This isn’t your average movie night snack. I’ve taken classic caramel popcorn and given it an upgrade with brown butter. It's rich, nutty, and just the right amount of salty-sweet. The maple syrup adds depth, and a touch of vanilla keeps it balanced.
Category
Dessert
Servings
4
Prep time
10 minutes
Cook time
50 minutes
This isn’t your average movie night snack. I’ve taken classic caramel popcorn and given it an upgrade with brown butter. It's rich, nutty, and just the right amount of salty-sweet. The maple syrup adds depth, and a touch of vanilla keeps it balanced.
Ingredients
-
½ tbsp peanut oil (or other neutral oil)
-
120g popcorn kernels
-
120g unsalted butter
-
200g brown sugar
-
80ml (⅓ cup) maple syrup
-
1 tsp sea salt
-
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
-
60ml (¼ cup) water
-
½ tsp bicarb soda
Directions
Pop the corn
Heat the oil in a wide, deep saucepan and place over medium high heat. Add the popcorn kernels and cover with a tight fitting lid.
Cook, shaking pan back and forth occasionally, until popcorn begins to pop.
Continue cooking until you hear no more popping, then remove from the heat. Transfer the popcorn to a large bowl.
Make the caramel
Preheat the oven to 120°C fan forced (250°F). Line 2 oven trays with baking paper.
Place the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the butter starts to brown and smell nutty. Stir in the salt.
Add the brown sugar, maple syrup, salt, and vanilla. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer. Cook for 4 minutes.
Remove from the heat and whisk in the water and bicarb soda. Pour the caramel over the popcorn and mix quickly to completely coat. Season with a little more salt.
Bake
Spread the mixture onto the lined trays and bake for 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let it cool slightly before serving them in a bowl.
Recipe notes
Cook support
Do not rush the cooking of the caramel or it can burn the sugar and crystalise rather than becoming a homogenous sauce.
Substitutions
If you don’t have vanilla pods in hand, then you can substitute with a small amount of vanilla bean paste.
If you don't have maple syrup, you can use golden syrup or honey but it won't have the same flavour.
Storage
Keep any leftovers in an airtight container stored at room temperature.
