Red Velvet Tuxedo Popcorn Recipe (2024)

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Sweet, salty, and crunchy. Delicious kettle corn and M&MS smothered in red velvet candy coating with white and milk chocolate drizzle.
Ashton

Digging back in the archives again today, y’all.

This Red Velvet Popcorn first appeared on my blog in 2012. I whisked cake mix into white chocolate, coated microwave popcorn with the stuff, and took horrible photos. Bleh.With a popcorn cookbook under my belt, I’d say I’ve officially improved a lot in the popcorn department since then, and this recipe definitely needed a makeover.

I tried to work off of my original recipe with the white chocolate and cake mix, but I just wasn’t loving it. I knew it could be SO much better if I tweaked it a little.

The first change I made is a popcorn swap. Instead of using microwave or air popped popcorn, I used bagged kettle corn. If you can get your hands on some of this, it really does make the best popcorn munch on the planet. The sweet, crunchy sugar coating on kettle corn pairs so nicely with a smooth chocolate. Plus, the sugary coating keeps the popcorn from getting soggy or stale from any moisture the chocolate may impart before hardening.

You could, of course, make your own kettle corn. But I’ve always been happy with this bagged kettle corn from Boom Chicka Pop (found at Target) in this recipe, and it makes things so easy!

Next, I decided to completely abandon the idea of mixing a dry cake mix into the chocolate coating. The flavor wasn’t strong enough, the texture got a little wacky, and (most importantly) there’s a much better alternative available…

Red Velvet Candy Melts by Wilton.

I found mine at Michaels, but you could also order them online. And if that’s too much of a hassle (trust me, I get it), I’ll give you a couple of alternate suggestions in the recipe box.

But if you can get some, buy a couple of bags! This limited edition flavor is delicious, and I thought it was perfect over popcorn.

If you’ve been around Something Swanky before, you know I love candy melts. I mean,of course I love and prefer good high quality REAL chocolate. Of course.

ButI also think melting candy has it’s place when it comes to making confections. Melting candy does exactly what it says it will do: MELT. It melts smoothly and easily, with very little risk of burning or seizing, even in the microwave. It cools quickly and won’t melt on your hands after it’s hardened. And it comes in lots of fun colors and flavors. While I wouldn’t pick them for chocolate chip cookies, I do think they are the best option for coating, dipping, and candy making of all sorts.

I highly recommend stashing a few bags of chocolate and white to have on hand for dessert making. I love Ghirardelli Wafers, and I can usually find them at Target and Walmart by the chocolate chips. And if you’re wondering what you would use them for, here are a few ideas: this, this, this, this, and this.

Ingredients

2 bags popped popcorn
white chocolate candiquik (I used about 3/4 of the package)
1 heaping tbsp. shortening
3 tbsp. red velvet cake mix
M&Ms
chocolate candiquik for drizzling
sprinkles, if desired

Instructions

Melt the white chocolate and the shortening together in a microwave safe bowl according the instructions on the package.
Whisk in the cake mix 1 tbsp at a time. If the chocolate starts to get to thick or clumpy, melt in more shortening (1 tbsp. at a time)– but I didn’t have any problems with this.
Pour white chocolate over popcorn in a large bowl. Gently mix popcorn to coat with a rubber spatula.
Spread popcorn over wax paper to cool.
Drizzle with chocolate, and top with M&Ms and sprinkles.

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