Earl Grey Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Salted Caramel Popcorn

My kids are popcorn monsters! Well, maybe all kids are! They just always ask for popcorn. Movies, hockey games, parties, playdates… you name it. Sometimes they will go like, “Mom, I can’t sleep. Can I have some popcorn?” Or “I’m hungry! Can I skip dinner and eat some popcorn instead?” That kind of monster!

And so you know I have to stock up! My all-time go-to popcorn brand is Orville Redenbacher Microwavable Popcorn. Orville’s been around for more than 40 years – we love the feeling of nostalgia. Their popcorn is made with 100% whole-grain non-GMO popcorn (like all popcorn), and is high in fibre and gluten free.

 

More and more Canadians are looking for snacks made with simpler ingredients. And I’m so happy to hear that my favourite popcorn brand has re-formulated its entire line-up of microwave popcorn to remove all artificial colours, flavours and preservatives so that I can feel good feeding my kids their favourite snack.

We like our popcorn buttery, that’s for sure! And Orville Redenbacher Microwave Popcorn never disappoints (try their Extra Buttery one!). Sometimes we do like a little taste of sweetness, mixing some salted caramel in a bowl of light and fluffy popcorn definitely helps satisfy the craving!

What’s even better is that you can add a mountain of that delicious salted caramel popcorn on top of your favourite cake, and make it a holiday cake! This whimsical and festive cake is a velvety Earl Grey infused cake with fluffy cream cheese frosting. Covered in drippy salted caramel sauce and well-coated caramel popcorn, this cake is packed with a caramel aroma and delightful texture.

Ingredients (one 5-inch 3-layer cake):
Salted Caramel Popcorn
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3 cups popped popcorn
Earl Grey Cake
1/3 cup whole milk
2 Earl Grey tea bags
3/4 cup cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
Cream Cheese Frosting
1 pack 8-ounce cream cheese, softened
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
To prepare the caramel sauce, combine sugar and water in a heavy saucepan set over low heat, cook until the sugar is dissolved. Add the butter. Let it come to a boil and cook until it reaches a golden caramel colour. Remove from the heat and add the cream slowly. Be careful as it will splatter. Whisk to combine. Add salt to taste. Let cool slightly.
Drizzle half of the caramel sauce over the popcorn. Use a spoon to gently fold the popcorn with the mixture until the kernels are all covered.
Pour the popcorn out onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Let the popcorn cool.
To prepare the cake, heat milk in microwave until just start boiling. Place tea bags in milk and let it steep for 30 minutes, or until the mixture becomes room temperature. Discard the tea bags.
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease three 5-inch cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix well and set aside.
Add sour cream and vanilla into the milk and tea mixture. Mix well and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix canola oil and sugar on medium-high speed until well combined. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg until just blended.
With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the liquid mixture, mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.
Pour batter evenly among the prepared pans. Bake the cake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool completely.
To prepare cream cheese frosting, place cream cheese and butter in a mixing bowl. Beat until soft and well incorporated. Add powder sugar and vanilla. Continue beating until light and fluffy.
To assemble the cake, place one cake layer on a serving plate, spread 1/4 cup frosting on top, then continue until the last cake layer is placed. Frost the cake top and sides with the remaining frosting.
Pour the remaining caramel sauce over the cake. Use a spatula to gentle push the caramel over the edges of the cake and let it drip down to create the drip effect.
Top the cake with the salted caramel popcorn.

This post is sponsored by Orville Redenbacher Microwave Popcorn. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Oh Sweet Day! possible.

 

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