Butterbeer Recipe: Make The Harry Potter Drink At Home

No need to travel to Hogsmeade (or to Universal Orlando) to get a taste of Harry Potter's butterbeer. Universal isn't giving out its recipe, but we've created an easy version of the formerly fictional drink made famous by the young wizard.

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BUTTERBEER

Start to finish: 1 hour (10 minutes active)

Servings: 4

1 cup light or dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons water

6 tablespoon butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar

3/4 cup heavy cream, divided

1/2 teaspoon rum extract

Four 12-ounce bottles cream soda

In a small saucepan over medium, combine the brown sugar and water. Bring to a gentle boil and cook, stirring often, until the mixture reads 240 F on a candy thermometer.

Stir in the butter, salt, vinegar and 1/4 heavy cream. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Once the mixture has cooled, stir in the rum extract.

In a medium bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar mixture and the remaining 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Use an electric mixer to beat until just thickened, but not completely whipped, about 2 to 3 minutes.

To serve, divide the brown sugar mixture between 4 tall glasses (about 1/4 cup for each glass). Add 1/4 cup of cream soda to each glass, then stir to combine. Fill each glass nearly to the top with additional cream soda, then spoon the whipped topping over each.

Comments

[melissajawn]

01:15 PM on 07/13/2010

I made the recipe the day after I went to the park! It was so good I had to try and make it! The first one I made was too sweet but the second was amazing. I need to add more ice for the frozen one though. Either way, it tastes just like it!

[JackiChan]

12:11 PM on 07/06/2010

This this is a terrible idea!

[wishmehere]

11:37 AM on 07/05/2010

um... where is the alcohol?

[jourdankr]

12:37 PM on 07/01/2010

Has anyone tried it? Did it work out?

[ontariogirl]

08:12 PM on 06/30/2010

Paging Dr Cardiac......please come to the library again.

[mlaiuppa]

06:18 PM on 06/30/2010

If the cream soda is just being used for fizz, I'd suggest using selzer water instead. If it's for flavoring, I see no reason to add the rum extract. And that is an awful lot of butter. There is butter flavored extract too, although I don't care for it in cooking. That's a lot of cream too.

Cream (fat), butter (fat), brown sugar (sugar).

Not to mention that cream soda probably has high fructose corn syrup (or sugar if you're using some sort of natural or organic cream soda). That's more sugar.

A one time treat fine. But I wouldn't make a habit of this.

[Konnie]

09:13 AM on 07/10/2010

you need to dial it back a tad. no one goes to this much trouble for a daily drinking routine.
i just made it, its wonderful. but it's soooo rich - even kids only want 1 serving. it's the
experience.........it's harry potter..........it's meant to be fun! a treat!

if my choice is to live eating sticks and twigs and drinking plain water or risk dying at 89
instead of 90 because i had one serving of this drink at a special event - then i choose dying at 89. obviously there are some folks who can't, so they shouldn't.........but for everyone else........

[swamper2010]

06:02 PM on 06/30/2010

We lucked out and were in the soft opening Sunday before the Grand opening . The wife bought both the regular and frozen version of butterbeer The regular looked funky with the foamy head on top but OMG they both were delicious. Hit the spot on a 96 degree day in sunny,humid Orlando.

The village is amazing,and the new ride is a hoot. It snowed on us inside the castle in one of the classrooms. They hit it out of the ballpark with this addition. 5 stars !

[timetocookdinner]

04:50 PM on 06/30/2010

I love Harry Potter but will not make this for my kids. With a history of alcoholism in the family, why would I want to turn them on to the taste of rum in a drink called 'beer.' I know the Brits will pooh-pooh this as American uptight-ism, but the younger they get turned on to alcohol, the greater the chance they will fall into addiction.

"Young Age At First Drink May Affect Genes And Risk For Alcoholism"
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090918181458.htm

[Texas4Obama]

05:28 PM on 06/30/2010

1/2 teaspoon of rum extract divided into 4 glasses would be unnoticeable - so unnoticeable that you could even omit it from the recipe. 1/8 of a teaspoon of rum extract per person is not going to turn anyone into a drinker/alcoholic.
If your kids were to ever eat a rum ball or have a piece of rum cake at Christmas time, the world would not come to an end ;)

[elsie900]

08:41 PM on 07/03/2010

Rum extract isn't going to make them want rum. It provides a butterscotch flavor, essentially. They won't taste any "alcohol" taste.

If it's the actual alcohol in the extract you're worried about, make sure you also abstain from giving them anything containing vanilla extract, almond extract, or any of the other extracts. They are all basically essential oils or the equivalent, suspended in an alcohol solution that quickly dissipates when exposed to air or heat, leaving the flavor.

Do you let them read Harry Potter? Because reading about those kids enjoying a butterbeer would probably be more likely to influence their attitudes toward beverages than offering them a serving of this dessert-in-a-glass.

Personally, I think Harry Potter handles subjects like appropriate alcohol use much more responsibly than most popular entertainment.

[medicontheedge]

03:18 PM on 06/30/2010

I( am certain that using real dark rum in this recipe would make it real good...i am already working on tweaking this recipe to make it a real nice winter brew.

[Crushy]

02:50 PM on 06/30/2010

ugh....That sounds disgusting.......and can they add a little more sugar to it maybe? ....no wonder there is an obesity problem in this country.

[IrieMoon]

03:04 PM on 06/30/2010

So obesity in America is a problem because of a recipe that comes from a fictional book written by an English author?

Now I've heard it all.

[Crushy]

03:10 PM on 06/30/2010

There was no recipe in the book. The Orlando theme park came up with it.

but nice try....

[Texas4Obama]

05:30 PM on 06/30/2010

Going to an amusement park and drinking a butterbeer as a treat is not going to hurt anyone. Things are good if taken in moderation ;)