Place sugar and coconut cream in a small saucepan. Heat slowly while stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook for 15 to 20 minutes. The sauce will thicken noticeably and even further as it cools.

To test the consistency, take the saucepan off the heat. Spread a little sauce on a little plate and place in the freezer for one minute. If the caramel doesn’t thicken, simmer the sauce for a little longer. As the last step, add vanilla extract and salt to finished caramel sauce and let cool if not using immediately.

Pour the oil into the pot and add three corn kernels. These kernels will be your indicator. If you hear them pop,  the oil is hot. Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and set over medium-high heat.

Add the rest of the corn kernels,  along with the sugar and salt as soon as you hear one of the kernels pop. Quickly stir everything together with a silicon spatula to coat all the kernels and replace the lid.

Shake the pot while the popcorn pops. Start by shaking it occasionally and then more frequently and vigorously as the popping increases. Put the pot back on the element every few seconds to maintain the heat.Remove from stove when popping slows down. Don't wait for every kernel to pop or you'll end up burning the popcorn, so as soon as you think it is slowing down, take it off the heat. Total popping time is about 3 minutes on my stove.

Pour the popcorn into a bowl and discard unpopped kernels. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 250 F!  Bring coconut caramel to a boil and take off the stove. Stir in 1/4 tsp of baking soda. The caramel will bubble up. Keep on stirring and pour everything on your popcorn. Mix corn with coconut caramel sauce.

Bake the popcorn for about 45 minutes. Stir every 15 minutes and sprinkle coconut on top after 30 minutes. Once out of the oven, let cool down. Enjoy!