So, you know popcorn right. It tastes good but those pesky weird bits that you can’t chew that get stuck in your teeth. Ugh! Well, it’s enough to make me not eat popcorn. Frustrating yeh, because every time we go to the cinema to see a movie, I can smell that buttery, salty popcorn and here it popping in the machines behind the ticket counter and I’m tempted. Every. Single. Time. But I never do it. Because of those pesky little corn, skin bits that I just know I’ll spend the entire evening trying to get out of my teeth.

A pile of butter popcorn fudge on a sheet of baking paper.

Problem solved. I found a way to get the flavour of butter popcorn in smooth, sweet fudge with not one single piece of actual popcorn (except in the photos but that’s just to set a scene y’all).

May I present my Butter Popcorn Easy Fudge ?

A pile of butter popcorn fudge with a bite taken out of one piece.

Popcorn without popcorn

Pop quiz! How do you get the flavour of popcorn without using popcorn? I’m going to teach you a little trick today. Toasted flour. That’s right, you just take some regular old plain (all-purpose) flour and cook it in a dry pan over high heat until you get a nice toasty colour and, yes, the smell of popcorn. But it doesn’t just smell like popcorn, it tastes just like popcorn. For real!!!!

We all know how much I love fudge, especially the easy fudge variety so when I managed to achieve this (astonishingly simple) task of getting the flavour of butter popcorn into fudge, well, I was a proud little baker. Not so little after eating a load of this fudge though. Oops, my bad!

Rows of cut fudge before it gets coated.

This recipe has a few extra steps than you would normally take with fudge but they are so worth it if you’re after that movie style popcorny taste. Which we do right? That’s the whole point of Butter Popcorn Easy Fudge. I wasn’t about to start adding real popcorn. That’s crazy talk.

The first step was toasting the flour. Been there done that.

Fudge being coated in a white bowl.

And the butter…..

Second step? Clarifying butter. Hold up, it’s not tricky at all. It’s as simple as melting butter in the microwave, removing the milk solids and tadaa! That sunny yellow bit that sits on top is clarified butter. You can also use ghee if you prefer and the jobs already done for you ?

  • Clarified butter
  • Toasted flour
  • Easy stove top fudge
  • Coat in butter popcorn dust (yes, I went that extra mile)

Done!

This is a condensed milk fudge which makes it very quick and easy to make. Just 10 minutes on the stove and time to set and you have simple homemade fudge. You’ll spend only an extra 5-10 minutes cooking the flour.

If you want to experience that butter popcorn flavour without the icky corn bits, give this fudge a try.

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A pile of squares of popcorn fudge closeup.

If you try this buttered popcorn fudge recipe, please take a moment to leave a rating and comment below. I love hearing from you and it helps other readers too! You can also take a photo and tag @sugarsaltmagic on Instagram.

More fudge recipes

Butter Popcorn Easy Fudge has all the flavour of butter popcorn and fudge in one and not a piece of popcorn in sight. This is an easy fudge recipe with a fun flavour.
5 from 2 ratings
Butter Popcorn Easy Fudge has all the flavour of buttered popcorn and fudge in one and not a piece of popcorn in sight.This recipe requires setting time, so plan ahead.

Ingredients

  • 226 g salted butter (2 sticks / 1 cup)
  • 1 tin sweetened condensed milk (395ml / 14floz)
  • 1 cup white caster (superfine) sugar (granulated will also be fine) (200g / 7oz)
  • ¼ cup liquid glucose or light corn syrup
  • 200 g white chocolate, finely chopped (7oz)
  • 1 cup plain (all-purp) flour (130g / 4.5oz)
  • ½ teaspoon finely ground / table salt
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt flakes
  • ¼ cup icing (powdered) sugar (35g / 1.5oz)

For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided

Equipment

Instructions
 

To clarify the butter

  • Melt the butter in the microwave, then allow it to separate into layers (if you use a glass dish it will be easier to see). The top yellow layer is the clarified butter and the bottom layer is the milk solids. If the top is foamy, use a spoon to skim that off before very slowly pouring 170g of the yellow layer into a large heavy based saucepan (it will be almost all of it but it does depend on the butter you use – See notes).

Toast the flour

  • Add the flour to a frying pan over high heat. Stir the flour whilst cooking for around 5-7 minutes until you have a nice beige / coffee coloured flour (that’s coffee with milk colour). Take off the heat and allow to cool before sifting.
  • Split into 2 even portions (65g each).

To make the butter popcorn dust

  • Mix 1 portion of the toasted flour (65g) with the icing sugar and set aside.

To make the fudge

  • Line an 8×8 inch square baking pan with baking paper.
  • To the butter already in the saucepan, add the sweetened condensed milk, sugar and glucose (or corn syrup). Stir, over low heat, without boiling, until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is smooth.
  • Continue to stir for another 6-8 minutes over low heat until the mixture has thickened a little. Don’t stop stirring as it may catch. If it does catch, take it off the heat and stir quickly to cool it a little before returning the pan to the heat and continuing.
  • Add half of the sifted flour (65g only) and carefully whisk it in until well combined, then continue to cook over the low for another minute. It should become quite thick.
  • Add the chocolate and salt and stir until the chocolate has melted and it is totally incorporated.
  • Turn of the heat and pour the fudge straight into your lined baking tin.
  • Sprinkle the sea salt over the top. Press down lightly with a spoon just so the salt is stuck in the fudge a little bit and won’t just fall off when the fudge sets.
  • Leave for 30 minutes to cool at room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 3-4 hours or overnight.
  • Cut into squares and toss in the buttered popcorn dust that you set aside earlier. Shake off the excess and serve.

Notes

  1. The recipe calls for just 170g of clarified butter, but if you don’t have kitchen scales to weigh it out, the little extra shouldn’t ruin the fudge.
  2. The milk solids from the clarified butter can be discarded. I haven’t tried it but I have read that they can be used in creamy sauces for pastas etc.
  3. I don’t personally like the taste of cooking chocolates so I always use eating chocolate in my cooking. The same you’d buy in the candy aisle.
  4. For best results you should always weigh ingredients like flour and sugar. Kitchen scales are relatively cheap but if you can’t weigh the ingredients, use the spoon and level method (don’t scoop). MORE FUDGE AND CANDY RECIPES!
Have you tried this recipe?Don’t forget to leave a rating and comment below and let me know how it was! I love hearing from you. Nutrition information is approximate and derived from an online calculator. The brands you use may cause variations.