Foodie Friday: Butterbeer

In case you haven't caught on yet, I am a pretty big nerd. And one of the things I LOVE is Harry Potter. Over the past few years I have tried a couple of different Butterbeer recipes in attempts to make myself feel a little more like a Hogwarts student, and I thought I would share my favorite one with you!

Butterbeer is a delicious, sweet, warm drink. Did I mention it's really sweet? I like sweet things, and I feel like while this drink is sweet, it's not overly sweet like some desserts. This Butterbeer has a good balance to it and it is simply delightful to drink on a cold night, snuggled up on the couch. Or make a big batch and serve it at a holiday party!

This recipe makes 4 servings and is from The Pastry Affair. They adapted the recipe from Huffington Post. Like I said, there are lots of Butterbeer recipes floating out there on the internet.

You will need:

• 4 12-ounce bottles cream soda, room temperature
• 1 cup brown sugar 
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 4 tablespoons butter 
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt  

Steps 1 & 2

1. In a small saucepan, bring brown sugar and 2 tbsp water to a gentle boil. Let boil for one minute and then turn heat off. If you have a candy thermometer, the mixture should be 240F
2. Add butter, salt, vinegar, and 1/4 cup heavy cream and stir until fully incorporated
3. Allow to cool (the original recipe calls to be cooled to room temperature but I wanted to serve mine warm and not cold so I just let it cool for a few minutes so it wasn't scalding hot)
4. Beat remaining heavy cream and 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar to make whipped cream topping (if you opt to use premade whipped cream, it won't have the same flavor or texture, but will still taste delicious)
5. In 4 separate glasses, pour in 1/4 cup brown sugar mixture and 1/4 cup cream soda and stir together
6. Fill the glasses the rest of the way with cream soda
7. Top with whipped cream and serve immediately