Deck the halls with popcorn trees!

I saw these lovely little popcorn trees somewhere at some point & thought they looked fab, they're something really different from the usual Christmas treats I make.  I didn't follow a recipe, I kind of made it up as I went along using melted marshmallows to bind the popcorn together.  The trickiest bit was shaping them into trees, I got myself into a right mess, melted marshmallow could be used as a heavy duty adhesive, it sticks to everything!

I melted around 200g of white marshmallows in a large pan, do this over a low heat & take some time otherwise the marshmallows can brown quite quickly.  I then stirred in a dollop of butter just to loosen it up a bit.  Next I stirred in about 200g of sweet popcorn, the cinema style one not the toffee coated one.  Now, how to handle this big old gooey mess?!  I started with dry hands....didn't work, then I tried icing sugar....by this point I was covered in marshmallow & had nothing resembling a tree!  Then I remembered a tip I'd been given in the past & I sprayed my hands with a little olive oil....bingo, I could easily shape my trees!

I used a digestive to make a base for the tree, then decorated them with coloured icing, sprinkles & stars. 

Voila, a forest full of popcorn trees!

If you're looking for ideas for last minute Christmas treats to make, scroll down for a few from the Rebecca Bakes Cakes archive.

I wish you all a very Happy Christmas & prosperous 2013!  Rebecca x

Christmas Cookies

Gingerbread House - including template

Florentines

Posh microwave popcorn!

With the exception of the film, popcorn is probably my favourite part of going to the movies. Actually come to think of it there's probably a few films that I would have walked out of if I hadn't had a popcorn tub the size of my mop bucket to chomp through! I've tried to make popcorn at home but it's never been great. Microwave popcorn tastes a bit plastic & the time I tried to pop my own, I ended up having to send a pan to kitchen heaven with a irreversibly scorched bottom! So when I was mooching around Great Portland Street killing time before a meeting I was excited to find ZaraMamaS Gourmet Popping Corn. It's a completely natural dried corn on the cob that comes with a bag so you can pop it in the microwave.

Put the cob into the bag & tie up the top

Pop it in the microwave for 2 minutes until the popping stops...

...you get a lovely fresh bag of popcorn

The kernels just pop themselves off the cob!

It's really tasty & I like the fact you can season it yourself. I split my batch in two & seasoned half with salt & pepper, the other half I drizzled (ok maybe more than drizzled!) with maple syrup which was absolutely delicious! ZaraMamaS products are available from deli's & farm shops across the country, have a look at their website for more tasty treats. I'm off to pick a movie to watch with my popcorn, Rebecca x