Butterbeer Recipe – Frozen and Regular (Cold) Versions

butterbeer recipe featured image next to hogwarts letter

Butterbeer Recipe – Frozen and Regular (Cold) Versions

Whether you’re a Harry Potter fan or just enjoy Butterbeer at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™, you can easily make this fantastical, fun drink at home! There are two versions: cold like a soda, and frozen like a milkshake. They both have a cream soda base with rich butterscotch vanilla flavor.

Course Drinks

Cuisine British

Keyword Butterbeer, Butterbeer Recipe, Easy Butterbeer Recipe, Frozen Butterbeer, Frozen Butterbeer Recipe, Harry Potter Butterbeer, Harry Potter Butterbeer Recipe, Homemade Butterbeer, How to Make Butterbeer, Non Alcoholic Butterbeer Recipe

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 8

Other Time: 3

Servings servings

Calories 621kcal

Author Faith Gorsky

Ingredients

Butterscotch Sauce:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar lightly packed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Frozen Butterbeer (See Notes For Regular Cold Butterbeer):

2 cups cream soda frozen in ice cube trays
2 cups vanilla ice cream
1 cup cream soda
1 teaspoon butter flavor optional
1/2 teaspoon rum flavor optional
1/8 teaspoon salt

Other:

1 cup whipped cream for topping (or Cool Whip)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

To Make Butterscotch Sauce:

Melt the sugar. Add the butter to a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, stir in the brown sugar, salt, and cream of tartar. (PRO TIP: Don't over-stir at this point; you're basically just trying to help evenly distribute the sugar so it can melt at the same rate.) Cook until the sugar is melted and the mixture is boiling, about 1 to 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the cream and cook until thickened. Carefully add the cream (it will bubble up), and stir to combine. Let it boil for about 3 to 5 minutes until it’s thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, stirring occasionally. (PRO TIP: It should reach 225F on a candy thermometer, but you don’t really need a candy thermometer to make this.)
Finish with vanilla. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

To Make Frozen Butterbeer:

Freeze. At least 3 hours before you want to make the Butterbeer, pour 2 cups of cream soda into ice cube trays and let it freeze until solid.
Blend. Once frozen, add the frozen cream soda cubes, vanilla ice cream, liquid cream soda, butter extract, rum extract, and salt to a blender. Process until smooth, tamping down as necessary. Be careful not to over-process or it won’t be thick and creamy.

To Serve:

Divide the Butterbeer between 4 glasses. Top each with 1/4 cup whipped cream and 2 tablespoons of butterscotch syrup. Serve immediately.

Video

Notes

Butterscotch Sauce Storage and Reheating: Let this cool to room temperature, and then transfer it to a glass container with a lid. Store in the fridge for up to 2 months. You can reheat this sauce in a double boiler on the stovetop or in 10-second increments in the microwave, stirring between each increment.
To Make Regular Cold Butterbeer (Not Frozen): Gently stir together 3 cups cream soda, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon butter extract (optional), and 1/4 teaspoon rum extract (optional) in a large pitcher, being careful not to over-mix so your soda doesn’t go flat. Pour into serving glasses, spoon the whipped cream on top, and drizzle on the butterscotch sauce. Serve immediately.
To Reduce the Sweetness: Use half sparkling water and half cream soda.
To Make Alcoholic Butterbeer: Add a shot of scotch, rum, bourbon, vanilla vodka, or butterscotch schnapps to each serving.
Sugar Free Version: Use stevia-sweetened cream soda or zero-sugar cream soda, sugar-free vanilla ice cream, sugar-free butterscotch sauce or sugar-free caramel sauce, and zero-sugar whipped topping or heavy cream whipped to soft peaks.

Nutrition