Spiced Caramel Popcorn
The Perfect Autumnal Snack - Friday Food Chat with Kath
This recipe for Caramel Popcorn is a favourite of mine.
It feels like a very nice thing to eat on a crisp Autumn day (which have finally started to appear here in Sydney! Bakers who hate baking in hot weather (me!) rejoice!).
Adding some spices makes the caramel popcorn even more tasty and special. I always use a bag of (already popped) salted popcorn for this, which means making the caramel is the only cooking necessary. You can of course pop your own, and play around with the spices too. I like the flavour of the spices to be pretty obvious, rather than subtle so you can reduce them a bit if you like things more on the mellow side.
Spiced Caramel Popcorn
Ingredients:
80g salted popcorn
80g brown or panela sugar
90g golden syrup
40g butter
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
pinch of salt
pinch of ground black pepper
Method:
Have a lined baking tray, or large bowl ready and place the popcorn either in a single layer on the tray or inside the bowl.
In a small saucepan, add the brown/panela sugar, golden syrup and butter. Place over medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved and the butter has melted.
Stop stirring, and allow the caramel to bubble away for a couple more minutes, keeping an eye on it so it doesn’t over caramelise and become too dark in colour. Add the spices and swirl the pot so they incorporate into the caramel.
Once the caramel has reached a nice golden colour, tip over the popcorn, and mix around with a silicon spatula to evenly distribute it.
Leave the popcorn to cool for a few minutes then break into pieces.
The spiced caramel popcorn will keep in an airtight container for a couple of days, however it is best eaten the day it is made.
This recipe was originally published in my ebook Cosy Winter Bakes (2019) and it is so good I thought it should be shared with you here too.
Check out more recipes over on the paid version of this newsletter feat. A Ginger Sponge Cake, Salmon Herbed Pikelets and A Caramel Ginger Pudding. See the whole archive here and sign up to support my work and get it all straight to your inbox or Substack feed!
Homemade Marshmallows
If caramel popcorn is the gateway to making confectionary at home, marshmallows are the next step. I love making marshmallows, and I have been a lifelong marshmallow fan. These are better than the bought ones (esp. those from the lolly isle at the supermarket! So if you hate those don’t discount these just yet), and you can adapt the flavour you use. This recipe uses bergamot, however orange or another citrus will be excellent too. Passionfruit pulp is an awesome choice, and berries work well as well (here is a blackberry version!).
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