Salted Caramel Popcorn Crumble Choux Buns Recipes

SALTED CARAMEL & POPCORN CRUMBLE CHOUX BUNS

Steps:

• For the crumble topping (or craquelin), mix the flour and sugar together in a medium bowl. Add the butter and rub until you have a breadcrumb texture. Using your hands, press this mixture together to form a uniform dough. Place this between 2 sheets of baking parchment and roll out until it is a few millimetres thick. Pop in the freezer on a baking tray until needed.
• For the salted caramel, put the sugar in a medium-sized saucepan and set over a medium heat. Allow the sugar to melt and caramelise, stirring occasionally. Once the sugar is a dark copper caramel colour, add half the double cream. When the bubbling has subsided, add the remaining cream, the butter and salt, and stir to combine. If you have any remaining lumps, put back on the heat and stir until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat, pour into a small bowl, cover with cling film and chill until needed.
• For the popcorn cream, put all the ingredients in a medium saucepan over a medium-high heat and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat, cover the pan and allow to infuse for 1 hour. Strain the cream through a sieve into a measuring jug, pressing down on the softened popcorn to get as much cream out as possible. Top the cream up so you still have 600ml. Press a piece of cling film onto the surface of the cream and chill until needed. Can be prepared the day before up to this point.
• For the choux pastry, heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line 2 baking trays with baking parchment. Using a 5cm cookie cutter as a guide, draw 5 circles onto each piece of baking parchment and turn them over. Put 140ml water, the butter, ¼ tsp salt and the sugar in a medium saucepan and, over a medium-high heat, bring the mixture to a full rolling boil. Once boiling, and the butter has melted, remove from the heat, tip in the flour and immediately mix together with a wooden spoon until a smooth paste forms. Return to the heat and beat for 1-2 mins to dry out a little. Tip the paste into a large bowl and beat for a few mins to cool down slightly.
• Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating until fully combined before adding another - add the last egg a little at a time as you may not need it all. Stop when the smooth choux drops off your spoon in a V-shape. Put the dough in a piping bag fitted with a large round nozzle, then pipe rounds of dough onto the prepared baking trays, using the circles as templates. Remove the crumble topping from the freezer and peel off the top layer of parchment. Using a 5cm cookie cutter, cut out 10 discs of the crumble topping and place one on top of each round of dough. Bake for 40 mins, or until the choux is well risen and the crumble is golden. Turn the oven off but leave the choux in until fully cooled.
• To assemble the buns, use a large serrated knife to carefully slice in half. Place a few pieces of popcorn in the base of each bun and spoon some caramel in too (if you have prepared the caramel ahead of time, it will have firmed up, so place over a bowl of simmering water to loosen it). For the filling, remove the cream from the fridge and whip to soft peaks, then put in a piping bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe a swirl onto the base of each bun. To finish, place the top of the choux buns back on top of the cream and dust lightly with icing sugar. I finished mine with a piece of edible gold leaf.

SALTED CARAMEL PECAN STICKY BUNS

Steps:

• Combine yeast, sugar, water and milk in a large bowl. Let sit until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Mix in butter, egg, and vanilla. Stir in flour and Diamond Crystal® Kosher Salt and mix until dough comes together; you may need additional flour. Knead until smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl; cover with a cloth and set in a warm place to rise until doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Spray two 9-inch cake pans liberally with cooking spray.
• For the caramel sauce, combine 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup dark brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until sugar dissolves in the butter. Stir in the heavy cream and Diamond Crystal® Kosher Salt; mix well but do not bring to a boil. Sauce will be thick. Divide sauce equally into cake pans. Sprinkle equal amounts of pecans on top of caramel sauce.
• Divide dough into two equal portions and roll out each section into a rectangle approximately 14x6 inches.
• For the filling, mix brown sugar and cinnamon together. Brush melted butter evenly on each rectangle and sprinkle with brown sugar cinnamon mix. Starting with the longer side roll up each rectangle. Cut each roll into 9 equal portions. Place rolls into prepared cake pans and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake until browned and baked through, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Immediately (and carefully as sauce will be very hot) invert onto a plate. Serve warm.

CARAMEL POPCORN BALLS

Steps:

• Add 1 tablespoon of the oil to a 4 quart saucepan, and heat over high heat. When oil is hot, add 1/2 cup of popping corn. Keep pan moving constantly. When corn stops popping, remove from heat. Place popped corn in oven to keep warm. Repeat until all corn has been popped. Set aside.
• In a medium saucepan with a candy thermometer inserted, combine butter, sugar, and corn syrup. Stir well and bring to boiling over medium heat. Stir in condensed milk; simmer, stirring constantly, until thermometer reads 238 degrees F (114 degrees C). Stir in vanilla.
• Pour caramel over popped corn and stir to coat. Butter hands lightly; shape popcorn into balls about 3 1/2 inches in diameter.

SALTED CARAMEL POPCORN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Pour the popped popcorn into a large serving bowl; set aside. In a small saucepan melt together the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and 1 teaspoon of the salt over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil. Boil for 4 minutes without stirring.
• Pour the caramel mixture over the popcorn and toss the popcorn to coat it evenly. Pour the popcorn into the lined pan, sprinkle the remaining salt on top (1/2 to 1 teaspoon, depending on your personal taste preference) and place the pan in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
• Allow the popcorn to cool on a parchment paper-lined counter.