Butterbeer!!!

Omg you guys. I got to escape this awful winter with a trip to Florida for a couple of days where we visited the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Normally give me wilderness over crowded theme parks any day, but loving the books as I do, I really wanted to see what they did with it. I predict a series of posts in the not too distant future of replicates of (and improvements to) lots of the things we found there. But first, everyone's favorite: Butterbeer!

We're going to start out by making some butterscotch sauce and then use it as a base for all of the other things we're doing. Butterscotch disappoints me in the same way butterbeer does in that it doesn't actually contain scotch. According to the ever-reliable Wikipedia, "scotch" may have come from a word for "to score," given that butterscotch candies had to be cut in a very specific way, or from "scorch," which is what we do to the sugar. This sauce is rather addictive and you might just want to eat it and not bother with the rest. And that's completely okay. Butterscotch is basically the same thing as caramel with the only difference being that butterscotch is made with brown sugar, true caramel with white. Regardless of etymology, I put the "scotch" back in the butter. Cause that's what I do. Yeah.

Butterbeer (Butterscotch) Sauce Base:
4 TBS butter
1 cup brown sugar (light brown is preferable for the right color, but it doesn't matter)
1 TBS corn syrup
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 TBS vanilla extract
2 TBS scotch or bourbon (optional - and I would not recommend a blended whiskey)
pinch salt

In a medium, heavy-bottomed sauce pan or dutch oven, heat butter, sugar and corn syrup over medium heat until the butter melts, the sugar starts to liquefy, and you get a nice gloppy clump of artery clogging goo. Add the heavy cream. Boil for 2-3 minutes, stirring, until you get a bunch of foam and the mixture thickens. Remove from heat. Carefully and slowly add vanilla and whiskey - the low boiling point of alcohol will cause it to splash and splutter. Add the salt, and stir to combine. Allow to cool so you can taste it and add more vanilla, whiskey or salt to taste. Store leftovers in a mason jar in the fridge.

(Honestly you could probably get away with just using store bought butterscotch syrup, but... ew.)

Regular Butterbeer (This is ridiculously easy)
2-3 TBS butterbeer sauce depending on how sickeningly sweet you like your drinks
2 TBS water
1 cup cream soda
Shot of whiskey (optional)
Head foam (optional - see below)

Combine the sauce and water in a microwave safe cup and heat 10 seconds or until you can mix them together. Pour in cream soda and whiskey, add ice as desired. (If you have been to the WWoHP and own this souvenir mug, it is not microwave safe.) Top with head foam if desired (below).

Hot Butterbeer - Universal Orlando Style
I found this sickening. It came in a 12oz cup and between the two of us we couldn't finish it. If you like drinking heavy cream, this may suit you, however I thought it would be a nice accompaniment to a Hagrid-sized tankard of coffee.

1/4 cup butterbeer sauce
1 cup whole milk
Use a steamer to steam the milk. If you don't have a steamer, heat the milk in the microwave in tupperware, cover tightly, and shake the bejesus out of it. Pour over the butterscotch and stir.

Hot Butterbeer - my style
My style is modeled off a hot toddy. It's still way too sweet for my taste, but with optional whiskey, you can take the edge off so to speak.

2 TBS butterbeer sauce
3 oz water
1 oz the whiskey you used to make the sauce unless especially if serving to small children
1 TBS cream
4 oz room temperature cream soda
Put everything except the cream soda into a mug and microwave 30 seconds or so until nicely warm but nowhere near boiling. Add the cream soda. You can adjust the water:whiskey ratio if you like.

Butterbeer Ice Cream (use to make frozen butterbeer, or just eat on its own with butterbeer sauce)
Generous 1/2 cup  butterbeer sauce
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
2 egg yolks

Combine sauce, cream and milk in a heavy bottomed sauce pan and simmer, stirring, till combined. Break your egg yolks into a container, beat them up a bit, then carefully pour in a little of the butterbeer cream at a time, whisking it into the egg yolks until you have incorporated all of the cream mixture. Pro tip: use a measuring pitcher or other container with a narrow opening, and pour the butterbeer cream through a funnel to avoid a hot creamy mess on your counter top! Once you have whisked it all together, return mixture to pan and simmer until thick and foamy, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a container, seal, and place in the fridge 4-6 hours or until very chilled. Follow directions as per your ice cream maker to freeze. Scoop it into a freezer-safe container and put in the freezer to harden.

*note: this will produce a hard-type ice cream. To make it more like soft serve, omit eggs, and change milk and cream to be 3/4 cup of each. I prefer the hard type, but WWoHP served it soft.

Frozen Butterbeer (My favorite of the ones WWoHP offered, and we got one for free at the Three Broomsticks! It was around closing time and their staff had just made a humongous batch.)

1/2 cup ice, crushed
1/2 cup butterbeer ice cream*
1 1/2 cups cream soda

Crush the ice in a blender, unless you have one of those fancy refrigerator ice crushers that does it for you. Then crush the ice into a blender. Add ice cream and a splash of the soda to help it go, and blend thoroughly. Add the rest of the cream soda and pulse a few times until it's all mixed up. Pour into mug and top with head foam if desired.

*If you do not have an ice cream maker or simply don't want to be bothered with making it, try to find plain butterscotch or caramel ice cream without chunks of anything in it. I would not recommend using vanilla ice cream and sauce as the sauce does not like to blend or mix with other things unless it is hot.

Optional head foam

This honestly doesn't have much function but can help give the illusion of beer and an impressive appearance if you are, in fact, trying to impress someone. 

1 TBS heavy or whipping cream

2 tsp cream soda, divided

Shake cream  and 1 tsp soda vigorously in a sealable tupperware container. Pour over butterbeer. Slowly pour a little more cream soda over the top. Dairy and carbonation make fizz, as anyone who has prepared a root beer float knows.

Butter Actual Beer (this is my kinda butter beer!)
1 scoop butterbeer ice cream
12 oz your favorite dark beer, preferably a stout or porter (I used a nice, bitter coffee porter - remember the thing about the hot butterbeer being good in coffee?)
Put them in a glass together and try not to get your whole head stuck in the mug as you lick out the bottom. Cheers!