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Home » Baking & Desserts » (Better than at the Cinema) Sweet Popcorn

28 February 2017

(Better than at the Cinema) Sweet Popcorn

1.4K shares

How to make sweet popcorn at home that tastes even better than at the cinema, including four different ways to pop your corn.

How to make sweet popcorn at home that tastes even better than at the cinema, including four different ways to pop your corn.

We have a tradition in our house – Sunday film night. It’s something I’d attempted to start when the boys were younger but they never seemed to have a long enough attention span. But as they were got a little older, it’s something we look forward to every week. We subscribe to both Netflix and Amazon Prime and so try to choose things on there if we can. 

One big part of family film night is the food. I always make a picnic-style tea which we eat together in the lounge and a big bowl of homemade sweet popcorn for pudding. It’s so simple to make and much cheaper than buying it ready-made.

How to make sweet popcorn at home that tastes even better than at the cinema, including four different ways to pop your corn.

Four ways to pop corn at home

Homemade popcorn is unbelievably simple to make and there’s a few different ways to do it, so hopefully you’ll find a way that works for you. Personally I find that popcorn pops a bit better in the microwave (it can get a bit too dry on the hob) so I’d recommend using 1, 2 or 3 below if you can.

For all of these you’ll need 80g of popping corn for four people (it really doesn’t look like a lot when you first put it in, but it really does grow as it pops). If you’re popping your corn on the hob then you’ll need 1 tsp of oil too (any flavourless oil such as groundnut or vegetable).

How to make sweet popcorn at home that tastes even better than at the cinema, including four different ways to pop your corn.

BEFORE YOU START – AN IMPORTANT WARNING

Whichever of these methods you choose it’s very important that you don’t leave your corn unattended while it’s popping. Popcorn has a very low water content which makes it quite flammable. As long as you get it off the heat/turn off the microwave as soon as the popping stops you’ll have no problem. But if you leave it cooking for longer than it needs it can catch fire and believe me, trying to get the smoke smell and stains out of a microwave isn’t the easiest (I sadly know from experience after getting side-tracked recently whilst making popcorn by a tricky game of hide and seek!).

1) In the microwave in a special popcorn bowl

There are quite a few different microwave popcorn bowls available in the shops. I have a Lékué microwave popcorn bowl which I use to pop my corn (and it doubles as a serving bowl too). It’s a flexible bowl (which means it can be squashed down for storage) and a loose lid that allows the popcorn to expand without escaping from the bowl.

If you don’t make popcorn very often then this probably isn’t something you need, but if like us you’re a regular homemade popcorn maker then it’s worth getting.

  1. Put your popcorn into the bowl and put on the lid.
  2. Put it into the microwave, set the timer for 3 minutes on high and press “Start”.
  3. You’ll hear the corn starting to pop. Once the popping sounds die down to around one per second stop the microwave and remove the bowl.

2) In the microwave in a brown paper bag

If you don’t have a microwave popcorn maker then a paper bag also works well. You’ll want one which is nice and big so your corn has room to pop without escaping.

  1. Put your popcorn into a large brown paper bag and crease the top over a few times to stop the popcorn escaping.
  2. Put it into the microwave, set the timer for 3 minutes on high and press “Start”.
  3. You’ll hear the corn starting to pop. Once the popping sounds die down to around one per second stop the microwave and remove the bag.

3) In the microwave in clingfilm covered bowl

If you don’t have a microwave popcorn bowl or a brown paper bag then this way works too (although I have found the odd piece of popcorn escaping using this method).

  1. Put your popcorn into a large microwavable bowl and cover with 3 layers of microwavable cling film (you need more than one layer of cling film as the popping corn can pierce a single layer and escape out of the bowl).
  2. Pierce a few small holes in the cling film (use a skewer to keep the holes small, allowing air to escape but not popcorn).
  3. Put it into the microwave, set the timer for 3 minutes on high and press “Start”.
  4. You’ll hear the corn starting to pop. Once the popping sounds die down to around one per second stop the microwave and remove the bowl.

