Autumn Amelia

Hello everyone!

While Erik and I were in California last week, we were able to visit Universal Studios Hollywood.

Erik had never been and I hadn't been since I was 3 so, we were eager to experience it together.

Mainly for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!

We reread all of the Harry Potter books and rewatched all of the movies in preparation. 

It did not disappoint!

We headed to Hogwarts Castle first thing in the morning as we heard it gets busy.

Seeing it up on the hillside was truly impressive.

My childhood dreams coming true!

We were able to get onto the ride, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, fairly quickly. 

The line for the ride is located throughout Hogwarts Castle and it was so fun to see all the details that were incorporated. 

The ride itself was INTENSE and my favorite at the park by far.

We rode it twice and would have loved to have ridden it at least one more time.

After that, we headed over to the ride Flight Of the Hippogriff.

It was a little anticlimactic in all honesty...

It was fun!

Just really short-lived...

I could have spent the entire day there but, did want to check out the rest of the park as it was basically my first time. 

We went on the Studio Tour, rode the new Jurassic World ride, saw a raptor and rode the Mummy and Transformers.

Erik is a huge fan of the Simpson's so we spent some time in Springfield.

We had a Lard Lad pink donut for breakfast.

Afterward, we spent the little time we had left soaking up Hogsmeade once again. 

It was really magical, some pun intended...

I wish that Harry Potter had a larger portion in Universal Studios. 

It was not enough for this Potterhead!

I hear it's a little larger in Orlando so, I guess I will have to head there next. 😉

Have you been to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter?

What was your favorite part?

All my love, 

Autumn

Hello everyone!

It's September 1st!
If you are a Harry Potter freak like me, you know that means it's back to Hogwarts day!

September 1st is the day you catch the Hogwarts Express and head to school for the start of the year.

In honor of the big day, we decided to try out our first recipe from our Harry Potter cookbook.

We felt it was appropriate to make Harry's favorite dessert so, treacle tart it was!
Just a heads up the crust dough needs a few hours to chill...

You will need:

2 and 1/2 Cups of Flour

1 Cup of Powdered Sugar

1/2 a Teaspoon of Salt

2 Sticks of Cold Butter, Cut Into Cubes

2 Egg Yolks

1/3 Cup of Heavy Cream

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla


For the Filling:
1 Cup of Golden Syrup, Light Molasses or Corn Syrup, I used Molasses
2 and 1/4 Cups Fresh Bread Crumbs
Grated Zest and Juice of 1 Lemon

For the Egg Wash:
1 Egg Beaten
1 Tablespoon of Water


Place the flour, powdered sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine.
Scatter cubes of butter over the flour mixture.
Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse yellow meal without any white powdery bits remaining.
Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl.
Set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks, cream and vanilla.
Add to the flour mixture.
Toss with a spatula until the dough clumps together.
If the dough is dry, add 1 more tablespoon heavy cream.
It's better to be too wet than too dry.
Divide the dough in half, form into disks, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator at least 2 hours.


Just before you are ready to roll out the dough prepare the filling.
Warm the molasses in a saucepan until it is runny.
Mix the molasses, bread crumbs, lemon zest and lemon juice in a mixing bowl until well combined.

Preheat oven to 400o.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator.
On a well-floured surface, roll one disk to an 11-inch circle.
Fold into quarters, brush off the excess flour with a pastry brush after each fold, then unfold into a 9-inch tart pan easing the sides gently into the pan and pressing the dough into the fluted edges.
Trim the dough even with the rim.
Roll out the second disk to 1/8th of an inch thick.
Cut the dough into long strips for the lattice topping.

Scrape the filling into the prepared crust and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.
Lay half of the strips of dough over the filling in one direction, and the other half in the opposite direction to form a lattice.
Trim the overhang.
Beat the egg and water in a small bowl to create your egg wash.
Gently brush over the lattice.


Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce temperature to 375o and bake for another 25 minutes until the crust is browned and the filling puffs up in the center.
Serve warm with custard, vanilla ice cream or whipped cream if desired.
Enjoy!


We had never had treacle tart before and were not disappointed!
It is delicious and VERY sweet!
We plan on eating some tonight while watching the first Harry Potter and putting together a Harry Potter Lego.
Did I mention I was a Harry Potter freak?
What Hogwarts House are you in?

All my love,
Autumn


P.S. Head over to my Instagram for a fun Harry Potter Giveaway!