Golden Globe Cupcakes

The Golden Globe awards are almost here, and while some people might be wondering whether Black Swan will win best picture, the more important question is, "What Golden Globe cupcakes will you be serving at your Golden Globe viewing party?"

The obvious choice for Golden Globe cupcakes is golden glow cupcakes.  The names are so similar that golden glow cupcakes almost seem like they were made for the Golden Globes.  However, never being one to go with an obvious choice, I focused on America's favorite movie snack (popcorn!) and St. Louis's favorite cake (gooey butter cake) and created Golden Globe gooey buttered popcorn cupcakes!

Gooey buttered popcorn cupcakes are not diet food.  They have a buttery crust topped with a buttery, salty, popcorny gooey topping, and they are finished with sticky, sweet caramel corn.  Eat them at your Golden Globe party or any and every time you host a movie night.


The Secret Ingredient In Golden Globe Cupcakes

These gooey buttered popcorn cupcakes contain one ingredient that you probably don't own and likely haven't even heard of:

Popcorn flour is just what you might think - popped popcorn that has been ground into flour.  You can buy popcorn flour online from Amish Country or you can make your own if you have an air popper (popcorn popped with oils won't have the same consistency when processed into flour) and a blender or food processor that is capable of processing food finely enough to be considered a flour (like the Vitamix). 

Golden Globe Cupcake Recipe

To make my Golden Globe cupcakes, I modified Smitten Kitchen's Gooey Butter Cake recipe (who adapted it from Melissa Clark at the New York Times, who adapted it from Molly Killeen at the Park Slope Farmers’ Market) to turn it into cupcakes and I incorporated the popcorn flour.

The cupcakes have two parts: a butter crust and a gooey topping (both are baked).  I found that most of my tasters wanted a higher goo to crust ratio.  To account for that, if I made this recipe again, I might try halving the cake part but still dividing it among the same number of cupcake liners.  You can experiment with your own perfect ratio.  But, do keep in mind that if you fill the liners too high with goo, they will overflow in the oven. 

One other thing to be aware of is that because these cupcakes are so buttery, they have a tendency to pull away from the liners.  I know (because I've received lots of emails and comments about the subject) that this drives some of you crazy.  My only suggestion is to use a decorative wrapper outside of the liner.  Jonathan made my movie theater popcorn wrapper on my Silhouette.  However, you could easily make these wrappers by hand (see my tutorial on how to make cupcake wrappers).  It would be a fun project for kids!

Yield: 18 cupcakes

For the crust:

• 3 tbsp milk, room temperature
• 2 tbsp warm water
• 1 3/4 tsp active dry yeast
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 large egg
• 1 3/4 C all-purpose flour

For the topping:

• 3 tbsp plus 1 tsp light corn syrup
• 2 tbsp water
• 2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 C unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 C sugar
• 1 tsp kosher salt, divided
• 1 large egg
• 1 C popcorn flour (you can use all-purpose flour if you can't buy or make popcorn flour)

Crust instructions:

1. In a small bowl, mix milk with water. 
2. Add yeast and whisk gently until it dissolves.
3. In a medium-sized bowl, mix butter, sugar, and salt until light and fluffy. 
4. Beat the egg into the butter/sugar mixture. 
5. Alternately mix in the flour and the milk mixture, scraping down sides of bowl between each addition.
6. Mix until the mixture forms a smooth ball (If you have a stand mixer, use a dough hook and beat dough on medium speed for 7 to 10 minutes.)
7. Line cupcake tins with 18 liners.
8. Divide crust evenly (or as close as you can get) between the liners - pressing it with your fingertips into the bottom of the liners.
9. Cover tins with plastic wrap or a towel, put in a warm place, and allow to rise until doubled, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Gooey topping instructions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk corn syrup with water and vanilla.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, mix butter, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt until light and fluffy. 
3. Beat the egg into the butter/sugar mixture. 
4. Alternately add popcorn flour and corn syrup mixture, scraping down sides of bowl between each addition.
5. Spoon topping evenly over risen crusts.
6. Lightly sprinkle the top of each cupcake with salt.
7. Bake at 350 F for exactly 20 minutes.  Note that you can't use the standard toothpick method to tell if they are done because they are supposed to be gooey.  I found that if I baked the cupcakes more than 20 minutes, they overflowed. 
8. Allow to cool in pan. 

Caramel Corn Cupcake Topper

Top each cupcake with caramel corn just before serving (if you put them on too early, the cupcakes will get soggy).  You can buy caramel corn or make your own.  I made my popcorn on the stove top - this HubPages illustrated popcorn making tutorial made it easy.  Then, I melted one cup of sugar in a heavy-bottomed pot on the stove and poured the resulting caramel over four cups of popcorn.  If you want to get even fancier than I, you can make your caramel corn into adorable popcorn balls (check out these caramel popcorn balls from Sweet Paul for inspiration).

Update: Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge

I had no idea when I created and posted this recipe that there was actually a cupcake challenge (The Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge) this month all about cupcakes with popcorn!  Kat of Sweets n' Stiches left a comment and let me know.  Thanks, Kat!  I am entering the contest (read all about it here). Per the contest rules, I am including the following text in my post:

The winner of January’s Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge will receive prizes from:

• Bake It Pretty; a $5 electronic gift card
• Beanilla; 3 Madagascar, 3 Mexican & 3 Indian vanilla beans
• ExoDesign; a wire whisk charm necklace
• Hello Hanna; a pack of Sweet Stands cupcake stands
• Miss Kitty Creations; a handmade cupcake charm of your choice
• Simply Caked; 600 brown greaseproof cupcake liners
• Sweet Cuppin Cakes; a prize pack worth $25
• Tundra Books; a selection 3 very sweet children's books

Thank you to all our prize sponsors!