4) In a large saucepan on the hob

If you prefer you can make your popcorn in a large saucepan (with a lid) on the hob.

In addition to the popping corn you’ll also need 1 tsp oil ( a flavourless oil such as vegetable or groundnut is best).

  1. Put your oil into a large saucepan and use a piece of kitchen towel to rub it around the inside of the pan.
  2. Put the popcorn into the saucepan and put the lid on. Place the pan onto a medium/high heat, shaking occasionally to stop the corn sticking.
  3. Once the pan is hot enough the corn will start to pop, leave it on the heat until the popping sounds have died down to about 1 every second.
  4. As soon as the corn has popped remove the pan from the heat and pour the popcorn into a large bowl (it’s important not to leave the corn in the pan as the residual heat will cause it to burn).

How to make sweet popcorn at home that tastes even better than at the cinema, including four different ways to pop your corn.

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Popcorn-3

Sweet Popcorn

How to make sweet popcorn at home that tastes even better than at the cinema.
4.67 from 24 votes
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Active Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 4 people
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INGREDIENTS

Metric - US Cups/Ounces
  • 80 g popping corn
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 tbsp golden syrup
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar - any variety works fine for this recipe. I usually use dark brown sugar
  • 1 tsp oil - if popping the corn of a hob – not needed if you’re using the microwave

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Pop your corn using one of the four methods outlined above.
  • Once your corn has popped, make the sauce. I like to make mine in a large saucepan so I can tip the popcorn in to coat it in the sauce once it’s ready.
  • Put all of the sauce ingredients into a large saucepan over a low heat (2 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp golden syrup, 2 tbsp brown sugar). Stir the mixture until the butter and sugar have melted and all ingredients are fully combined.
  • Turn off the heat and tip in the popped corn. Stir until the popcorn is coated in the sauce (I often put on a lid and give it a shake to get it all well coated).
  • Serve.

NOTES

As the popcorn cools it may stick together. It’s easily broken apart with your hands before serving.
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NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Calories: 193kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 53mg | Potassium: 54mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 175IU | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 0.6mg

Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.


Course: Snack

How to make sweet popcorn at home that tastes even better than at the cinema, including four different ways to pop your corn.

Free From/Suitable For…

  • Suitable for Vegetarians
  • Egg-Free
  • Gluten-Free
  • Nut-Free
  • Soy-Free

Can be made vegan and diary-free by switching the butter for a dairy-free spread or coconut oil.

The ingredients for this recipe are easily available free from all these allergens. However, please ensure you double-check allergen information for all ingredients.

How to make sweet popcorn at home that tastes even better than at the cinema, including four different ways to pop your corn.


I’m sharing this recipe with the following challenges… #FreeFromFridays with Le Coin De Mel and Free From Farmhouse and #CookBlogShare with Easy Peasy Foodie.

1.4K shares

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Louise Savage says

    May 02, 2022 at 7:59 pm

    5 stars
    Perfect, just as we like it.

    Reply
  2. Rachael says

    February 25, 2022 at 8:35 pm

    1 star
    Made the popcorn soggy. Ended up throwing it all away

    Reply
    • Storie Peterson says

      August 13, 2022 at 6:13 pm

      Ok so this happened to me too so I got plastic wrap and made popcorn balls and stuck popsicle stick in it and placed in fridge for 1/2 hour
      It was amazing when it came out

  3. Signe says

    January 11, 2022 at 1:44 am

    As an unfortunate American that doesn’t have golden syrup, has anyone tried this with light corn syrup? Is it still good? Thanks!!!

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      January 30, 2022 at 7:13 pm

      I haven’t tested the recipe with corn syrup but I understand that it may be less thick than golden syrup so may not work. If you have a Kroeger store near you, I believe that they sell golden syrup or you should be able to order it online. It has a unique flavour so I don’t think you will regret it.

