ORLANDO, Fla. – Just a few pages into “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” Minerva McGonagall said that every child in the wizarding world would know Harry Potter’s name.
After seven books and eight movies, that statement stands true for children and adults in the muggle world.
Recommended Videos
[TRENDING: No one wins U.S. Mega Millions, jackpot now over $1B | 13-year-old Florida boy battles deadly brain-eating amoeba | Become a News 6 Insider (it’s free!)]
Harry Potter himself turns 42 this year. The character was born on July 31, 1980.
So, wave your wands and try to make a food from the series for Harry’s birthday. There are foods that are simple, but others require more work. Here’s one item per part that you can try to make:
1. Happee Birthdae Harry cake - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Even though it strays away from the book description, it’s an iconic cake for Potterheads. In the book, Hagrid gives Harry a chocolate cake with the words “Happy Birthday Harry.” The popular movie cake, however, is covered in pink frosting and has the words written as “Happee Birthdae Harry” in green frosting.
Whether you make the cake from scratch or use a box mix, it’s really a simple presentation. Let’s be real, even if you’re more of a book fan, the movie version is better.
2. Aunt Petunia’s pudding - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
This is another hard one if you’re not into decorating cakes. Petunia Dursley made a pudding with a “huge mound of whipped cream and sugared violets” for their guests, Mr. and Mrs. Mason, according to the book. The movie shows Dobby levitating it but canceling the charm when it’s on top of Mrs. Mason’s head.
The movie stood true to its description as the pudding is tall with whipped cream layers and is decorated with violets. Here is a link to a recipe for the pudding, and a video is included in the page to help guide you.
3. Butterbeer - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
A popular drink among students, butterbeer is introduced after Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley go to Hogsmeade without Harry because he didn’t have a permission form signed. The drink was popular among students and had just the slightest bit of alcohol.
If you visit Universal Studios, you can try butterbeer at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which keeps the drink non-alcoholic.
But if you’re not looking to visit the theme park, there are plenty of recipes online from people recreating the drink. For non-alcoholic butterbeer, here is a recipe to consider. If you want some alcohol, you can consider this recipe.
4. Bouillabaisse - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Ah, yes. It’s what Ron Weasley believed was a sneeze coming out of Hermione.
Bouillabaisse is a French seafood stew. Hermione had it on vacation once and thought it was quite nice.
The stew contains a mix of fish, mussels, tomatoes, onions and orange rind. You can try out this recipe from The French Food or this one from Traditional French Food.
5. Pumpkin pasties - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Pasties were put aside for a long time after being mentioned in the first book. Fast forward to “The Order of the Phoenix,.” Harry, Neville Longbottom and Ginny Weasley sat together and shared this food in a compartment while Hermione and Ron were apart with other prefects.
Pumpkin pasties are small pastry pockets stuffed with a pumpkin filling. There’s a debate on the internet on whether pumpkin pasties should be sweet or savory.
Whichever you choose, here’s a link that has both sweet and savory recipes.
6. Ice cream sundae - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Let’s stray away from the books for once just to give an easy option for those who aren’t savvy in the kitchen.
Now, this is simple, isn’t it? Well, the dessert is, but the memory is not. It’s a scene in the movie that causes major secondhand embarrassment. This is when Harry rapidly stands up after Ginny walks in late to the Slug Club meet, and everyone is staring at him
It’s also when Hermione says that her parents are dentists, and the rest of the group is confused because that’s a muggle job. On top of that, Cormac McLaggen is trying to seduce Hermione.
Anyway, the Slug Club is having a huge serving of ice cream, so if this is what you want to eat for Harry’s birthday, just scoop it up.
7. Golden snitch birthday cake - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
A true challenge.
Much of “The Deathly Hallows” focuses on finding the horcruxes and fighting everyone - all that fun stuff. But, before those adventures, let’s not forget a moment of peace.
For Harry’s 17th birthday, Mrs. Weasley brought out a beach-ball-sized snitch cake. If you’re really up for baking and sculpting, try to make this golden ball with wings.
Shorter videos are available, but if you’re really committed and want a step-by-step guide, consider following along to this video by Ashlee Prisbrey on YouTube.
Check out the Florida Foodie podcast. You can find every episode in the media player below: