Play With Your Food

By Ann MacDonald

Play With Your Food




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Sunday, 5 August 2012

Homemade Fair Fun with Funnel Cakes

homemade funnel cakeSummer’s heat inevitably brings barbecues, beach days and… the fair! While the fair offers rides, concerts, displays and exhibits, the thing everyone seems to talk about is the food. Just this week I’ve seen several posts about the foot-long corn dogs and a variety of fried treats. My favorite fair food is funnel cake.

Did you know you can actually make funnel cakes at home? Whether you can’t make it to the fairgrounds this year, or just didn’t get enough fried decadence while you were there, you can experience fried funnel deliciousness in the comfort of your very own home.

One note – while funnel cakes are not hard to make, the process is rather messy. Also, they don’t really “keep” so plan on making them right when you want to eat them! We recently made these for dessert and YUM!

Homemade Funnel Cake Recipe

Ingredients

  • 3 cups flour
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 cups milk
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • Vegetable oil for frying

batter for funnel cakeInstructions

1. Fill a large saucepan about halfway up with vegetable oil. You will need a thermometer, as you want to heat the oil to about 375 degrees F for ideal frying

2. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs.

3. Blend the milk and sugar into the eggs

4. In another medium bowl, use a whisk to blend the flour, baking powder and salt.

5. Slowly add the flour mixture to the egg mixture, blending thoroughly.

6. The batter should be smooth (not too lumpy) and not too thick, similar to pancake batter in consistency.

7. The batter needs to be drizzled into the hot oil, either in a swirl or squiggle pattern. Funnel cakes get their name from the batter being added to the oil through a large funnel (with a bottom opening of at least half an inch across). However, if you do not have one handy, you can use a pastry bag, a ladle or a liquid measuring cup to pour your batter into the oil. If your drizzle is too thin, you will just end up with little “whiskers” of fried dough – too thick and you’ll have a donut with a soggy center, so aim for a little less than half an inch in width.

frying funnel cakes at home8. As soon as the edges of the funnel cake start to get golden brown, use tongs to flip it so that both sides get evenly fried. When the underside is also golden, remove the funnel cake.

9. Place complete funnel cakes onto a wire rack or a plate that has been covered with a couple paper towels.

10. Serve while they are still warm. You can serve them with any (or all) of the following: ice cream, fresh fruit, fruit sauce, whipped cream, powdered sugar, chocolate sauce, or caramel sauce.

This recipe will make 8-10 funnel cakes.

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Posted By Play With Your Food On 08/05/2012 2:42 pm

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