Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets + Homemade Strawberry and Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sandwiches

I just finished Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets…and loved it!

First off, I loved getting to meet Dobby. I always loved his character in the movies and was excited to meet him in the book. They did a great job of not forgetting any of him in the movie, so at least the Dobby I met before was pretty true to character. I may have even got a little misty-eyed when Lucius was tricked and Dobby was set free.

Gilderoy Lockhart…what a goober. I assumed from the start that he was lying, but oh man did it make me chuckle reading about Hermione and Mrs. Weasley all hot and bothered over him. The movie made it even better when I could watch Mrs. Weasley along with all of the other women fawning over him at his book signing. He’s clearly an opportunist of the cowardly sort, and while I didn’t necessarily like him, he did provide some opportunities to laugh.

The one character I was most impressed with in terms of personal growth was Hermione. Of course she’s an amazing student and wizard, and she’ll never let anything intentionally get in the way of her studies, but I was thrilled to see that she’s become more comfortable with breaking rules and a little braver, especially when it’s for the good of the school in the long run. I also liked that her polyjuice potion went a little wrong, turning her into a cat, because I think small mishaps like that help to keep her grounded.

Tom Riddle’s diary was a really curious and cool way to bring about Voldemort. I made sure when watching the movie to look for Lucius sticking it into Ginny’s cauldron (and surely I can’t be the only person that notices when Harry comes out of that sarcophagus in Knockturn Alley that his glasses are no longer broken, only to find them broken again the next frame, right). Poor sweet Ginny getting caught up in all of that, but she was an excellent target for it at the same time – young, naive, enamored by Harry. As a mom, my heart did turn into a big pile of mush (and I might’ve cried) when the Weasley’s were at Hogwarts and Ginny came in after being rescued from the Chamber of Secrets.

I had no idea about the similarities between Voldemort and Harry and I know if I were Harry I would’ve had the same concerns he did about the Sorting Hat and Slytherin and his being able to speak in Parseltongue. However, as always, Dumbledore said it best, “It’s our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” Amen, Dumbledore, amen.

So for my Chamber of Secrets recipe, I decided to do a twist on strawberry and peanut butter ice cream. I remember the first time I went to Hogsmeade at Universal Orlando I got a cup of this and it was delicious. The last time I went, I sadly couldn’t find it again. Naturally, when I saw it mentioned in the book, I simply had to try my hand at making it so I came up with my own version: Homemade Strawberry and Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sandwiches.

This recipe is fairly simple, but turning the ingredients into ice cream does require a little arm workout. To make the ice cream you need:

• 1 cup half and half
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• Strawberry ice cream: 1/2 cup strawberries (I bought frozen and thawed them, could use fresh)
• Peanut butter ice cream: 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• Pinch of salt
• Ziploc bags
• Ice
• Salt

For the strawberry ice cream, I microwaved a half cup of frozen strawberries, then threw them and the other ingredients into a food processor to mix. You could also use a blender or just mash the strawberries yourself and hand mix into the ingredients.

For the peanut butter ice cream, I microwaved (two 15 second intervals) creamy peanut butter so it became nice and runny, then mixed it all together with the other ingredients in the food processor.

I poured each flavor into a Ziplock bag, then put that bag in another bag, and finally placed those bags into a large gallon sized bag full of ice and about 5 tbsp. of salt. Then, it’s time to shake.

This is a great time to utilize small children if you have them. Wrap the ice filled bag in a towel and shake, shake, shake. I shook for about 2-3 minutes, then threw it into the freezer for about 15 minutes. Repeat this about 3 times and you should have some creamy ice cream ready to go.

To make the cake part you need:

• 1/2 stick unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 *medium* eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 350F. Melt the butter and mix the sugar until there are no lumps. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Then add the flour and pinch of salt and stir until everything is blended. In an 8×8 square pan, lay down parchment paper, spray it with cooking spray (or grease with butter) and pour the batter on top. Allow it to bake for 15 minutes (Insert a toothpick and if it comes out clean, it’s done).

Once the cake has cooled, flip it out of the pan and cut in half. Layer the strawberry and peanut butter ice cream on and place the other half of the cake on top. Freeze for about 5 minutes and then cut into 4 servings and enjoy.

These should last about a week or so and there was left over ice cream to eat by itself as well. These are definitely quite rich, sort of like a dessert peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but very delicious and you even get a bit of a workout with all of the shaking 🙂

I hope you enjoy!