Plum Cake | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry opened the last present to find a new, hand-knitted jumper from Mrs Weasley, and a large plum cake.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
J.K Rowling

Harry Potter will always be a classic - along with Enid Blyton it was one of those stories that made me somewhat wish I had gone to boarding school as a child (though honestly, looking back it would have had to be a boarding school in the UK with a clear focus on magical studies). The characters in the books are constantly receiving parcels and surprises from those at home and it all seemed like such a thrill. Mrs Weasley’s presents always seemed the best as well - a hand knitted jumper? Yes please. Homemade cakes and fudge and all the warmth that could possibly be given.

The days are beginning to become a little warmer in Melbourne as the winter comes to an end, and it was in anticipation of an upcoming warm weekend that I, rather determinedly, stated I would be making a plum cake to eat in the park. What I did not factor in was an event at work that Friday night that resulted in finding myself at a nearby bar ordering an array of gin martinis late into the night. Nevertheless I persisted, I came home and somehow, in a rather tipsy state, made a plum cake that Friday night.

It was a crumbly, buttery, delicious mess of a cake. And we inhaled it the next day, wrapped up (who was I kidding - it’s still winter, it’s freezing) in jackets, perched in a nearby garden, tearing off chunks of the cake with our hands because neither of us thought that forks or spoons could possibly come in handy.

Plum Cake
Ingredients
5-6 plums, cut in half with the stone removed
130g butter
150ml milk
1tbsp apple cider vinegar
150g plain flour
100g almond meal
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bi-carb soda
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch salt

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and prepare a 9” cake tin by greasing the sides and placing a circle of baking paper at the bottom.

2. Mix together the milk and the apple cider vinegar and leave top it for a few minutes until it begins to curdle.

3. Using either a mixer or by hand, cream together the butter and sugar until it’s light and well mixed.

4. In a seperate bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients and combine.

5. Add the milk and apple cider vinegar mix to the cream butter and sugar and combine briefly.

6. Slowly add the wet mix to the dry, mixing until well combined.

7. Pour the mix into your prepared cake tin and press the plus halves down on top into the batter. I like using quite a few plums in mine - so it’s really up to preference.

8. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Enjoy!

Strawberry and Peanut Butter Ice-Cream | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry, Ron and Hermione strolled off along the winding, cobbled street. The bag of gold, silver and bronze jangling cheerfully in Harry's pocket was clamouring to be spent, so he bought three large strawberry and peanut-butter ice-creams which they slurped happily as they wandered up the alley, examining the fascinating shop windows.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
J.K Rowling

It was only a matter of time before I started on the absolute smorgasbord of food throughout the Harry Potter series. I’m sure that many other children, like myself, dreamed of getting to visit Florean Fortescue’s ice-cream parlour when first exploring the world of Harry Potter within the books. Everything within the pages always (and still does) seemed so magical - even the ice creams.

Even growing up in a coastal town of Australia, where ice-cream is practically mandatory in the summer months, I had never come across this particular flavour before. It seems so bizarre that, of course, it would only be available in a magical world. Looking at it more rationally now - peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwiches were very much a staple growing up, I just didn’t really seem to put the two together.

This recipe ended up being both delightfully fruity and refreshing (little benefit of having coconut milk instead of dairy) with hidden pockets of peanut butter throughout. It may be the beginning of winter in Melbourne, but it’s never going to be too cold for ice-cream.

*Note: I used coconut milk for this recipe, however you can sub with dairy cream/milk if you want

Strawberry and Peanut Butter Ice-cream
Makes approx. 550g
Ingredients
2 x 400ml can coconut milk (full fat) *see note
350g frozen or fresh strawberries
5 tbsp peanut butter
2 tbsp corn starch
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup white sugar
Big pinch salt

1. Place the container of the ice-cream maker into the freezer to pre-chill.

2. Put all ingredients into a saucepan, excluding the peanut butter, and heat gradually until it is simmering.

3. Stir thoroughly to ensure all sugar and cornstarch is dissolved and mixed in.

4. Remove from the heat and, using a fork or masher, squish all the strawberries roughly in the saucepan. It’s fine if there are chunks remaining - it’s more delicious in the ice-cream anyway.

