Popcorn layer cake

Blend the freeze-dried corn to a flour-like powder (corn powder).

Blend freshly popped microwave popcorn to a fine powder.

Cream the sugar and butter together.

Add the eggs one at a time and beat for four minutes.

Slowly stream in the buttermilk and oil on medium speed, then mix on medium-high until doubled in size.

In a separate bowl whisk the cake flour, popcorn powder, corn powder, salt and baking powder; add slowly to the wet mixture on slow speed.

Oil a quarter sheet baking pan, line with parchment and pour the batter in evenly.

Bake in a preheated oven at 175C for 30 to 35 minutes, rotating halfway, until the centre no longer jiggles and the edges bounce back slightly.

Popcorn milk: submerge freshly popped popcorn in whole milk in a blender and leave to steep 15 minutes.

Blend for 30 seconds and drain the milk through a sieve.

Pudding: mix a quarter cup of popcorn milk with cornstarch; in another bowl whisk more popcorn milk with egg yolk, corn powder, salt and sugar.

Bloom three gelatin sheets in a small bowl of cold water until soft, about two minutes.

Heat the cornstarch mixture and the egg yolk mixture in a small saucepan, stirring regularly, and bring to a boil.

Add the bloomed gelatin, take off the stove and whisk until combined; pour through a sieve into a container.

Cool the pudding completely, half an hour.

Crumbs: combine milk powder, all-purpose flour, sugar, cornstarch, salt, corn powder and melted butter with a spatula until small clusters form, adding more butter if they do not.

Spread the clusters on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven for 22 minutes.

Salted caramel: cook glucose syrup and sugar in a medium saucepan, moving it around, until deep dark amber.

Off the heat, add the heavy cream very slowly; if the caramel clumps, return to the heat and stir until smooth.

Add gelatin; once dissolved add butter, vanilla and a pinch of salt. Pour through a sieve and chill covered at least eight hours.

Corn fudge: heat heavy cream, sugar and glucose syrup in a microwave-safe container for 45 seconds; add white chocolate, butter, corn powder and a pinch of salt. Reheat when ready to use.

Caramel corn: dunk popcorn into the caramel and mix in (the cook's own improvisation; the recipe followed stops here).

Punch two full cake circles from the sheet cake with a six inch cake ring; keep the scraps.

Set the ring on a plate, line with acetate, press the cake scraps into the bottom as a flat layer.

Soak the bottom layer with popcorn milk mixed with milk.

Spread popcorn pudding, then half the popcorn crumbs, then half the salted caramel; top with a second cake circle.

Repeat the layers, finish with the last cake circle, spread the corn fudge and set caramel corn around the circumference.

Freeze to set, a minimum of 13 hours.