Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them hit theaters on Nov. 18, 2016, just in time for the holidays. The spin-off prequel to Harry Potter has received positive views—”The beasts are indeed fantastic.” fans wrote on MuggleNet, the most popular fansite for the series—and to celebrate the magic, we’ve rounded up some of the most creative dishes inspired by the wizarding world. These treats are bound to upstage even the best pumpkin pies. However, any of these could also work as a gift to a loved one, especially those that have been defending themselves against the dark arts. Fortunately, many of these dishes are as marvelous as the dark arts are relentless. Ah, do not underestimate the power of sweets. “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” hit bookshelves in 1997—almost 20 years ago—but wizards and witches everywhere, you included, have proven that they are here to stay. Continue the tradition in the kitchen with these ideas. Let us know which ones you’re excited to try.You don’t have to be a wizard in the kitchen to make something magical. Hagrid proved that to us when he presented Harry Potter with this heartfelt birthday cake. Diamonds for Dessert fills us in on how to get that special color: add a few drops of red food coloring to vanilla frosting.
Sugar and Soul stunned us with their tasty butterbeer pancake and syrup recipe. The syrup is made from butter, buttermilk, butter extract, sugar and baking soda. When these simple ingredients hit your stack of fluffy pancakes, you’ll know that all is right in the (wizarding) world.
Who hasn’t fallen in love with the adorable and quirky Luna Lovegood? Luna loves pudding, a fact that inspired Teri of Spoon Fork Bacon to whip up this themed dessert. This pudding is filled with strawberries and blueberries, then finished off with edible glitter.
Bento Monsters features original adorable meals for adorable kids, but we think that grown-ups will fall just as hard for this lunch set. Harry’s hair is from charcoal noodles (don’t worry, it doesn’t taste like charcoal just as long as you flavor it with sesame oil, soy sauce and oyster sauce) while Hermione’s is made from instant noodles.
Molly Weasley doesn’t make her special sweaters for just anybody. If you didn’t get yours by owl post yet, fear not, you can make these beautiful Weasley sweater cookies in the meantime. Bakingdom used homemade marshmallow fondant for the upper detail.
Finally, a golden snitch you can get your hands on! These ones were made from Bakerella’s cake pop instructions. White fondant was used for the wings. Sprinkles on Top recommends golden sprinkles from Williams & Sonoma.
Treacle is a golden syrup, and treacle tart is a traditional English dessert. It also happens to be Harry Potter’s favorite dessert, which is why he catches a whiff of it when drinking Amortentia, the most powerful love potion there is. Made with brown butter, rosemary and lemon, this version is divine.
You only need an hour (or less) to make these stunning devil’s food Cauldron Cakes. Chocolate chips are used for the base to keep each one grounded. “I like to think the edible gold glitter means these cauldrons are filled with a little Felix Felicis (or “liquid luck”),” wrote Pastry Affair. We have to agree!
It isn’t a Harry Potter celebration without some Butterbeer. Here’s a simple recipe from Pepper. What You’ll Need: – 1 can of cold cream soda – 3-4 tbsp caramel Syrup – Whipped cream Instructions: Pour soda and syrup into a glass mug, then stir well. Top with whipped cream and enjoy!
Having a large party over? Entertain and indulge them with a batch of Sorting Hat cupcakes. You can customize them however you’d like—red velvet, vanilla bean, strawberry, or earwax, if you’re into that—just make sure you customize the tinted cream filling: “red for Gryffindor, blue for Ravenclaw, yellow for Hufflepuff, and green for Slytherin,” says Sugar Bean Bakers.
