Harry Potter Day

On this random day in the beginning of summer some girlfriends of mine and I decided it was a good day to have a Harry potter marathon and make some things from The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook.

We made:

Molly's Meatballs with Onion Sauce (pg 83)

Roasted Potatoes (and veggies) with Garlic and Rosemary (pg 124)

Dinner is Served!

 

For my contribution I made Petunia's Pudding or English Strawberry Trifle (pg 12 - 13)

Ingredients:

Yellow Loaf Cake:

• 1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 8 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar 
• 2 large eggs, room temperature 
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 
• 1/2 cup whole milk, room temperature  

Custard:

• 1 & 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream 
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided 
• 1/4 cup cornstarch 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 4 large egg yolks 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Trifle:

• 1 yellow loaf cake, sliced into 1/2-inch-thick slices 
• 1/2 cup strawberry jam
• custard
• 1 pound fresh strawberries, washed, patted dry, and sliced into 1/8-inch-thick slices 
• Whipped cream
• 1 tablespoon toasted sliced almonds (which I forgot all about!)

Directions:

Yellow Loaf Cake:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Grease and flour an 8 & 1/2 x 4 & 1/2- inch loaf pan
• Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt 
• Set aside 
• Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes 
• Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each to combine, about 30 seconds.
• Add the vanilla and beat until combined 
• Add the flour and milk alternately, on slowest speed until combined 
• Scrape batter into prepared pan
• Bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (about 1 hour) 
• Remove from oven 
• Let cool in pan

Custard:

• Combine the milk, heavy cream, 1/4 cup sugar, cornstarch, and salt in small saucepan.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the yolks with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar until smooth.
• Heat the milk mixture over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until it is hot but not bubbling.
• Reduce heat to low.
• Pour 1 cup of hot mixture 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 to medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and begins to boil.
• Remove the pan from the heat and add the vanilla.
• Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold

Trifle:

• Place the cake slices on a cutting board.
• Trim off the crusts 
• Spread half the slices with jam and top with the remaining slices 
• Cut the sandwiches onto 2-inch squares
• Layer the sandwiches on the bottom of a round glass serving dish 
• 'Cut the remaining sandwiches into small pieces to fill any empty spaces 
• Spread the custard over the cake layer
• Line the serving dish around the perimeter with strawberry slices 
• Then pile the remaining sliced strawberries in the center
• Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6 hours (of course we couldn't wait that long, I think ours got refrigerated for about and hour?)
• Prepare whipped cream before serving 
• Remove plastic wrap and spread the whipped cream on top of the trifle
• The is where you would decoratively add the almonds, but since I forgot them I add more strawberries on top.

The verdict:

A Unanimous Yum.  We all wanted seconds.