Hogsmeade Butterbeer Tarts (for 'Harry Potter')

Butterbeer Bottle Labels - available from Sidetracked Artist

This recipe is a fusion of Tudor Buttered Beere and a Canadian favourite, Butter Tarts.


Please note: I am away on holiday and haven't given this version of the recipe a test run, though I recently made a maple version of them for Canada Day with great success. It's basically this recipe for butter tarts from Canadian Living with a few tweaks. I don't think the changes I've made will affect the way they bake.


Tried & Tested: October 2011
As I expected, the recipe works and the hint of ale gives them a depth of flavour that just can't be achieved by substituting root beer. Which is why I'd like to take a moment to make a case for Real Ale:

Depending on which country you live in, your choice of ales may not be as numerous as here in the UK, but I suspect it won't take a whole lot of searching to find one. Ale aficionados have spread their influence far and wide. Now, I know 2 tablespoons doesn't sound like much in a batch of tarts so you may be asking, "Why should I buy a whole bottle if I'm only going to use 2 tablespoons?". My answer is: Because ale isn't expensive and trust me, it makes all the difference. If you're not up to drinking the rest of the bottle straight, you could pour it into a hearty beef stew or whisk it into batter for another British favourite, fish & chips! C. and I enjoyed our bottle with a plate of sausage, mashed potato and onion gravy. How very British.

 

Hogsmeade Butterbeer Tarts

Makes 12 tarts

Ingredients for the filling:

50g (1/4 c) raisins or currants
pinch ground ginger
pinch ground nutmeg
pinch ground cloves
2 tbsp Real British Ale* - NOT 'beer' as in German or American-style lager
125g (1/2 c) light brown muscovado sugar
125g (1/2 c) golden syrup or corn syrup
1 egg
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla

*For alcohol free tarts, substitute root beer, sarsaparilla, or dandelion & burdock soda.

Make ahead:
In a bowl toss the raisins or currants in the ground ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Pour in the real ale and leave to soak for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally, so the flavours have time to infuse. Or leave it in the fridge overnight.

Method:
Prepare tart cases according to recipe link above (or use pre-made ones) and place in the refrigerator.
Pre-heat oven to 230 C (450 F).
In a bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, golden syrup, egg, butter and vanilla. Take the tart cases out of the refrigerator and divide the raisin mixture between them. Fill the tarts 2/3 full and place in the oven for 12-15 min. They will puff and bubble as they cook but you'll know they're done when the pastry is golden. They should remain slightly gooey in the middle. Let stand for a minute or two before carefully removing them from the pan and transferring to a wire rack.



Recipe, Dessert , Tart, Raisins, Ale

Garibaldi R-ice Cream Ladies (for 'The Edible Woman')

 

"Raisins are too risky ... Many don't like them" (p.18)

"The company is layered like an ice cream sandwich, with three floors: the upper crust, the lower crust, and our department, the gooey layer in the middle." (p.19)

"Now she had a blank white body. It looked slightly obscene lying there soft and sugary and featureless on the platter. " (p.269)

"You've been trying to assimilate me. But I've made you a substitute, something you'll like much better." (p.271)

This dessert was created using the above four quotes as inspiration. The first two are from a scene at Marian's workplace, Seymor Surveys, where she edits market research questionaires. The first quote is the dietitian's response to Marian's suggestion of adding raisins to the canned rice pudding she's been asked to taste test. Canned rice pudding appears several times in the book symbolising the ultimate convenience food for busy housewives, hence why I decided the 'gooey middle layer' had to be rice pudding ice cream. I'm guessing nowadays, any dessert containing rice pudding is far more risky than one made with raisins. The last two quotes are from the title scene of the book where Marian bakes and presents her fiancee, Peter, with an edible woman as a test of his unconscious desire to consume her (hence the woman-shaped cookie cutter).

How would you interpret The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood? All cakes and comments welcome.

Garibaldi R-ice Cream Ladies 

For the Garibaldi's:
I always use Simon Rimmer's recipe for 'Squashed Fly' Biscuits. My boyfriend C. loves these and can never be without them while writing an essay. (So, yes I am partially to blame for his freshman fifteen this year)

I found the cookies held their shape better if the cookie cutter was pressed into the whole rectangle of rolled dough on the tray before baking and separated afterwards by pressing the cookie cutter back into the outline and tracing around the edge with a knife if neccesary.

For the Rice Pudding Ice Cream:
Modified from a recipe by Mark Hix, published in The Independent

1 tin good-quality rice pudding (aprox 400g / 10 oz)
1tsp vanilla
70ml (5tbsp) double cream
2 egg whites
2tbsp sugar

Stir rice pudding, vanilla and cream together. In a separate bowl, whip egg whites and sugar until stiff peaks form then add to the rice mixture and fold until well combined. Pour into a  large-ish freezer safe plastic container, seal the lid and place in the freezer. Stir with an electric mixer every half hour for 2 - 3 hours to break up the ice crystals (depending on the shape of your container you may need to run a knife around the edge and into the corners).

To assemble: 
This is the fun bit! It's also self explanitory, but I'll tell you how I did it anyway... I froze my ice cream in a rectangular container then turned it out onto a cutting board by cutting around the edge with a butter knife and diping the bottom of the container briefly in warm water. Then I used my cookie cutter and a knife to cut perfect lady-shaped centers for my lady-shaped biscuits. Sandwich together and leave to soften slighty before eating.

Recipe, Dessert , Icecream, Rice Pudding, Raisins