Harry Potter and the Butterbeer Cake

I have a confession to make. I love Harry Potter. It is quite possibly my favorite book series ever. The first two books were released in the US when I was but a wee little 6th grader. I have devoured every book since. The last of which may be sitting on my nightstand because it is being reread for the 9 billionth time. The Harry Potter franchise has made its author one of the wealthiest people in Britain, and the most highly paid author ever. If you haven't read the books and have only seen the movies, you are missing out. I know that "they aren't for everyone", but I just don't see how that could be, especially if you like food.

These books revolve around food. They talk about it all the time. All the food is tasty sounding British food, a fanciful sounding confection (licorice snap, chocolate frogs, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans), and most importantly (now that I am past the legal drinking age) the tasty sounding alcohol Butterbeer (and Fire Whiskey). 

Today I bring you: Butterbeer Cake. This cake required a few revisions, because the only recipes I could find for Beer Cake called for either boxed cake mix or chocolate. And while I have absolutely nothing against chocolate, I didn't want it to get in the way of the other flavors I had in mind, namely beer, browned butter, and butterscotch. So I had to develop my own recipe from start to finish.

This cake is not very sweet. I wanted the nuttiness of both the beer and the browned butter to be able to shine through. The sweetness is found in the homemade butterscotch glaze. Since the first version of the cake was made, (which I brought to a party of all things) this has quickly become a very requested cake. (Which I'm fine with because its easy to make and delicious.)

This maybe the first time I use Harry Potter for inspiration, but it most definitely will not be the last.

Dossier for: Harry Potter and the ________ (I'm not picking a specific book)
Author: J.K. Rowling
Characters: Harry Potter, Hermoine Granger, Ron Weasley, Dumbledore, and Voldermort
Setting: Britain, mainly Hogwarts and London


Butterbeer Cake
There is not a lot of sugar in this cake, but as mentioned before that is because the glaze is sweet. Also, this is not the time to use the crappy, light beer you have sitting in your fridge leftover from a party. If the only thing you drink is light beer, go to the store and buy a single bottle of full calorie beer. Light beer is made by reducing the carbohydrate content of the beer. In beer, the carbohydrate is maltose, a type of sugar, which is needed to sweeten the cake.

•  2 sticks unsalted butter
•  2.5 cups all purpose flour
•  1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1.5 tsp baking soda
• 3 eggs
• 1.5 cups beer (preferably Fat Tire or another amber ale)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a bundt cake pan (or you can use cupcakes). In a small skillet, brown butter until dark and nutty smelling. (If you don't know how to brown butter, here are directions). In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda. In a separate bowl, combine the beer, eggs, vanilla, and butter. Add the beer mixture to the flour and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Pour into the prepared bundt cake pan and bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (check at 15 minutes for cupcakes). Allow the cake to cool then pour slightly, warm butterscotch sauce over the top of the cake. (I used all of the butterscotch)

Butterscotch
Recipe from smittenkitchen.com

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan over moderate heat. Add the sugar, cream, and salt and whisk until well blended. Bring to a very gentle boil and cook for about five minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Taste the butterscotch and adjust the vanilla and salt to your liking. (I made mine a little on the saltier side and found it to be perfect with the cake.) Allow to cool until thickened but still pourable before putting on the cake.

Oh and this- I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to tell you that I'm an Amazon Affiliate. Normally not my kind of thing but I'm cooking from a book every week, some of which (next week's!) are obscure so it made sense.

Guinness Corned Beef: 2 days late and 2 dollars short

I have problem. Whenever anyone asks me what my favorite (well, one of my favorite) foods is I'm kind of embarrassed to answer. I have a reputation as a food snob (I am not though) though so perhaps if more people knew one of my top 5 favorite foods was corned beef, the reputation would diminish... slightly.

(Look at that! I bought a 6 pack for a recipe that requires 1 bottle. Not to worry, the other 5 found a good home)

Chimay Braised Shortribs

For a few years now (well before I was legally able to drink at least) I've believed that a light beer is a summertime drink. In the winter reach for porters, or lagers, or stouts. Keep the ales and heffs and whites and wheats for the summer. The spicier, heavier beers are perfect for winter foods. I was happy and very much content with my basic rules for drinking beer. (Other rules include only cheap beer for beer pong and always ALWAYS say no to light beer even for beer pong.) It was basic. Rudimentary even but I knew that I could safely order a beer and maybe guess the food pairing. Then *cue ominous music* Judy Rodgers came into my life.

You of course know Judy Rodgers as the mastermind behind the Zuni Cafe. Before we continue I have to confess that I have had the Zuni Cafe Cookbook in my possession for years. And today was the first time I used it. (Why yes, I am currently hanging my head in shame.). I always assumed it was among the legions of cookbooks that are meant to be coffee table books. Not actually used. (I'm looking at you French Laundry Cookbook) Today, I realized my mistake. The recipes in this book are easy, seasonal, and delicious. Take for example, the recipe that rocked my world today: Short Ribs Braised in Chimay Ale.

Some things I learned from this recipe: 1) the beers for braising are Belgian Ales. CLEARLY not the stouts I had been using. 2) Mustard was meant to be broiled.



While I could wax rhapsodic (is that the phrase? I'm never sure) for the next 3 weeks (ps: I can and will) for the purposes of saving time I am just going to tell you TO MAKE THESE SHORT RIBS. NOW!

Short Ribs Braised in Chimay Ale
adapted from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook
serves 4

The notes before the recipe say that duck or goose legs are equally good in this preparation. Something to try next.

A note about the book: the ingredients and directions can be a tad vague. Just go with it. It will all work out.

Indredients

About 2 1/2 pounds short ribs, cut across the bond into 2 in. bands
Salt
1 to 2 tablespoons mild olive oil
1 1/2 pounds yellow onions, sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 bay leaves
A few whole white peppercorns (I used black because its all I have and I don't like white pepper)
1/2 box crimini mushrooms sliced 1/4 inch thick
Up to 1 cup beef or chicken stock
Up to 1 cup Chimay ale or similar Belgian style ale
About 1/4 cup Dijon mustard

Cooking the Shortribs:

Preheat oven to 300. Evenly sprinkle salt all over shortribs. Warm oil in a 3 heavy oven safe pan. Wipe pieces of meat dry. Brown short ribs on the three meaty sides. Pour off excess fat.

Return meat to pan with bone side down. Add onions, bay, peppercorns, mushrooms, and equal parts stock and ale to come to a depth of about 3/4 of a inch. Cover and put in oven for 2 hours. Rotate meat 2 or 3 times during cooking. Remove from oven, remove meat, prop pan at slight angle and allow to sit for 5 minutes.

Turn on the broiler.

Skim fat that has collected at the lower side of the pan. Taste juice and simmer as needed to concentrate the flavor. Salt as needed. Put meat back in juice bone side down then brush or smear the tops with mustard. Set the pan under the broiler, about 5 inches from the element, to brown the mustard and glaze the surface of the onion stew, about 5 minutes.

Serve with mashed potatoes or spatzle.