In this scene, Kiki’s mom is mixing up a potion. The tube is empty at first, and then she waves her hand and works her magic. A purple ring appears and fills the tube. I wanted to replicate this “magic”, so I used a blue, carbonated beverage and dropped a piece of pink cotton candy to fizzle and make a similar effect. The mixture will turn purple like it’s magic!

I actually stumbled upon this technique when I planned my Spirited Away movie night for the train scene. I served a blue prosecco for the sky, and pink cotton candy for the clouds, and when they mixed, it reminded me of the potion Kiki’s mom made!

How to make: To make this drink, fill ¾ of your champagne glass with prosecco. Then add a dash of Blue Curaçao Liqueur to each glass to turn the prosecco a light blue. Roll up a one-inch ball of pink cotton candy and do not put it in the glass. I recommend serving them in a small bowl with the drinks. Then, have each person take their drink and one ball of cotton candy, and they can make their own magic potion during the scene with Kokiri.

Alcohol free version: If you want to make it alcohol free, replace the prosecco with Sprite or something equivalent. The important thing is that it’s carbonated and clear. Instead of Blue Curaçao Liqueur, add Blue Curaçao Syrup. The syrup does not contain alcohol.

Smashed Potato Recipe

Substitutions: Substitute the potatoes in this recipe with purple potatoes. Also, do not smash them with a potato masher. You want them to be smooth so you can draw the bow on top. Use something with a smooth surface, like a glass.

Kiki’s Bow: My original idea was to draw her bow with Sriracha; however, it was a liquidy mess, so I scraped it off and used the red icing pen instead. Sounds like a weird combo, but it actually tasted good. If you like sweet and savory, you’ll like the combo. Before you draw the bow on the smashed potatoes, make sure the potatoes are completely cooled. If they are still warm, the bow will melt. Don’t worry about the bow being perfect. They are smashed for a reason. lol

Warning: This joke is on the dark side, so this dish is probably best served if no young kids are participating.

This is an easy one to serve, but it takes some additional setup before you start the movie. I used store-bought hot chocolate mix that just needs hot water or milk to be added.

I personally used water because I have an electric kettle, and it heats up the water very fast. Have the water already in the kettle before you start the movie. Also, have the hot chocolate powder already in the mugs. The cue I used gave me 3 minutes before the scene with the hot chocolate. I had just enough time to turn on the kettle, let it heat for about a minute, and then pour, stir, and serve. If you don’t have an electric kettle or you are using milk, you will need to heat it up on the stove top, and that takes extra time.

I suggest adjusting the cues to give yourself more time and start prepping the hot chocolate right after Kiki almost crashes.

This is a very easy one to prep and serve! In this scene, Osono’s husband is showing off his baking skills, and Jiji is amazed. The pans he’s working with have a bunch of round dough balls that were most likely set aside to let rise. I have no idea what he was making with them, so I chose a round pastry to match the round dough balls. I love pastelitos, so I served Beef Pastelitos from a local bakery. You can serve whatever pastry you want here. I would just recommend serving a round pastry, so it matches what you see on screen.

Because the pastelitos are already made and don’t need to be reheated, it was very easy and quick for me to plate and serve.

I made a very easy version of a braided bread wreath to make my life easier. If you would like to get a little fancy, here is a recipe for a Seven-Strand Braided Bread Wreath.

If you would like to save time like me, here is how I made it:

I used a can of pizza dough and cut the dough into three long pieces. Roll out each piece to make it longer. Pinch the tops of the three pieces together and start braiding. Pinch both ends of the braid together. Place the wreath on a baking sheet and add a round, oven-safe baking dish in the center. If you don’t have something like this, you can ball up aluminum foil and place that in the center. You want something in the center while the wreath bakes, so it maintains its shape.

Make a garlic butter mixture by adding butter, salt, garlic powder, and oregano to a small bowl. I personally don’t measure. I just taste and add seasoning until I’m happy with the flavor. Microwave the bowl for about 20-30 seconds to melt the butter. Brush half of the butter mixture onto your wreath. Then bake the wreath for about 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees F. Bake until the wreath turns a golden brown.

