Along the Anglophile Tangent

In keeping with the current celebration of all thing British, we will now turn our attention to Harry Potter.  We are all pretty excited about the last movie in the series coming out this summer.  Yes, of course we know the movies don't do the books justice, but still . . .  When I stumbled across a recipe for Frozen Butterbeer on Prudence Pennywise {the cutest food blog -- click over and check it out!}, I knew we had to give it a try.  It was TO DIE FOR yummy and creamy and sweet and frothy and rich and delicious.  Try it, and in advance I say, "You're welcome."

Frozen Butterbeer

(adapted from Fox News Recipe) Makes four generous servings

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 vanilla extract 

Four 12-ounce bottles cream soda {I just bought a 2 liter bottle and it was plenty to make 5 big glasses)

8 scoops vanilla ice cream 

Place your cream sodas in the freezer about 30 minutes before you plan to have butterbeer. You want it to be very cold and slushy. (This recipe takes about one hour because of cooling time, unless you cheat like me.) In a small saucepan over medium heat, 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 (about 30 minutes). {I stuck the bottom of my pot in a sink full of ice water and stirred it until it was cool -- about 5 minutes -- because we just couldn't wait!} Once the mixture has cooled, stir in the vanilla extract. Meanwhile, 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, in the bowl of a blender, combine about 1/4 cup brown sugar mixture, 1/2 cup cream soda and two scoops of vanilla ice cream. Blend until smooth. Pour into glass and add additional cream soda to fill to the top. Stir with a spoon to blend. Top with whipped cream mixture. Repeat.