Our Favorite Book Inspired Summer Treats
Summer is such a beautiful time of year here in Minnesota, filled with hazy, lazy evenings, long walks by the lake, and hours spent stretched out on a blanket reading the latest release. But all that relaxing makes us work up quite the appetite. So we got to thinking, what goes better with the newest novel and a book inspired candle than some sweet summer treats? Here are some of our favorite warm-weather desserts, drinks, and snacks based on books!
Frozen Butterbeer
Unless you’re in a gloriously temperate zone, the summer can get HOT. Cool off with a frozen confection based on a sweet drink from the wizarding world! Butterbeer is usually served warm, but we were inspired on a sweltering day while strolling through Universal’s Hogsmeade – we sprang for the cold version, and we couldn’t have felt more relieved and refreshed upon that first sip! After scouring the internet, we discovered that there are seemingly endless approaches to creating frozen butterbeer, but we especially like this recipe since it has a handy video to go with it.
Blueberry and Chocolate Pancakes
You’ll be eating these pancakes any time you feel like having a lazy Sunday morning. Inspired by Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch, these fluffy delights deserve to be drowned in maple syrup – or maybe even honey – for a sugar high that will keep you going well into the afternoon. Unfortunately, you won’t get to see these golden circles brought to life in the movie adaptation – because they don’t even exist in the world of the book! 13-year-old protagonist Theo makes up the cakes on command when he’s asked what he had for breakfast. We’re glad someone thought his answer sounded good enough to eat.
Lemon Cakes
We can’t believe that “Game of Thrones” is coming to a close – and that we’re still waiting on the newest novel! It’s a good thing that George R.R. Martin’s high fantasy world contains so many story threads to unravel in the meantime. While you’re rereading and rewatching, why not make a light, spongy dessert to complement the epic story? We’re talking about Sansa Stark’s beloved lemon cakes! The sweet treats appear at a number of meals throughout the novels, but they’re best recognized as a favorite dessert of the redhead’s.
Cat in the Hat Popsicle
If you’re searching for an easy treat to make with your child, look no further than this simple layered popsicle. While there is one step that requires an adult to break out the food processor, your little one can easily help with the rest of the preparations. The best part? The recipe only calls for two ingredients! Once you’ve got the pureeing out of the way, your kid can go wild layering vanilla yogurt and pureed strawberries to create a relatively healthy, refreshing popsicle reminiscent of that quirky cat. For extra bonding time, break out the book and enjoy a little storytime outside along with the treat.
Dundee Cake
What would a recipe roundup be if we didn’t include a pick from one of our most loved romances? Truly, the food is one of our favorite aspects of the series besides, you know, the passionate relationship between Jamie and Claire. Dundee cake is mentioned in Drums of Autumn, the fourth book in Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. The candied orange peels, dried currants, and blanched almonds made this cake beautiful and sweet, the perfect centerpiece for a summer party or for an epic one-person feast – no judgment here!
Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster
This iconic drink from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy practically leaps off the page readymade! Okay, so we don’t actually have Santraginean seawater or Fallian marsh gas, or any of the galactic ingredients Douglas Adams calls for in his recipe, but we adore the nerdy camaraderie built around the nearly 20 different recipes attempting to recreate an earthly version of a drink that tastes like “having your brains smashed in by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick.” There’s even a liquor-free version! The best approach is probably to take your pick of the recipes and mix up whichever sounds most appetizing to you or your companions.
What Are You Reading this Summer?
Between all these delicious, book-based treats and our running list of novels to be read, we’ve got a lot of choices coming our way. Add in our new seasonal selection of scents, and the potential combinations get dizzying! It’s okay, though – we’re looking forward to reading and eating our way through some fabulous stories!
Although we tend to churn through chunks of our TBR list during the long winter months, we still have quite the pile to tackle this summer. So far, 2019 is delivering exactly the kind of content that we want – which is really just all sorts of fascinating reads, from high fantasy to quirky meet-cute. And maybe we’re a little overly ambitious, but we’re always looking for new books to add to our list. Let us know what novel has captured your interest this summer!
