Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows + Treacle Tart Recipe

You guys – I did it. I have completed the seven books in the Harry Potter series and right now I just feel sad that it’s over. I tried so hard to read this last one slowly, but really, how can one even take their time with this book. I stayed up until 1:30am the other night because there just wasn’t a good place to stop. There was just so much in this book that it’s almost hard to coherently phrase any of it.

At the beginning, I was completely blown away by Dudley’s actions towards Harry. When he told him he didn’t think he was a waste of space, I literally put my hand over my heart. Seriously, you may have been a total D, but way to pull through in the end Duders. I also was just overwhelmed with feelings towards Hermione as well when she altered her parents memories to forget about her and move away. How absolutely selfless and brave.

Experiencing the trio’s last major journey together reminded me a bit of LOTR. Once they were on the run, it was like they were heading to Mordor and the locket was the ring. I wasn’t the least bit surprised Umbridge had it and I thoroughly enjoyed Harry getting it back from her. It was like a finally ‘take that’ kind of moment between Harry and her. I also love that Kreacher helped them to track down the locket. In the end, it seems like SPEW really was on the right path 🙂

I was heartbroken when Ron left, but I sensed it was coming. His return though, was absolutely fantastic and just perfect for their relationship – it was like they needed him to just for the sake of the return. Although I did like that Harry and Hermione had their own adventure into Godric’s Hollow while he was gone. It was their chance to really experience something together – and that trip was quite an experience. My heart ached when he saw his parent’s headstones and the house and I’ll admit I absolutely was not expecting for that to play out as it did. I’ve been waiting for this big moment with Nagini because hello giant snake, but I definitely just wasn’t expecting it here. Well done, JK.

Dobby was, as always, brilliant. Him coming to save them and “not try to kill, only maim or seriously injure” was just so good. Dobby is the elf friend we all wish we had. I literally bawled my eyes out when he died. I had to stop reading and just breath for a moment. Dobby was so selfless and caring – I HATED that he died. Harry digging his grave sans magic made it an even harder moment for me, but the scene was beautiful at the same time. Sweet Dobby got to spend his last moments with friends, and I think that’s all he would’ve wanted.

The other character that really broke my heart was Snape. Oh, Snape. While he’s never been a favorite of mine, now that I know the whole story, I get it. This beautiful soul he longed for his whole life chose the one man he couldn’t stand and then she was gone forever. You can tell this whole time he had these inner battles about Harry and it all came together perfectly. The movie did a much better job than the book (IMO) with his death scene. Watching him hold Lily, seeing his eyes when he discovers Dumbledore’s true plans, all of the emotions he felt towards her – they all softened my heart to him. He really did it all for her and at the end of it all at least he got to see her eyes one last time through Harry.

This is where I finally got all of my answers (as I guess I should in the last book). I’ll admit I was a little taken back when Dumbledore basically admitted to the “pig for slaughter” comment from Snape, and a little hurt as well. However, Dumbledore always has a guess, and usually a good one, and as we learned in the white King’s Cross, his guess was correct. That entire chapter was just amazing – I imagined it so beautifully and such a elegant and interesting way to allow Harry to get his answers from Dumbledore that he’s been waiting his whole life for. We got to know the real Dumbledore, the triumphs and the pitfalls, and I love him just the same. I found the concept of Horcruxes and the Deathly Hallows to be quite intriguing and I thoroughly enjoyed how it sort of worked together in the book. The fact that Harry didn’t try to have all of the Hallows together for himself shows just how mature and pure-hearted he is.

I loved this book. I think everything was tied up nicely and at the moment (although this may change one I’ve read them again or allowed my brain to fully digest the books), I have no qualms or burning questions that I must know the answer to – aside from can we please get a book about Teddy – knowing all that his parents sacrificed for him, much like Harry, makes me want to know more about him. I met some amazing character throughout this series, some that have marked my soul a bit. I’ve also lost characters that I really loved – many in this book – Dobby, Fred (ugh, why Fred?!?!), Sirius, Lupin, and even Hedwig – and they’ve all affected me as well. I don’t know that I’ll ever love a series more than this one and I’m so glad I created this blog if for nothing more than for it inspiring me to read and know Harry Potter.

There wasn’t much mention of food in this book, but as in most of the books, Harry did enjoy a bit of treacle tart. Although I initially had zero clue what treacle was, I thought this would make for the perfect recipe to say goodbye to Harry, as it’s his favorite. This isn’t too terribly hard to make and I thought had an interesting, yet delicious flavor of being not too sweet, yet rich.

Harry Potter Treacle Tart Recipe

Ingredients:

Crust: (Option to buy pre-made crust works as well)

• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/8 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 4 oz (1 stick) butter
• 3 tbsp. & 1 tsp. cold water

Filing:

• 325g Lyle’s Golden Syrup
• 1 1/2 tbsp butter
• 1 egg
• 2 1/2 tbsp. heavy cream
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1. In a food processor, pulse the flour, butter, sugar, and salt in a blender until the mixture resembles large crumbs. Add the water and briefly blend until it comes together in a ball then wrap in cling wrap and chill in the fridge for 20-30 minutes. You can also just buy pre-made crust.

2. Preheat the oven to 375F. Roll out the dough, put into tart or pie plate and bake for 15 minutes. Put parchment paper over the dough and place beans, rice, or pie weights on top of it to weigh it down. After baking for 15 minutes, remove the weights and parchment paper and bake for another 8 minutes.

3. While baking, warm (not boil) the Lyle’s golden syrup in a sauce pan and mix in the butter. Mix the egg and cream in a separate bowl and then add to the syrup mixture. Finally, add the lemon zest and breadcrumbs and pour mixture into the pie crust.

4. Turn oven down to 350F and bake for 40 minutes. All to cool, then sprinkle with powdered sugar or top with whipped cream (or both) for serving. Enjoy!

What did you think of the last book? Any Harry Potter foods you wish I would’ve made in the recipe series?