Popcorn Cake

I recently visited a local coffee shop, The Boiler Room, and found a great surprise. They were selling these super cute popcorn cakes. They had taken popcorn and candy and shaped it into a cake. “Genius idea,” was my first thought. “I can make that,” was of course my second.

To figure out a way to make a popcorn cake I revisited my recipe for Halloween Chex Balls to see how I had previously made those.  After reviewing that recipe I decided that I would make this using popcorn and marshmallow fluff and to spice it up I would add in M&M’s, Butterfinger pieces, and salted peanuts.

To make this I popped two bags of popcorn in the microwave and removed any unpopped kernels (you don’t wanna chip a tooth). I added the popcorn to a bowl and let cool. I then added in peanuts, M&Ms, and Butterfinger pieces. You can buy small pieces of Butterfinger but I couldn’t find any at my grocery store so I cut candy bars into smaller pieces. I tossed all this together so the candy wouldn’t get stuck together when I poured the fluff over it.

In a large saucepan I melted the butter over low heat and then added in my marshmallow fluff, vanilla, and vegetable oil. I stirred this until the mixture was smooth and well combined. When this mixture was ready I removed it from the heat and stirred it continually until it had cooled slightly, about three minutes. If it is too hot it will melt the chocolates; too cool and it won’t mix well with the popcorn.

When my mixture was the right temperature I poured it over the popcorn and stirred well until every pieces was coated. Feel free to use your hands if it is easier. I greased a Bundt pan and poured the popcorn mixture into it. I wanted to make sure that my popcorn took the shape of the pan so I pressed it firmly.

I then covered it with plastic wrap and placed it into the fridge to firm up for about thirty minutes. When ready I popped it out of its pan onto a platter.

I was actually planning to take this to a party the next day but I wanted to get some good pictures for you guys to see so I went ahead and cut out a slice and then gave it a taste. It turned out really well. It has a great balance of sweet to salty. And it is a very versatile dessert. You can easily mix in whatever ingredients you like. I needed my recipe to be gluten free so I was a little restricted as to what I could add but this mixture was great! You could also color coordinate your M&Ms with the holiday (like red and pink for Valentine’s Day).

This is a great substitute to your typical full fat dessert or cake. If you wanted it to be even lower in calories you could take out the candy and use raisins or a sugar free candy.

Do you remember the episode of the Cosby’s when Dr. Huxtable cut a piece out of a chocolate cake and didn’t want Claire to know so he filled in the hole with paper towel and covered it with icing? Well, with this cake you don’t have to go to such lengths to hide your removed slice. Since I was taking this cake to a party and had removed a piece for pictures I was able to bend the cake together enough and mold it back into a Bundt shape. No one will ever know I snuck a piece. This cake just keeps getting better!

 

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Tagged as: gluten free dessert, healthy dessert, Popcorn cake, popcorn recipe, valentines day recipe