. not behaving like her, which is sensibly and in a worried manner). However, the fact that Dumbledore is even describing the sweet hints at his eccentric and powerful personality. He understands the situation perfectly and has assessed the different outcomes for Harry and his future. Dumbledore is content with his decision of Harry staying with his Muggle Aunt and Uncle, rather than growing up in the wizarding world, which he explains to McGonagall. In addition, Dumbledore even eating a Muggle sweet illustrates his ability to be appreciative of something that others would not be. This popular sweet in the UK has a hard outer shell and is sour on the inside. Dumbledore’s fondness of this sweet is seen again when he makes this the password to his office at one point in the series. Rowling’s choice is making him like something Muggle-related brings to light his kind, caring, and non-judgemental characteristics, all of which made him a respected wizard.

Another instance of sweets in the first novel is the trolley on the Hogwarts Express. The reader is introduced to this small event by Harry wanting a Mars Bar, a popular English (and Muggle) chocolate. Instead, Harry sees a trolley filled with sweets and chocolates that are foreign to him. 

“… the woman didn’t have Mars Bars. What she did have were Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavour Beans, Droobles Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Liquorice Wands and a number of strange things Harry had never seen in his life. Not wanting to miss anything, he got some of everything.” (p76)

These are all strange sweets and chocolates that Harry has not heard of before, demonstrating that Rowling is taking advantage of the fantasy genre that the books are considered to be. Rowling has thrown an assortment of sweets at the reader, which makes them continue reading in hope that she explains what they are or what they taste like. Unfortunately, (something I see as a downfall), Rowling often fulfils neither of these wishes. After searching for them on google, I find what they are and what they are supposedly meant to look like. Putting this lack of description aside, Rowling’s imagination cannot be entirely faulted as she does provide a long list of flavours for Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavour Beans. These flavours are introduced by Ron, who warns Harry about the large variety of flavours.

“‘When they say every flavour, they mean every flavour – you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he got a bogey-flavoured one once.’” (p78)

“They had a good times eating the Every-Flavour Beans. Harry got toast, coconut, baked beans, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine and was even brave enough to nibble the end off a funny grey one Ron wouldn’t touch, which turned out to be pepper.” (p78)

There are a variety of flavours, some which wouldn’t have even been considered as flavours for sweets. This complements the fantasy genre as the flavours are not confined to the generic ‘Muggle’ flavours. Sprouts, vomit, toffee, and earwax are other flavours that are mentioned in The Philospher’s Stone. More flavours are mentioned in the other books; a long list is provided at this link http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Bertie_Bott%27s_Every_Flavour_Beans. By just glancing at the flavours, it is obvious to see that Rowling has mixed ordinary flavours with abnormal flavours. This includes conventional edible food flavours with unusual INEDIBLE food flavours, such as grass, dirty sock, and vomit. The purpose of this is to shock the reader and keep them interested. This was definitely the case with me. When I went to the Harry Potter Studio Tour, I bought these sweets. I am positive that the first one I tried was the flavour of soap!

Above is the film adaptation of this scene. Skip to 0.47 for a shot of the trolley. It is packed with glorious goodies. It should be noted that they have adapted the script to show Harry opening the Chocolate Frog box. A spell is cast on the chocolate frog to make them jump, which was not mentioned in the book at all. In my opinion, this would have added to the description of the sweets as it would have demonstrated the difference between Muggle sweets and magical sweets.

As you can see, I have only focused on the first novel in this post. Seeing as Harry and his peers are teenagers, sweets are a vital part of their diet. So I will most likely make another post about this area of food. Now, I’m off to get my fill of sweets as writing this has given me a craving!

Welcome to Hogwarts!!!

“We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.”

Isn’t that the sentence that we were all waiting to read on the letter that we received by owl when we were eleven years old? Scratch that, I’m still waiting for this letter at the age of twenty-one! Seeing as it is now very unlike that Hogwarts wants me as a student (probably because I possess no magical blood whatsoever, or maybe I’m a squib and they are just discriminating against me), I thought that it would be a brilliant idea to explore the food that is present in this magical world. Obviously not forgetting that I’m a huge fan of the Harry Potter books and films, and because I LOVE food. (Just as much as Ron!)

My journey will delve into the exciting world of Hogwarts, Hogsmede, the magical families’ homes, and much more, and will bring to light the fascinating and incredibly different foods than what we have here in the less magical, muggle world. I’m also going to attempt to make some of the recipes of the popular foods in the series, and, of course, share them with you.

During the Christmas holidays, I went to the Warner Bros. Studios tour for all that they are willing to share about the secrets of the Harry Potter film series. It was a brilliant experience. It added to the magic of the films, rather than take away from them. It just made me love the books and films even more. I’ll be sharing some of the experiences from that adventure.

So, if you love food and if you love the Harry Potter series, come back here for some exciting bitesize treats. Hopefully, you’re as excited as I am excited!

I'm going to leave you with the scene where Harry and his fellow students (not forgetting us viewers) are first shown the Great Hall, a pivotal location where many events take place including all the meal times.

Speak soon,

Manpreet :)