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Home | Harry Potter Fans: Make Your Own Butterbeer at Home

Harry Potter Fans: Make Your Own Butterbeer at Home

Harry Potter Butterbeer

One of the most familiar items from the Wizarding World that Harry Potter fans will recognize is butterbeer, the beverage quaffed on numerous occasions by students at Hogwarts at places like the Three Broomsticks or the Leaky Cauldron pubs. While the books don't really say what it is, it's been assumed that it's kind of a butterscotch flavored soft drink. If you visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios, you can't escape butterbeer vendors who offer up the cold kind and even a hot version during the winter.

Their interpretation, which we've also enjoyed at the Warner Bros Studio Tour — The Making of Harry Potter in London, is a sort of butterscotchy soda with frothy white foam on top. If you want to enjoy butterbeer at home, you don't need to travel to Los Angeles or London, but just follow our simple recipe, which tastes remarkably like what we had there. It's perfect for a treat while reading the books or watching a Harry Potter movie, and would be ideal for a Hogwarts-themed Halloween party.

My daughter experimented with several of the recipes out there on the internet to get this just right. While a lot of them have complicated formulas for homemade butterscotch flavoring, she found that store-bought butterscotch syrup or ice cream topping, like Smucker's, worked perfectly fine and took a lot less effort.

Ingredients

Makes one serving

  • One 12-ounce bottle or can of cream soda, chilled (we recommend IBC or A&W)
  • 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
  • One heaping tablespoon of Jet Puffed Marshmallow Creme
  • One teaspoon butterscotch syrup or topping (or to taste)

Harry Potter Butterbeer ingredients

Directions

In a small bowl, whisk half the cream with the marshmallow fluff until the marshmallow is fully incorporated. Add the rest of the cream and stir gently until smooth.

Pour the chilled cream soda into a glass and stir in the butterscotch syrup. Make sure you leave at least an inch of space between the top of the soda and rim of your glass or mug.

Pour the cream and marshmallow mixture on top of the soda. If you like, give it one gentle stir; the foam topping will expand dramatically! Serve and enjoy.