Do you have movie nights in your house? We used to until the kids came along. Sleepless nights and all the other kid-things that needed our time and energy meant that 90 minutes of action or romantic dialogue was just too long. 30 minutes was perfect, 60 was achievable when I had managed an afternoon nap. We spent the last 4 years wondering if Leonard and Penny would make it (The Big Bang Theory), what the relation is between Red and Liz (The Blacklist) and if Mike Ross was ever going to get caught (Suits). However lately, I’ve noticed we aren’t as tired as we used to be. Maybe we are ready to go back watching movies.
With movies come movie snacks. And since we never really plan these things, we usually only have 1 thing in the house: corn. I store it in a cute jar and label it with the words: Corn for Popping. Yes, microwave popcorn is quicker, but homemade is cheaper and better and it only takes a couple of minutes longer to make. Plain popcorn is good, flavoured is better but popcorn with salted caramel is the best!
The recipe for the sauce is part of this scrumptious cake by Linda Lomelino. I just love her photo’s, don’t you? For perfect homemade popcorn I turned to this beautiful blog and it does give you a perfect batch every time.
Salted caramel popcorn
Ingredients for the popcorn:
corn for popping
3 tbsp of coconut oil
ingredients for the sauce:
115g sugar
75ml cream, heated (not boiled)
50g cold butter, cubed
1/4 tsp fleur de sel or coarse sea salt
Method:
1. In a pot with a lid, heat up the coconut oil on a medium heat.
2. Add 3 corn kernels and wait until they pop.
3. Once they have popped, add the rest of the kernels and make sure they form one, even layer at the bottom of the pot. Close the lid and remove the pot from the heat. Count to 30.
4. Put the pot back onto the heat and let the corn pop. You shouldn’t have to shake the pot but if you do feel like you need to move the corn around, move the pot back and forth so the kernels move on the service of the pot and don’t get thrown around.
5. When the popping die down and stops, take the pot off the heat and pour the popcorn into a bowl.
6. Pour the sugar in a saucepan and melt it over a medium heat. Then let it turn golden. If using a thermometer, it should read 170-175 degrees C.
7. Add the butter and stir so the butter melts and is fully incorporated. Be careful as the caramel will bubbel and splatter a bit.
8. Now add the cream and stir. Then add the salt and stir. The sauce should be smooth and creamy.
9. While still hot, pour it into a clean, heatproof, glass jar and let the sauce cool down at room temperature. You can now store it for about a week.
10. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees C and line a baking tray with baking paper.
11. Pour 100ml of salted caramel sauce onto the popcorn and use a wooden spoon to mix it all together. All popcorn pieces should be coated in the sauce.
12. Spread the popcorn in a single layer on the baking tray and place in the oven for 15 minutes.
13. Let the popcorn cool and eat straight away.
ENJOY!!
