Valentine Cake Mix Popcorn

After seeing cake batter popcorn floating around Pinterest for a while, I decided that Valentine’s Day would be the perfect holiday to try this sweet treat. With just a few ingredients, you can make this decadent snack in less than 15 minutes. Keep in mind that much like fudge, this sweet Valentine Cake Mix Popcorn is best enjoyed in smaller portions. A little definitely will go a long way!

Ingredients

6 -7 cups popped popcorn (1 bag of microwave popcorn)

10 oz. white almond bark or white chocolate chips

3 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil

1/2 cup vanilla cake mix  (or yellow cake mix)

1/ 4  cup valentine sprinkles

1/2 cup M&M chocolate candies

Directions

 

*How to heat treat cake mix:

While many cake mixes may be safe, best to play it safe and heat treat your cake mix for this recipe. Place 1/2 cup cake mix in a microwave safe bowl.

Heat the cake mix in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring after each interval and checking for a uniform 165ºF internal temperature.

Allow heat-treated mix to cool completely. Sift if necessary to remove large chunks.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.

Melt almond bark in microwave, starting with 1 1/2 minutes and stirring in 30 second intervals after that just until melted. Stir in oil and cake mix and mix until combined.

Add sprinkles and pour over popcorn in extra large bowl.

Gently stir to coat popcorn.  (You can also add half the chocolate candies at this point or add all them at the end.)

Spread popcorn mixture into baking sheet. Top with M&Ms.

Cool completely until hardened. Store in airtight container or Ziploc bag.

 

I used these these Wilton Chocolate Heart Sprinkles and mixed them into my chocolate so they would melt and create the pink chocolate. However, you can keep your popcorn white and instead sprinkle them over the top of the popcorn once you’ve spread it out on your baking sheet. You can also choose to mix half of your M&M chocolate candies into the chocolate, all of them or none at all.  It is really up to you!

Have fun playing around with this versatile snack for different holidays and celebrations. Consider team colors for game day, wedding colors for bridal showers, or theme colors for birthdays.