Make Faux Popcorn

Themed cakes and confections are great for birthdays and other celebrations. So a movie-themed cake is an ideal way to show a film buff how much you care. Of course, sprinkling real popcorn over a cake will just lead to it becoming stale and unpleasant looking. And if the popcorn is salted, it would create a bizarre mix of sweet and savory flavors. Instead, faux popcorn can be simply and cheaply made out of icing and marzipan, keeping longer and tasting much better.

Instructions

1. Remove the marzipan from the packet, and roll it into a flat sheet about 1/4-inch thick. Use a sharp knife to cut small irregular shapes out of the marzipan. Each shape should fit into a 1-inch diameter circle. Cut a slit from the edge of each shape into the center.

2. Roll the marzipan shape into an irregular ball, being careful not to squash it. Fold up each marzipan ball, shaping it with your fingers until it roughly resembles a piece of popped popcorn. Dust a tray with icing sugar, place the marzipan popcorn shapes on the tray and set it aside.

3. Crack an egg carefully, and pour the egg white into a bowl. Gradually add 1.5 cups of powdered icing sugar, while beating the mixture into a fluffy paste. Continue to beat and add icing sugar until the mixture is a uniform consistency. The mixture is ready when you can create little points in the surface by removing the spoon.

4. Gently warm a tea towel in the oven, and use it to cover the bowl for a few minutes. Dilute the mixture so it is two parts icing to one part water. Mix again, this time adding two drops of yellow food coloring. Continue mixing and adding drops of food coloring until the icing is yellow throughout.

5. Spoon out some of the icing, and drizzle it over the marzipan shapes. Use the handle end of a teaspoon to smooth the icing coating on the marzipan, ensuring it does not obscure the shape of the popcorn. Continue spooning the icing onto the popcorn until each shape is adequately covered.

6. Leave the shapes on the tray to dry. Once dry, use a small paintbrush to paint brown food coloring onto the popcorn pieces, making sure to apply more brown food coloring in the various nooks and crannies. This give the impression of a toffee glaze.

Tags: food coloring, icing sugar, adding drops, brown food, brown food coloring