Caramel Popcorn

I'm going to be honest here, I'm terrible at keeping this whole blogging thing going, It's pretty much been at least a whole month since I've last posted a blog because I've just been too lazy. I'm not even going to say that it is because I've been bust. Every since mid-sem exams have finished I've just done nothing at home. Apart from catching up on lectures that I've missed (I've still got a long way to go).

But since it is now the mid-session break I'm going to strike another deal with you. My one week of non-stop posting. I'll do another one of those this week. Starting today and ending on Friday. So you'll have 7 new recipes to keep you entertained and cooking up a storm in the kitchen for like 1 month, maybe 6 if you do a recipe a week. There isn't going to be any particular theme this time, but who knows it might come out of nowhere.

So are we all OK with this deal? One week of posts starting today :)

So the first recipe for this week will be caramel popcorn. Sweet goodness that melts in your mouth, keeps your fingers sticky and reaching for more and more until you hit the bottom of the container. Unlike the usual caramel popcorn I'm going to put a slight twist on this one. Usually it is just sweet, but this time I'm going to give it an ultimate sweet and savory twist by using buttered popcorn instead of plain. Stay tuned for more.

Ingredients
1 pack of buttered microwave popcorn
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
6 tbs unsalted butter
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla essence

Method
1. Pop the popcorn according to instructions on the bag.
2. In a saucepan melt the butter and then add sugar, corn syrup and 2tbs of water. Turn to medium heat and whisk until the mixture is a golden colour.
3. Turn heat off and add the baking soda and vanilla, quickly mix in.
4. Quickly pour mix over popcorn, and try to mix as well as you can without breaking the popcorn, Doesn't matter if it isn't perfectly mixed yet.
5. Pour mixture onto a lined baking tray and place in an oven pre-heated to 120C.
6. After about 20 minutes the caramel should be movable so use a spatula to evenly coat the popcorn mix in caramel. You can repeat this every 10 minutes until the popcorn is evenly coated.
7. When the mix is evenly coated, take it out of the oven to cool before storing in an air-tight container or eating straight away.

And there you have it, a sweet and buttery snack that you can have a home ready for a movie night or just a yummy snack to have all the time.

NOTE: If you want to make salted caramel popcorn you can all 1 tsp of sea salt into the melted butter mix to give it a slight salty taste.

I hope that this recipe will be enough to keep you satisfied until tomorrow because there will be more delicious goodness in tomorrows recipe.

Stay tuned for tomorrow guys!!

Cookbook and Apple and Rhubarb Cake

Hey everyone, it has been so long since I've last posted a recipe and I'm really sorry about that but I've had exams. The exams are now over so I'll be posting a recipe tonight. But before I do that I have some very big news to share with you all.

I actually submitted one of the recipes on this blog for a cookbook competition at my university and it happened to get accepted. So it seems that one of my recipes is now going to be published into a cookbook. For those of you that are wondering the recipe was the one for the Gyeran Bbang, it's simple, cheap, delicious and perfect for a student like me. There was a photo shoot and all that jazz, and they are even going to film the recipe so you can also watch a video of it. There is going to be a book launch and everything, so I'm super proud about this and I'm so happy to finally be able to share it with all of you! If you haven't seen that recipe before do have a look at it, it's super scrumptious.

Now to move on to the blog for today. today's post is going to be a simple feel good dessert. It is starting to get cold here, as we start May so I thought what's better than a good old apple and rhubarb crumble. Only today I'm going to change it up a bit and convert it to a cake.

Apple and rhubarb cakes are wholesome and warm and are the perfect thing to keep you going on a cold night, or even as the spring approaches because that's technically the rhubarb season. A bit of custard or ice-cream on the side and you have the perfect dessert.

Ingredients
60 g soft unsalted butter
380g brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
300g plain flour
1 tsp sodium bicarbonate
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 cup sour cream
grated rind of 1 lemon
250g chopped rhubarb
250g chopped apples
80g brown sugar, extra
1tsp ground cinnamon, extra
Custard or ice-cream to serve

Method
1. Mix butter and sugar in processor until blended.
2. Add one egg at a time, mixing well between additions.
3. Add vanilla extract and mix well. Sift flour, spices and sodium bicarbonate together.
4. Fold into egg mixture alternatively with combined sour cream and lemon rind.
5. Fold rhubarb and apple in using a wooden spoon.
6. Spoon mixture into a 23cm spring form pan lined with baking paper on bottom and sides.
7. Combine extra brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over cake.
8. Bake at 175C for about 1 hour and 50 minutes, or until cooked when tested with a skewer.
9. Cool in pan.
10. Cut and serve with a scoop of ice-cream or a generous amount of warm custard.

And here is the recipe for my version of an apple and rhubarb cake. I hope that you guys enjoy it, enjoy the weather and the fresh foods that are available at this time of the year, it is usually one of the best. 

I'll try and post more recipes up, until I have my final exams at least....so until the next post have fun, enjoy the sun but remember to stay healthy, safe and happy!