Funnel Cake Fun

About author / Christine Gable

Culinary enthusiast; kids cuisine and slow cooking; magazine recipe developer; professional writer. Her simple recipes are great for family dinners.

It’s that fund-raising time of the year. From scouts and school groups to extra-curricular activities, it’s the annual time of students selling wares to build up those low ebbing coffers. And surprisingly, that’s how our latest kitchen adventure came into being.

Yes, there’s nothing like a glossy flier to make food look even more appetizing. And my daughter and I can both easily fall prey to the latest enticing dish, especially when artfully arranged and splashed across a glossy page—and sprinkled with powdered sugar.

What caught our eye this time?

Funnel cakes.

Can’t say that I’ve ever eaten a pre-made funnel cake, but there they were—all crispy and delicious—looking like a melt-in-the mouth sensation. While we’ve had a funnel cake here or there at local fairs and farm shows, my daughter was just too young to remember. So we agreed to try whipping up a batch ourselves.

How hard could it be—right?

The first question my daughter had was how funnel cakes got their name. So we dallied around the Internet a bit and discovered the funnel cake is a regional specialty of our area—yes, you guessed it—thanks to our native Pennsylvania Dutch. Popular at fairs and festivals, this is usually the time of the year when we see funnel cakes for real.

The name funnel cake actually has to do with how the treats are made. To make a funnel cake, batter is poured through a funnel directly into hot oil (about 375 degrees), and allowed to fry for several minutes on each side. The result? A golden-brown delicacy that is then sprinkled with powdered sugar. Nutritionally they’re certainly nothing to write home about—and they’re best only as an occasional treat since they are all fat and carbs and just one can contain 600 to 800 calories. Once a year probably is enough when indulging like that—and they taste better when it’s a special treat anyway.

We learned that the size of the funnel has a tremendous amount to do with whether or not you actually end up with a cake. What looks easy when watching from afar at the fair was not nearly as easy at home. Too small a funnel and we ended up with tiny fried tidbits; too large and we ended up with one big soggy fried pancake.

But it was fun—and that’s certainly what counts. And while I was not feeling that enthusiastic at first, it only took a few minutes for my daughter’s enthusiasm to be contagious. Everything really is new when viewed through the eyes of a child—and that goes for new techniques and food in the kitchen too. Too often I find myself forgetting that she hasn’t tried her hand at making something—and when I can tap into her enthusiasm, it naturally helps to buoy me also.

Yes, there is a fine art to making the perfect funnel cake. But it is not a painful operation—it’s one that we can easily keep trying. And yes, we’re still working on it!

Serves/Makes: 4

• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder