Crunchy Salted Caramel Popcorn

Salted caramel popcorn is crunchy, deeply caramelised, delicious and very, very moreish.

Have you run into problems making caramel popcorn only for the golden bursts of corn to turn soft and soggy? NOT ANY MORE! Every single kernel is covered in a crunchy, rich, buttery, caramel coating.

The secret is the addition of bicarb / baking soda to the molten caramel, then after tossing the popcorn in this deeply golden caramel, it’s Baked. Baking the salted caramel popcorn removes the excess moisture from the popcorn and transforms the caramel into the thinest layer of toffee ensuring your Caramel Corn stays crunchy to the last bite!

It’s gluten free and everyone loves it. The perfect sweet snack to have on hand over the holidays! if you’re looking for something a little more indulgent check out our White Chocolate Rocky Road it’s Oh So Delicious!

Gordon Ramsay

This delicious and moreish recipe comes from Gordon Ramsay, yes, he of the ‘F Word’ fame and it’s hard to stop eating it.

No corn syrup and no thermometer required. Just a little time and ingredients that you’ll probably already have in your pantry.

At a Glance This Is What You Need To Make Crunchy Salted Caramel Popcorn

Cook That Popcorn

Salted Caramel

The salted caramel only takes minutes to make. The most important thing is to have everything ready because you need to work quickly once you add the bi-carb

You melt the butter, then add the sugar, golden syrup and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring it to the boil, then reduce heat to medium – high and boil for 3-4 minutes without stirring.

Then add the vanilla (it will splutter), and bicarb (baking soda) and whisk madly for a minute or so until the caramel is smooth. The bicarb soda (baking soda) kickstarts the reaction that gives the caramel the honeycomb flavour.

Quickly pour it over your popcorn and toss to cover the popcorn. You then spread it out onto baking sheets and pop in the oven turning every ten minutes or so for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, cool and enjoy!

Now Lets Make The Salted Caramel

Work Quickly Once You Add The Caramel

Once you pour the caramel over the popcorn work quickly to coat the popcorn. When you spread the popcorn onto your baking trays try to separate the popcorn into a thin layer and pop in the oven, turning every ten minutes or so which will cover any popcorn that hasn’t been covered in the caramel.

Storing Salted Caramel Popcorn

• Let the popcorn cool completely before storing it in an airtight container
• store in a zip lock bag if you don’t have an airtight container but squeeze the air from the bag before sealing the zip lock
• Popcorn doesn’t like humidity or damp weather so store in the pantry, not the refrigerator

Lastly Mix That Popcorn and Salted Caramel Together And Then Bake it

REMEMBER

No Picking Until The Crunchiest, Buttery Salted Caramel Popcorn Is Cold

How Much Popcorn Per Person

An average serving per person is two cups of cooked corn. The moisture inside the kernels which converts to steam when heated is what makes the kernels pop and expand up to 40 times their original size. Keep in mind that older corn kernels will have less moisture resulting in fewer kernels popping and expanding.

• 1/4 cup kernels will make approximately 8 cups
• 1/2 cup kernels will make approximately 16 cups
• 3/4 cup kernels will make approximately 24 cups
• 1 cup kernels will make approximately 32 cups

Watch How To Make

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What’s your favourite popcorn flavour? We would love to hear from you in the comments below when you make this moreish salted caramel popcorn.

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Yield: about 12 cups

Crunchy Salted Caramel Popcorn

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Salted caramel popcorn is simply delicious and moreish. Perfect for snacking on watching a movie, making into gift bags and perfect for the holiday season. It keeps well for at least 2 weeks!

Print

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unpopped popcorn
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 115 g (4 ounces) butter 
• 1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/2 cup golden syrup / honey or maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons salt flakes, (1 teaspoon for the sauce and 1 teaspoon sprinkled on before it goes in the oven)
• 1/2 teaspoon bi-carb soda (baking soda)

Instructions

• preheat oven to 150 c (300 f) and line two baking trays with baking paper
• add oil to a large saucepan with a lid on medium high heat
• pop in 2 or 3 kernels to test if the oil is hot enough (the kernels will pop when hot enough)
• add the rest of the popcorn, pop the lid on and shake the pan occasionally while the corn is popping

Salted Caramel

• melt the butter in a separate medium saucepan over medium heat
• add sugar, syrup / honey or maple and 1 teaspoon of salt, swirl the pan so the butter covers the sugar (do not stir) now leave to cook without disturbing see notes below
• bring to a simmer for 3-4 minutes without stirring
• add vanilla and bicarb soda (baking soda) and whisk till sauce is smooth and glossy - just a few seconds
• pour caramel over popcorn and mix to cover popcorn
• divide the popcorn between the baking trays and sprinkle remaining 1 teaspoon of salt flakes over popcorn
• bake for 30 minutes stirring every ten minutes or so
• remove from oven and allow to cool
• serve and enjoy!

Notes

• popcorn stays crunchy for 2 weeks kept in an airtight container
• stirring the caramel can leave sugar crystals on the side of the pan which can cause your caramel to crystalize into a hard grainy mass, and we don't want that! So just give the mixture a gentle swirl until the sugar is wet with the melted butter and then leave to simmer undisturbed. see video

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 282Total Fat 9gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 8gCholesterol 0mgSodium 722mgCarbohydrates 51gFiber 0gSugar 48gProtein 0g

Nutritional information provided here is only intended as a guide.

Cooper

Looking back at the photos we have of Coopers 1st year, it’s easy to see the traits of his personality that we recognise today, from back then. Coops is such a happy little guy and always wants to be part of the action.

In this photo Coops is charming Khaya, our beautiful niece. Having just had a family lunch on the deck, Khaya hopped down with Coops for a cuddle, by the end of her cuddle her long blond hair looked like she hadn’t brushed it for weeks!