Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Recap + Canary Creams Recipe

Y’all, I just can’t even describe how much I loved Goblet of Fire. This book moved me in so many ways. I knew that somehow Harry’s name would come flying out of the Goblet of Fire, but so much of it just blew me away.

Before I go any further, I have to say I was not a fan of the movie…at all. I understand it’s hard to squeeze 700+ pages into a movie, but it was really REALLY missing a lot. If I had seen without the books (which I totally thought I saw it years ago, but apparently not), I think I may have been a little lost. So many parts were moved around and really important things weren’t there at all.

The Quidditch world cup just sounded so amazing – it made me think of how much soccer is well loved around the world and kinda makes me want to go to a game just to experience the crazy goodness.  I liked how everyone, no matter what team you root for, loved Krum – and even better we got to really meet him in the book. This is also where we experience the first run in with the Death Eaters and someone casting the dark mark.

Harry and Ron’s fight made me sad. I totally get why Ron was upset, given that he’s never in the spotlight (remember what the Mirror of Erised showed for him) and really it was his own personal issues and not really Harry, but it still broke my heart a bit. This was also the first time it was acknowledged that maybe, just maybe, Ron has some feelings for Hermione. I was so proud of her for calling him out on it and was thrilled for her that Krum took her to the Yule Ball – even though Rita Skeeter kind of ruined it a little with her terrible articles.

Hagrid and Madame Maxine also seriously made me squee. When she got out of the carriage and I read how large she was all I could think of was OMG HAGRID! Reading about him slicking back his hair and drowning in aftershave painted quite an awesome picture of him and made me laugh. I was glad that by the end, they reconciled and I hope to see more of them together in the future.

The Triwizard Tournament tasks were amazing. Of course I just knew Harry would get the Horntail, and he handled it like a true Seeker. I was so proud of him and his courage and determination to save the others from the bottom of the lake. Most of all, I loved the last challenge – the maze. When Cedric and Harry were together at the end, I was hoping they’d touch it at the same time…well, until the did and the events following it unfolded.

The graveyard scene was haunting for me as an adult, I can only imagine the fear Harry felt at age 14. When Voldemort called the Death Eaters and Malfoy showed up, I wasn’t surprised, but I was certainly angry. The epic battle between Harry and Voldemort was mind blowing. Watching/reading about everyone coming out of the wand was chilling and I was anxiously awaiting for Lily and James to come out. This entire scene made me love Fawkes even more, if such a thing was possible. When Harry finally gets back with the portkey to Hogwarts, I cried as he gripped Cedric and basically had to be pulled off of him.

I never suspected Mad Eye was really just Crouch Jr drinking Polyjuice Potion. Most of the time I was suspicious of Crouch Sr. (which, rightfully so since he got his son out of Azkaban) and I would’ve never suspected his son since he sounded so innocent in the court memory. This situation will definitely make it hard for me to trust new characters and I really liked him, too. I was also completed flabbergasted by Fudge’s lack of belief to what had happened, and I feel like he’s sealing the fate of many.

This book weighed heavily on my mind for days…it still is, actually. The darkness is settling in and I know the deaths are coming. I do know that Dumbledore dies (although I don’t remember when) and it’s all I could think about the day after finishing the book. He’s always been amazing, but in this book he was truly something special, and I just hate knowing we’re going to lose him. Mrs. Weasley was a star player in GoF for me as well – again, I cried when the Weasley’s showed up to support Harry as his family and I know she probably sat with him all night long after he took that slumber potion – she’s really the mother figure he never had. This was my favorite book of the series so far and I’m ready to start the next one.

For my Goblet of Fire recipe, I decided to make the Canary Creams that Fred and George created. I certainly hope to see more of Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes.

I’ll admit when I first read Neville eating the custard cream, I had to Google what it was. A custard cream is basically a biscuit with flavored cream in the center – kind of like an non-chocolate Oreo, only a MILLION times better.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup custard powder (can be ordered online, but I happened to find in the International Food section at my grocery store)
• 1 1/2 sticks butter (room temperature, soft)
• 1/2 cup confectioners (powdered/icing) sugar
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Buttercream Filling:

• 1/4 stick butter (room temperature, soft)
• 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. milk (as needed)
• Yellow food coloring (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Cream the butter then slowly add in the sugar and cream again for about 3 minutes, then add the vanilla.
3. Sift together the flour, custard powder, and baking soda and slowly mix into the butter/sugar mixture.

4. Flour a clean surface to roll out the mixture (should be about 1/2″ thick). Cut into squares or use cookie cutters to create shapes. Bake for 15 minutes (until started to brown) and allow to cool before adding the filling.

5. To make the icing, cream the butter, then slowly add in the sugar. Add vanilla, the yellow food coloring (if wanted), and if too thick, add the milk.
6.  Put the icing into a small plastic bag, snip off the tip, and pipe the icing onto the biscuits. Put another biscuit on top to create a sandwich.

These are so rich, but really good. The biscuit part reminds me a bit of a shortbread cookie. I had this with a cup of tea and it was the perfect afternoon treat.

While I wanted to make these in the shape of birds (like a canary), I couldn’t find the right cutter, so I decided to make the buttercream filling canary yellow instead. Enjoy!