Right here’s a copycat recipe for Australia’s (present) favorite confectionary – Golden Gaytime Popcorn! Caramel popcorn drizzled with chocolate and sprinkled with biscuits crumbs, it’s ridiculously addictive however moderately costly. Save a fortune by making it your self!
Golden Gaytime Popcorn
Popcorn and sweet lovers alike have been in a tizzy of pleasure with Golden Gaytime Popcorn was first launched. Yours actually included. The chatter between closet popcorn-loving pals, nonetheless, shortly moved from “Far out, that is loopy good!” to “OMG are you able to consider it’s so costly”??
Named as such as a result of it’s a popcorn model of a beloved Australian’s ice cream referred to as Golden Gaytime, one packet of the Gaytime popcorn is $5.75 for 100g (3.5 oz). A small bag with simply 2 cups of Gaytime popcorn. I can’t afford to feed my dependancy!!
Which, after all, result in what was affectionately dubbed The Gaytime Popcorn Undertaking – a do-it-yourself model I used to be assured I might create for 80% cheaper. How’d I do? My report card is on the backside of the submit!
Retailer-bought Golden Gaytime popcorn
A fast inspection of the components label was all I wanted to give you a copycat recipe. It’s actually simply caramel popcorn with a drizzle of chocolate and sprinkling of biscuit crumbs.
Nonetheless, my do-it-yourself Gaytime Popcorn is much extra beneficiant on the chocolate drizzling (oh, why not? 😇). And also you gained’t break the financial institution!
Hmm, I did a “sprinkling of biscuit crumbs”, didn’t I. Nevertheless it seems to be extra like I’m assertively throwing biscuit crumbs within the picture beneath. You need biscuit crumbs? Right here’s your biscuit crumbs!!! 😂
Components you want
Right here’s what it’s essential to make this. The primary half covers the caramel popcorn, then the second half covers the chocolate drizzle and biscuit crumbs.
Caramel popcorn components
Right here’s what you want for the caramel popcorn:
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Corn syrup – This stabilises the caramel to make sure sugar crystallisation doesn’t happen, offers the caramel a pleasant shiny end that’s crisp moderately than sticky. Widespread grocery merchandise within the US and Canada ! It may be bought on-line in Australia from USAFoods.com.au and Amazon.
Glucose is an ideal substitute for corn syrup which is accessible in Australian supermarkets (baking aisle, clear thick syrup with honey consistency). Just a bit more durable to measure out as a result of it’s so thick. Nonetheless, the popcorn must be baked for quarter-hour longer to verify the caramel coating dries out and turns into crisp. It’s because glucose has barely greater water content material.
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Baking soda / bi-carb – This makes the caramel coating change into form of foamy and improve in quantity if you whisk it in. It helps get even protection of caramel on the popcorn. With out the baking soda, you find yourself with huge globs of caramel. It could actually’t be substituted with baking powder.
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Toffee, caramel or vanilla essence – Retailer-bought Gaytime popcorn has a stronger albeit extra synthetic caramel flavour than do-it-yourself. To copy this, use a caramel or toffee essence. In any other case, simply persist with vanilla like regular caramel popcorn. It’s actually not an enormous deal, the popcorn nonetheless has a stunning caramel-y flavour.
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Brown sugar moderately than white sugar, for higher caramel flavour.
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Butter – For flavour. Not margarine or different options. I can’t predict what that may do to the crispness of the caramel coating.
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Oil – Something impartial flavoured like vegetable, canola or peanut oil. That is for cooking the popcorn. It doesn’t work as effectively with butter (as a result of butter is ~15% water and dairy, not simply fats).
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Popping corn! It’s normally offered within the potato crisps aisle in grocery shops right here in Australia.
Chocolate drizzle and biscuit crumbs
For the chocolate drizzle and biscuit crumbs, you simply want chocolate appropriate for melting and a few plain biscuits to crush up then sprinkle on the popcorn.
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Chocolate -You should use a mix of darkish and white chocolate, as I’ve performed (just like the store-bought Gaytime popcorn combine), or only one or the opposite.
Use a chocolate bought from the baking aisle moderately than consuming chocolate. Baking chocolate is purpose-made for melting and cooking with, whereas consuming chocolate is definitely typically designed particularly so it doesn’t soften when heat! I usually use “melts” for melting and chocolate chips for issues like chocolate chip cookies as they’re designed to carry their form when cookies are baked.
For these of you within the US, semi-sweet chocolate chips is ideal.
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Plain biscuits – A signature a part of Golden Gaytime Popcorn is the sprinkling of crushed biscuits on the popcorn. The components label specifies that it’s vanilla biscuits. Truthfully although, any plain candy biscuits will work simply tremendous!
