Butterbeer!

Butterbeer!

So, here's how it is.

I have a friend.  We'll call her Stormcrow.  Stormcrow is, despite the gloomy name, one of the most positive people I've met.  She's always in a good mood, or if she isn't, she fakes it so well that I can't tell.  Stormcrow was competing in the contest I won and submitted this delicious drink.  To be honest, I think I liked it better than I liked any single item on my plate (and I tend to cook things I think are awesome).  So, naturally, I asked her for the recipe and made up a batch of my own.  And even more naturally, my kitty had to come jump into the picture.

Butterbeer comes to us from the Harry Potter universe.  Along with pumpkin juice, it is one of the most commonly-mentioned comestibles in the books.  It is served to children, so the alcohol content must be low-to-negligible, and yet at one point a house elf is completely sauced on the stuff.

Historical Accuracy:  This is one of those weird things.  I've had conversations with several people about how "period" Harry Potter is.  The stuff I cook for tends to draw from a wide variety of fantasy settings, but HP is clearly "modern."  That said, Hogwarts apparently existed for hundreds of years, and so therefore butterbeer is likely nothing particularly "new."  I'll call it a 6/10 for being "fantasy."

How's It Taste?  This is basically a lightly-alcoholic (I added this from Stormcrow's recipe) butterscotch-flavored hot chocolate.  It is rich and creamy and fills you up in a hurry.  Yum.

Difficulty:  You need a candy thermometer to do this.  Aside from that, it's not tough at all.  4/10 at the most.

Ingredients:

1 cup dark brown sugar
2 tbsp. water
6 tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup heavy cream, divided
2 shots dark rum
48 ounces vanilla cream soda

In a saucepan, combine the brown sugar and water.  Heat, stirring, until the candy thermometer says 240F.  Remove from the heat and mix in the butter, salt, vinegar, and 1/4 cup of the cream.  Allow to cool, then add the rum and remaining cream.  Warm up the cream soda.

To serve, fill a glass halfway with the cream mixture and then top with the cream soda.