  4. Vicky says

    August 30, 2021 at 3:11 pm

    5 stars
    I tried it and it came out nice. I used little water and little sugar for the toppings and it was fine.

    Reply
  5. Fernanda S. says

    August 08, 2021 at 12:03 am

    4 stars
    This popcorn is really good! This recipe was easy to follow and not messy at all. My husband loved it! Thank you for the recipe!

    Reply
  6. Martyna Gjurra says

    May 08, 2021 at 12:50 am

    5 stars
    Simply the best!!! the best

    Reply
  7. shyna says

    April 02, 2021 at 5:56 pm

    5 stars
    Have been wanting to make sweet popcorn and we just hit the right recipe!! They turned out fantastic!! Everyone loved it!! Thank you xx

    Reply
  8. shaun says

    March 25, 2021 at 10:07 pm

    i made with clarified butter and golden syrup, quick zing in the microwave and mixed through, was good without the sugar, thanks

    Reply
  9. peter says

    March 04, 2021 at 6:39 pm

    fantastic popcorn recipe Thank You,
    made this but the popcorn was sticking together next day i put it in the oven and all was good not sticking

    made agine this popcorn but i double up
    4 tbsp butter 4 tbsp golden syrup 4 tbsp brown sugar 80g popcorn
    then i put it in the oven on 120c for 30 minutes total. After 15 minutes take it out of the oven and mix it up
    put back 15 minutes more take it out of the oven and mix it up
    thats it does not stick together after colling down

    Reply
  10. Sarah Mckeating says

    February 26, 2021 at 6:51 pm

    5 stars
    We’ve just made the popcorn with step 4 and sauce! Oh my goodness, absolutely amazing! Thank you for sharing this, my 5 year old son loves it, likewise so do I.

    Reply
  11. David Oldale says

    February 26, 2021 at 10:29 am

    5 stars
    This sweet popcorn recipe is just fabulous, everything about this is just right! It is so hard to resist eating the popcorn whilst it is still warm it is that good! But when it has cooled down it is just like butterkist used to be when it was the best. This is my only recipe for sweet popcorn from now on!

    Reply
  12. Zenia and Bowie says

    January 22, 2021 at 8:41 pm

    5 stars
    Just tried this out and it’s fab. Thank you very much!

    Reply
  13. Frank Congemi says

    December 07, 2020 at 3:51 am

    5 stars
    Absolutely loved this Popcorn topping. it reminded me of fiddle-faddle here in the US. next time we are going to add some Salty Roasted Peanuts.

    Reply
  14. Bill says

    November 22, 2020 at 12:56 am

    5 stars
    You could watch Richie rich

    Reply
  15. Stien says

    October 04, 2020 at 8:10 pm

    Thanks for the recipe. Changed it a little bit to match Belgian ingredients, but very yummy!

    Reply
  16. Ade says

    October 02, 2020 at 8:54 pm

    Does it have to be brown sugar? Thanks

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      October 05, 2020 at 1:47 pm

      It can be made with white sugar, but has a much better flavour made with brown.

  17. Walubita says

    August 09, 2020 at 4:43 pm

    Can I use Butter and sugar without golden syrup?

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      August 10, 2020 at 10:21 am

      I haven’t tested it without the syrup, however I’d imagine it may be too runny without the syrup to hold it all together.

  18. Kosiso says

    June 22, 2020 at 7:46 am

    Thanks for the recipes

    Reply
  19. Maddie says

    May 21, 2020 at 2:26 pm

    5 stars
    Hi. Before I make this popcorn, how messy is it? Does the golden syrup make it really sticky and messy to eat?

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      May 21, 2020 at 3:08 pm

      It’s definitely stickier than cinema popcorn which I find a little too dry, but it’s not as sticky as just golden syrup.

    • Maddie says

      May 21, 2020 at 5:12 pm

      Ok, thank you. I really appreciate the quick reply.It was very helpful.

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