How you can make Golden Gaytime Popcorn
Merely make caramel popcorn then end with a drizzle of chocolate and sprinkle of biscuit crumbs. It should keep crisp and recent for not less than per week – I’m positive it can final for longer (caramel popcorn lasts for weeks). However each take a look at batch I made mysteriously disappeared earlier than I might end testing the shelf life!!
1. Pop popcorn
Pop your popcorn kernels utilizing your methodology of selection – range or popcorn maker, if in case you have one (I do, however for some cause digging it out of the again of the cabinet looks like extra effort than cooking the popcorn on the range).
Right here’s easy methods to cook dinner popcorn on the range.
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Check kernels – Warmth oil in a big pot over medium warmth. Add a number of items of popcorn and wait till it pops, then shortly take away.
Add remaining popcorn, elevate off range to shake and unfold corn out evenly. Cowl with a lid.
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Shake! As soon as the popcorn begins popping in earnest, shake the pot gently as soon as. Take away from warmth when the popping stops (when you possibly can depend to three between pops) and switch to a (very!) giant bowl.
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To make the caramel soften butter in a saucepan over medium warmth. Add sugar, corn syrup and salt. Stir till simply mixed.
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Simmer – When it begins to bubble, simmer for 4 minutes – DO NOT STIR! This may increasingly trigger the sugar to crystallise so that you gained’t find yourself with a easy caramel.
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Baking soda “foamy” – Take away from warmth then shortly whisk in caramel (toffee or vanilla) and baking soda. Whenever you cease whisking, the caramel will foam and improve in quantity. That is what makes the caramel coat the popcorn evenly. With out the baking soda, you find yourself with thick heavy globs of caramel on the popcorn and it’s unimaginable to toss.
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Coat popcorn – Shortly pour the foamy caramel straight over the popcorn and toss to coat the popcorn as finest you possibly can till the caramel cools and begins to harden.
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Bake for 45 minutes, tossing each 10 minutes or so. The caramel will remelt for the primary 2-3 tosses so it coats the popcorn extra evenly.
REMINDER: If utilizing glucose as an alternative of corn syrup, bake for an additional quarter-hour.
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Cool – Take away from oven, go away to chill on the tray for 20 minutes so the caramel hardens. Then break up the popcorn – no should be too pedantic, clumps are nice!
Gaytime the popcorn!
OK, so time to rework our caramel popcorn into Gaytime Popcorn! Right here’s how:
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Bash the biscuits into crumbs both in a ziplock bag or utilizing a mortar and pestle.
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Soften the chocolate within the microwave (I exploit this) or bain-marie (bowl set over simmering water).
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Switch the melted chocolate right into a piping bag. This makes it simpler to get even protection and zig-zag chocolate drizzles such as you get with the shop purchased Gaytime popcorn. However in the event you want, you possibly can simply use a spoon for drizzling.
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Prepared for drizzling!
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Drizzle the chocolate everywhere in the popcorn in no matter sample you like. There aren’t any guidelines! Besides – intention for even protection. No person desires to be the unfortunate one that will get a handful of chocolate-less popcorn!
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Sprinkle the popcorn with the biscuit crumbs whereas the chocolate remains to be moist. The biscuits will persist with the chocolate half solely, and it sort of sticks in concentrated (albeit small) patches so you possibly can style it a bit of higher. I most well-liked this methodology moderately than sprinkling it on the caramel popcorn while within the oven (the crumbs sort of acquired misplaced).
As soon as the chocolate units – I pace issues up by popping the trays within the fridge for quarter-hour – it’s able to dive in!!
Storage
In concept, Gaytime Popcorn ought to keep recent and crisp so long as Caramel Popcorn which has a superb shelf lifetime of a number of weeks.
Check batches made it to across the 1 week mark efficiently earlier than mysteriously disappearing. So I can’t say for positive, however I’m assured it ought to final for not less than 2 weeks. Simply ensure it’s saved in an hermetic container in a cool and dry place. If moisture will get in and/or it’s sizzling and humid, the caramel coating will get sticky and chewy so it will get caught in your tooth.
This was a jar supposed for gifting. It by no means acquired gifted. 🤭
REPORT CARD: Home made is 68% cheaper!!
I boldly said after I began on the Gaytime Popcorn Undertaking that I believed I might make it for 80% lower than store-bought.
We’ve run the numbers and the outcomes are in.
One batch prices $8.96 to make which equates to five packets of retailer purchased Gaytime Popcorn which prices $28.75 ($5.75 per packet). That’s a 68% saving!
So, I used to be 12% off. However nonetheless. I’d by no means spend $28.75 for five packets of Gaytime. However I’d spend $8.96 to make a batch of this any day of the week – and twice for film evening! – Nagi x
Watch easy methods to make it
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Golden Gaytime Popcorn – copycat recipe!
