ian can cook

Hey kids, welcome to the first episode of Ian Can Cook (pronounced as yan can cook XD).

Muggles! Ever wondered what the food in Harry Potter's magical world tastes like? There are lots of food: from Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans to Chocolate Frogs to Cauldron Cakes. Today, we are making BUTTERBEER - the Potter gang's favourite drink at The Three Broomsticks. It has a smooth buttery taste and it warms you up! Perfect for a cold day! And it's easy to make! Even a noob can make it.

Butterbeer is prepared warm. Yes, there are cold ones, but today we are making the warm version, because it is better tasting. The recipe we are using today is borrowed from the web, with slight modifications.

Ingredients for making 2 cups (250ml each):
1 cup of cream soda (F&N Ice Cream Soda)
1/2 cup of butterscotch syrup (get the smuckers one, quite rare though)
1/2 tablespoon of butter
A few drops of of vanilla extract (if you don't have, I think the butterscotch has it already)
A splash of absolut vodka or whatever hard liquor you like

Directions:
In a jug or some container, pour the cream soda into the jug, add the vanilla and absolut vodka into it.
Heat a small frying pan (smaller the better) in a fire to optimum temperature and spread the butter onto it. Pour the butterscotch syrup into the frying pan. Stir until they mix well. Wait a while until the mixture bubbles like a potion in a cauldron.
Pour the mixture into the jug or container and mix well.
Serve and drink and enjoy.

Let us continue with the show...
You kids may think that omg, fat everywhere, just like drinking straight from the syrup bottle! And imagine the layer of oil above the drink. Yucks. Well, don't be so paranoid, just drink lah. Anyway the layer of oil will not be that thick as you expect it to be.

On my first try (making 1 cup only), I am going to add butterscotch, butter and vodka to the heated frying pan together. (Notice the word VODKA)

Omg...I self-pwned. How am I going to expect this to happen! (I am not going to take a photo of the real thing happening in my kitchen again, it freaking shocks me.)
I am freaking surprised. I am shocked. Then, I laugh for damn long. XD It is f-ed up to the max. And it is damn funny at the same time. There goes my alcohol - all gone.

SO KIDS, DON'T TRY PUTTING ALCOHOL INTO A FRYING PAN WHEN IT'S HOT UNLESS YOU THINK YOU WORK IN A POSH RESTAURANT. In other words, don't follow this noob over here.

So I heat up the mixture in the frying pan until it's bubbly all over and I pour it into the cup of cream soda and vanilla and mix it well and add vodka (remember it burned off!). So how it turns out? It looks brown, with some fizz. Blobs of oil on the surface, but nevermind. Ah... the smooth buttery taste. It isn't perfect though, there isn't enough alcohol; the buttery taste seems to cloud it over. Most disappointingly, it wasn't that warming - perhaps I need to warm up the cream soda first next time.

On my second try, I am not going to repeat my mistake AGAIN! I make the butterbeer. It turns out that I've not added enough butterscotch syrup... -.- . It tastes plain horrible. I simply add some butterscotch syrup and there it is, almost perfect! The smooth buttery taste with a tinge of alcohol! What I am looking for! If only I care to warm the drink up, it would be perfect! I would be in Potter land (whatever -.-).

My second try! As pictured below: (I put this cup in the fridge for an hour already, so there's no more fizz. D: )
Butterbeer RATING: 3/5 Good. Perhaps the real thing in that Potter land tastes much better but muggles like me will never know.

We have come to the end of the first episode, kids. Don't cry please, you can see me again when I attempt another cooking miracle, I'm not going away for good. Have fun making butterbeer.