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.
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).
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.
- Put your popcorn into the bowl and put on the lid.
- Put it into the microwave, set the timer for 3 minutes on high and press “Start”.
- 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.
- Put your popcorn into a large brown paper bag and crease the top over a few times to stop the popcorn escaping.
- Put it into the microwave, set the timer for 3 minutes on high and press “Start”.
- 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).
- 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).
- Pierce a few small holes in the cling film (use a skewer to keep the holes small, allowing air to escape but not popcorn).
- Put it into the microwave, set the timer for 3 minutes on high and press “Start”.
- 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).
- Put your oil into a large saucepan and use a piece of kitchen towel to rub it around the inside of the pan.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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).
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Sweet Popcorn
INGREDIENTS
- 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
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
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.
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.
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.
Louise Savage says
Perfect, just as we like it.
Rachael says
Made the popcorn soggy. Ended up throwing it all away
Storie Peterson says
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
Signe says
As an unfortunate American that doesn’t have golden syrup, has anyone tried this with light corn syrup? Is it still good? Thanks!!!
Charlotte Oates says
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.
Vicky says
I tried it and it came out nice. I used little water and little sugar for the toppings and it was fine.
Fernanda S. says
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!
Martyna Gjurra says
Simply the best!!! the best
shyna says
Have been wanting to make sweet popcorn and we just hit the right recipe!! They turned out fantastic!! Everyone loved it!! Thank you xx
shaun says
i made with clarified butter and golden syrup, quick zing in the microwave and mixed through, was good without the sugar, thanks
peter says
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
Sarah Mckeating says
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.
David Oldale says
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!
Zenia and Bowie says
Just tried this out and it’s fab. Thank you very much!
Frank Congemi says
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.
Bill says
You could watch Richie rich
Stien says
Thanks for the recipe. Changed it a little bit to match Belgian ingredients, but very yummy!
Ade says
Does it have to be brown sugar? Thanks
Charlotte Oates says
It can be made with white sugar, but has a much better flavour made with brown.
Walubita says
Can I use Butter and sugar without golden syrup?
Charlotte Oates says
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.
Kosiso says
Thanks for the recipes
Maddie says
Hi. Before I make this popcorn, how messy is it? Does the golden syrup make it really sticky and messy to eat?
Charlotte Oates says
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
Ok, thank you. I really appreciate the quick reply.It was very helpful.