The food in the Harry Potter series is as much a loved part of the wizarding world as the magic of Hogwarts. From the sweets trolley aboard the Hogwarts Express, the treats on offer at Honeyduke’s Sweet Shop, the hearty fare served at the Weasley home and the fantastic feasts that appear on the long tables of the Great Hall, the magical snacks, dishes and treats in the books and films are a delicious addition.
As a long-time Harry Potter fan, and with one of my children recently introduced to and loving the wizarding world, I thought a morning spent cooking up treats from the newly published Afternoon Tea Magic, Official Snacks, Sips and Sweets inspired by the Wizarding World would be fun. And it was. Sort of.
Billed as a “deluxe cookbook” and packed with all the information needed to create a “Harry Potter-inspired afternoon tea”, the book offers fans a range of DIY dishes. In the sweet section, find Dolores Umbridge’s I will make scones recipe, and Molly Weasley’s teatime rhubarb and custard trifles.
The savoury section is home to treats such as Kowalski Bakery’s buttery teatime witch hats with magical herbal broomsticks, and the Deathly Hallows pull-apart teatime bread. In the drinks section, Teddy the Niffler’s milk treat is calorific but delicious, while Trevor’s Toad Pond Punch is perfect for a child’s birthday party.
Fun idea or riddikulus? After a swish and flick through the book, I quickly realised it’s not really for children. Well, little ones anyway; older children will fare better, but will probably still need help. Many dishes have long lists of ingredients with instructions spread across several pages.
With this in mind, I preselected about 10 recipes I thought my children, Indiana, 11, Fox, nine, and Caspian, five, could handle, and that wouldn’t later result in me performing an obliviate spell to purge the experience from my mind.
Imagine my joy, then, when my youngest decided upon the Hungarian Horntail mini teatime cakes, comprising a whopping four-page-long recipe and instructions.
Fox opted for the equally time-consuming Hogwarts Houses four-layer rainbow petits fours, while my eldest went for the one-bite circus animal tea biscuits.
Having baked with the children many times before, I knew from experience that the weighing and measuring part could extend the time spent by hours if not days, so I pre-weighed and measured all the ingredients for my two youngest while letting my eldest do it for his recipe.
'Baking is hard'
The recipe for the Hungarian Horntail mini teatime cakes claimed it would make 12 cupcakes, so how we managed to make an additional eight-inch cake from it, I have no idea. Magic, perhaps? The Geminio doubling charm can be very effective, I hear.
For all three recipes, the pouring into the bowl of flour, sugar, eggs and more was met with glee, as my children love pouring stuff. Pretty soon, though, small arm muscles grew tired of stirring and that’s where I stepped in, in the absence of one of those self-stirring spoons Molly Weasley has.
The Hogwarts Houses four-layer rainbow petits fours recipe required a little (OK, a lot) of substitutions. Out went the strawberry tea bag, Moroccan mint tea bag, lemon-lime tea bag and butterfly pea flower tea in exchange for the artificial flavourings we already had in the baking cupboard. Also out was the blue spirulina powder, replaced by blue food colouring, and the elderberry jam for raspberry.
The one-bite circus animal tea biscuits Indiana chose to make required extra flour to soak up the wet vegetable oil and creme fraiche ingredients, offering him a solid introduction to the mechanics of the rolling pin that caused him to lament: “Baking is hard.”
For the biscuits, we didn’t have the suggested miniature circus animal biscuit cutters, so instead used the cutters we did have, namely circles, stars and flowers. From start to finish, baking the three recipes took about four hours.
Recipes from Privet Drive and the Leaky Cauldron
Each recipe comes with its own introductory spiel about the origin of the dish, including the character it’s associated with and when and where it makes an appearance in the books or films.
Some recipes are instantly recognisable, such as the Leaky Cauldron split-pea teatime soup Harry is offered; and Aunt Petunia’s teatime Windtorte pudding, which Dobby the house elf drops on Mrs Mason’s head during a dinner party at Privet Drive.
Others are inspired by locations, characters or passing mentions. Professor McGonagall’s transfiguration sticky toffee pudding bites feature ice cream cone witches' hats, while only the bravest should attempt the Dementor’s mini chocolate teatime treats.
Some of the recipes don’t have accompanying imagery, rather ironically with Professor Sprout’s bite-size greenhouse mystery cakes, leaving you to figure out what they’re supposed to look like. Others, such as the Divination dream bar tea treats are accompanied by hand-drawn illustrations.
Despite the Harry Potter inspiration, this is a cookbook for grown-ups and older children with a penchant for the kitchen, as young children would need a lot of supervision. Some of the ingredients might not be found in the average home pantry, such as beeswax, fresh lavender buds, bright pink coarse sugar and Hungarian paprika.
Many recipes also require specialist equipment that the baking layperson might not have to hand, including a Madeleine tin, mini heart-shaped waffle iron, canele moulds, wooden mallets and frog and key-shaped plastic moulds. Oh, and a 500g bottle of “very strong waterproof polyurethane adhesive”, which I’m glad to say is not for the cakes, but rather to keep the teapot in Queenie Goldstein’s floating teapot recipe afloat.
While imaginative, the complexity of many of the recipes and the amount of ingredients mean they’re not ones I will rush to do again. Overall, though, the children enjoyed the experience. And their favourite part? “The eating of course,” noted Caspian.
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EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
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7.05pm: Handicap (rated 72-87) Dh 165,000 1,600m.
Winner: Syncopation, George Buckell, Doug Watson.
7.40pm: Maiden Dh 165,000 1,400m.
Winner: Big Brown Bear, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
8.15pm: Handicap (75-95) Dh 190,000 1,200m.
Winner: Stunned, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
8.50pm: Handicap (85-105) Dh 210,000 2,000m.
Winner: New Trails, Connor Beasley, Ahmad bin Harmash.
9.25pm: Handicap (75-95) Dh 190,000 1,600m.
Winner: Pillar Of Society, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
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Who: France v Croatia
When: Sunday, July 15, 7pm (UAE)
TV: Game will be shown live on BeIN Sports for viewers in the Mena region
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What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Brief scores:
Toss: Northern Warriors, elected to field first
Bengal Tigers 130-1 (10 ov)
Roy 60 not out, Rutherford 47 not out
Northern Warriors 94-7 (10 ov)
Simmons 44; Yamin 4-4
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net
Some popular drinks with high levels of sugar and caffeine have slipped through the fizz drink tax loophole, as they are not carbonated or classed as an energy drink.
Arizona Iced Tea with lemon is one of those beverages, with one 240 millilitre serving offering up 23 grams of sugar - about six teaspoons.
A 680ml can of Arizona Iced Tea costs just Dh6.
Most sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, five teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
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Uefa Champioons League semi-final, first leg:
Liverpool 5
Salah (35', 45 1'), Mane (56'), Firmino (61', 68')
Roma 2
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Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
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