Who doesn’t love popcorn on a blustery wet autumn day? When I was a kid and it was yuck outside Mum would hand the kitchen over to me and popcorn was always on the menu.

So today with the weather howling and my little friend Woody visiting we whipped up this super delicious cake together. Woody started enthusiastically with the cake baking. He measured everything out, broke the eggs into the mix, and beat it all together till his arms hurt and he declared “I’m not the baking guy anymore. The doll’s house needs me”

So with the cake in the oven and the boy now sending the doll’s house family catapulting around the lounge, I finished the task. The popcorn explosions peaked his interest until I opened the lid. A perfectly puffed pellet of hot popcorn exploded out of the pan and hit him in the eye. A healing hug returned our world to a happy place just in time for him to witness the wonder of baking soda meeting boiling butter and sugar – from a distance! It’s one of my first cooking memories and just maybe it will become his.

And if you just want to eat the most delicious caramel corn ever, skip the cake bit and head straight to the popcorn!

BROWN SUGAR CAKE

4 oz softened butter
4 oz brown sugar
2 T golden syrup
2 eggs
2 T plain yoghurt
Zest one orange
1 T vanilla essence
5 oz white flour
1 t baking powder
¼ t salt
¼ c desiccated coconut
Butter to grease pan

FROSTING

1 ½ c icing sugar
½ c soft butter
1 T vanilla essence

SALTED CARAMEL CORN

4 c popped corn
½ c brown sugar
¼ c golden syrup
¼ c butter
½ t baking soda
½ t salt
Rock salt to finish

Method

Heat oven to 180°C.

For the cake, cream butter and sugar till pale, beat in the eggs then add yoghurt, orange zest and vanilla essence. Sift in all dry ingredients except coconut. Don’t over mix.

Grease your Lil’ Legacy pan thoroughly with butter then dust with coconut ensuring the pan is evenly covered.

Bake for 25 minutes till golden brown. Turn out after letting it sit for 5 minutes.

For the frosting beat all ingredients together and set aside.

Put the popped corn into a medium bowl.

For the caramel, boil butter, golden syrup and brown sugar for 3 minutes then add dry ingredients and stir swiftly as the baking soda does it marvellous thing.

Now swiftly pour the caramel over the popped corn and stir to evenly coat the corn.

Spread the caramel corn out on a baking sheet covered with grease proof paper and bake for 15 minutes stirring every few minutes to make sure it doesn’t burn, then cool.

Turn the cake out of the pan, spread it with icing, pile the caramel on top and sprinkle with extra rock salt.

YUM!