5. Pour into the container of the pre-chilled ice-cream maker and follow the directions according to your particular machine.

6. Once it’s nice and thick (mine took around 30 minutes), remove from machine and begin transferring to a sealable container. While you’re doing this, you want to spread spoonfuls of the peanut butter throughout the ice-cream, ensuring an even distribution.

7. Freeze for around one hour before serving.

Chocolate Frogs

'What are these?' Harry asked Ron, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs. 'They're not really frogs, are they?' He was starting to feel that nothing would surprise him.
'No,' said Ron, 'But see what the card is, I'm missing Agrippa.
'What?'
’Oh, of course you wouldn't know - Chocolate Frogs have cards inside them, you know, to collect - Famous Witches and Wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy.'
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
J.K Rowling

So, it's about that time of the year that I reread all the Harry Potter books. now I've started this little project as well, I'm paying a lot more attention to the absolutely delicious foods that appear within its pages. There's probably going to be a bit of an abundance of the foods that appear within the series pages appearing soon.

It's been a rushed few months, with the summer being sweltering hot every move seems slightly exhausting - not to mention working in both a busy bakery and an overheating restaurant. I'm in my last week of hospitality work currently before I switch to a corporate setting - something that I've never done before in my life. It's going to be an interesting change and I feel that my need to explore creativity through this blog will increase at a hurried pace.

*Note: you will need chocolate frog moulds for this recipe

Chocolate Frogs
Makes approximately 9 frogs
Ingredients
200g + 350g good quality dark chocolate, if not using chips make sure it's chopped roughly
1/2 cup cream (I used coconut but any will work)
1 tbsp butter

1. Heat the 1/2 cup of cream on the stove until it's lightly bubbling and very hot. Remove from the heat and add in the 200g dark chocolate.

2. Mix quickly as to melt the chocolate while the coconut milk is still hot. Once he chocolate has melted in with cream add in the tbsp of butter. Mix together until melted into the chocolate mix. Place in fridge for 2-3 hours or until solidified into a fudge-y ganache.

3. While the ganache is setting is a great time to start the coating of the frogs. Heat a pot of water on the stove until boiling and place a metal or glass bowl on top, ensuring that the water doesn't touch the bowl.

4. Place about 2/3rd of the 350g of chocolate into the bowl and make sure to continually stir it with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to stop the chocolate from burning.

5. In order to temper the chocolate and get a lovely shiny coat to it it's best to make sure the chocolate doesn't heat over 48C - if you don't have cooking thermometer the best way to tell the chocolate is ready is by the shininess it will appear to have as melting.

6. Remove from the heat once the temperature is reached and add in the remaining third of dark chocolate quickly, stirring to melt it from the heat of the already melted chocolate.

7. Drip the melted chocolate into your frog chocolate moulds, making sure to evenly coat the sides so there are no weak parts. It can be a little tricky to do this part without making the top super thick in chocolate - just do your best. There will be melted chocolate left over - keep this to the side in the bowl to remelt on the pot of boiling water for when you need to close over the frogs.

8. Leave to harden - about 2-3 hours. You can speed this along by placing it in the fridge but the chocolate will look better if left to harden not refrigerated.

9. When both the moulds and ganache filling are ready, press small spoonfuls of the ganache into the chocolate coating of the frogs, pressing down to fill up the crevices.

10. Now is when you want to remelt that leftover chocolate, once ready drip it over the top of the filled chocolate moulds, sealing the ganache inside. Leave to harden for at least 4 hours.

11. After about 4 hours have passed you can attempt to get the frogs out of the moulds - they should come out very easily, if not, they're not properly set - leave them for another hour or so.