Prep: 15 minutes
Prepare dinner: 55 minutes
Complete: 1 hr 5 minutes
Dessert, Candy
Western
Servings12 cups
Faucet or hover to scale
Directions
Popcorn
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Check oil – Warmth oil in a big pot over medium warmth. Add a number of items of popcorn and wait till it pops, then shortly take away.
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Pop – Add remaining popcorn, elevate off range to shake and unfold corn out evenly. Cowl with a lid. As soon as the popcorn begins popping in earnest, shake the pot gently as soon as. Then crack the lid a tiny bit – let’s steam escape for crisper popcorn.
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Take away from warmth when the popping stops (when you possibly can depend to three between pops) and switch to a (very!) giant bowl.
Caramel:
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Preheat oven to 110°C/230°F (each fan and customary ovens).
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Mix – Soften butter in a saucepan over medium warmth. Add sugar, corn syrup and salt. Stir till simply mixed.
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Simmer – When it begins to bubble, simmer for 4 minutes – DO NOT STIR!
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Baking soda “foamy” – Take away from warmth then shortly whisk in caramel (toffee or vanilla) and baking soda. Whenever you cease whisking, the caramel will foam and improve in quantity.
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Coat popcorn – Shortly pour straight over popcorn, toss till caramel cools and begins to harden.
Baking to crisp caramel coating:
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Unfold popcorn on 2 giant paper lined baking trays.
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Bake for 45 minutes, tossing each 10 minutes or so. Caramel will remelt for the primary 2-3 tosses – tossing coats popcorn extra evenly with caramel. (If utilizing glucose, bake additional quarter-hour).
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Cool – Take away from oven, go away to chill on the tray for 20 minutes. Then break up the popcorn – no should be too pedantic, clumps are nice!
Drizzle and crumbs
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Crumbs – Place biscuits in a ziplock bag and bash into crumbs.
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Soften chocolate – Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl and microwave in 30 second increments on excessive, stirring in between, till melted and easy – about 1 1/2 minutes. (If doing a small quantity of white chocolate, scale back to twenty second increments).
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Piping luggage – Switch chocolate right into a piping bag. Use scissors to snip a small opening on the tip. (Different: simply drizzle with a spoon).
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Drizzle & crumb – Push the popcorn collectively however in a single layer. Drizzle criss-cross (or any sample!) everywhere in the popcorn. Sprinkle with biscuits crumbs whereas the chocolate is moist so it sticks.
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Fridge – Refrigerate for quarter-hour till the chocolate is agency. Gently break popcorn into items. EAT!
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Retailer in an hermetic container in a cool place. Stays crisp for not less than per week. Our take a look at batches by no means lasted any longer!
Recipe Notes:
Glucose is an ideal substitute for corn syrup which is accessible in Australian supermarkets (baking aisle, clear thick syrup with honey consistency). Just a bit more durable to measure out as a result of it’s so thick. Nonetheless, the popcorn must be baked for quarter-hour longer (as a result of glucose as greater water content material).
2. Toffee or caramel essence – Retailer purchased Gaytime has a stronger albeit extra synthetic caramel flavour than do-it-yourself. To copy this, use a caramel or toffee essence. In any other case, simply persist with vanilla like regular caramel popcorn!
3. Baking soda/bi-carb – This makes the caramel coating change into form of foamy and improve in quantity if you whisk it in. Helps with even protection on the popcorn. With out, you find yourself with huge globs of caramel.
4. Chocolate – Retailer purchased Gaytime popcorn has ~50/50 white and darkish chocolate drizzles. And moderately skimpy at that! This do-it-yourself model is rather more beneficiant with the chocolate.
Use any mixture of darkish and white chocolate you need. I used about 25% white chocolate and 75% darkish chocolate.
Be sure you use the fitting chocolate! Use chocolate bought from the baking aisle (designed to soften easily) not consuming chocolate (designed to NOT soften when heat!).
5. Biscuits – Any plain candy biscuits will work right here. Simply one thing to sprinkle on the popcorn. The Gaytime Popcorn components simply lists “vanilla biscuits” for the crumbs used!
6. Storage – stays 100% crisp and recent not less than 1 week, most likely extra (caramel popcorn lasts 2 to three weeks). Be sure you maintain it in an hermetic container in a cool dry place. If it’s tremendous sizzling and humid, fridge is finest.
Vitamin per serving assuming 12 servings. It’s not weight loss plan meals!
Vitamin Data:
Serving: 46gEnergy: 339cal (17%)Carbohydrates: 47g (16%)Protein: 1g (2%)Fats: 18g (28%)Saturated Fats: 8g (50%)Polyunsaturated Fats: 2gMonounsaturated Fats: 5gTrans Fats: 0.3gLdl cholesterol: 19mg (6%)Sodium: 166mg (7%)Potassium: 101mg (3%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 40g (44%)Vitamin A: 223IU (4%)Calcium: 34mg (3%)Iron: 0.4mg (2%)
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