I saved the remaining garlic butter mixture so I could brush it on the bread right before serving. If you want your bread to be warm before serving, I recommend reheating it in the oven for a few minutes before serving. If you do this, put it in the oven when Kiki goes back to swap Jiji. If you don’t care about reheating, follow the cues I provided. When it’s time to serve, reheat the butter in the microwave and brush the wreath with it before serving.

Madame makes a Herring & Pumpkin Pie. However, to save time, I used a small premade Chicken Pot Pie. These are sold in the freezer section of my grocery store by the premade dinners. To decorate the top of the pie, I used premade pie crust. This is usually sold in the dairy section of the grocery store, by the canned biscuits.

I cut out strips of pie crust and fit them to the small pie. I then cut out a little fish shape and all the details, such as the eye and fins. Assemble all the elements of the pie topper decoration and press it lightly on top of the pie. Bake in the oven per the package’s instructions. I would recommend covering the pie with aluminum foil for most of the bake and then uncovering it at the end to give the top some color.

Something I wish I had done to make the pie look better is brush an egg wash on top of the pie. An egg wash on pastries gives them that golden, shiny look. To do this, you just need to whisk your egg (or egg yolk) really well and brush a light layer of that mixture on top of the pie before baking.

If you would like to get fancy and make the actual pie from the movie, here is a recipe for Madame’s Herring & Pumpkin Pie.

Ocean Breeze Cocktail Recipe

Non- Alcoholic Recipe

Instead of Blue Curaçao Liqueur, add Blue Curaçao Syrup instead. The syrup does not contain alcohol. Omit the white rum and add extra lemonade instead.

Decoration

I wanted to tie in Tombo’s propeller bike somehow, so I garnished the glasses with these little yellow and red propellers.

Preparation

I premixed this drink the day before the movie night to save time the day of. I recommend doing this and storing it in your refrigerator. When it’s time to serve, you just need to add ice, pour your drink, and set up your garnish.

This is my favorite Pancake Recipe!

Kiki’s pancake was folded like a taco, so when you’re making your pancakes, fold them in half to match the movie. I made the pancakes ahead of time and stored them in the refrigerator. Then, before the movie started, I plated my dish (minus the syrup and butter), and stored the plate in the fridge. I recommend having the cube of butter pre-sliced and ready to grab.

For the sausage, I wanted to buy one that looked like what Kiki was eating. It was very red. I bought mine at my local Asian market. They are precooked, so I just pan-fried mine briefly. I did this ahead of time too, and plated it with the pancake.

To serve, I microwaved the pre-plated food for about a minute and then added the butter, syrup, and tomatoes before serving. This dish is super quick to serve if you have everything prepped and ready before the movie.

In this scene, Kiki is talking about how she’s not working much, so she’s low on cash, and she serves milk and chocolate donuts that look like they have a filling. I decided to serve Boston Cream Donuts with milk to represent this scene.

I bought the donuts, so this was a very easy dish to set up and serve. You can even have the milk already poured and stored in the refrigerator before you start the movie so it’s quick to serve.

This sweet scene always makes me cry! I decided to make a very small version of Kiki’s cake so it was a manageable size for us to eat.

I made a chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream frosting. This is my go-to chocolate cake recipe, and my go-to chocolate buttercream recipe.

If you are going to make a smaller version like me, I recommend making only half the recipe measurements, so you don’t have a lot of leftover batter. I also used a very small cake pan (6” x 2”).

To decorate the cake, I used this Icing Kit. It has green, red, and white. All the colors you need to decorate. I pulled up a picture of the cake from the movie and free-handed the design. If you want more guidance than that, I suggest using a toothpick to trace out the design on the cake before drawing with the icing pens. It does NOT have to be perfect. My design was not perfect, and the movie’s cake looks very homemade as well. That’s the whole point of the scene!

One tip I have for using the icing pens is to massage them first before opening and using them. Sometimes the liquid separates, and it can be very runny if you don’t massage it first.

To save time on the day of movie night, I baked the cake the day before. Then, I just had to decorate it the day of. Have it decorated before you start the movie, so it’s quick for you to serve.