Earlier this week, I spent a day at the Great Amusement Park. I was honestly surprised at how few people over the age of 30 there were. Weren’t other parents taking their kids? I mean, don’t they want to ride rollercoasters? I never get tired of it. I usd my kids as my excuse to go, and fortunately, they’re game.
While there, in the land of $13.95 slices of pizza (the place isn’t perfect), I felt the draw of the funnel cake. I passed; that, I believe, was also $13.95. I was drawing a line. Who says I have no willpower? But it did light a fire. I would start on a batch at home. But first, another ride.
Funnel cake is pretty tops in the world of confections. Twines of crispy and tender fried batter woven into a what looks like a deep-fried hot pad. It’s all oil and all delish. They were forefront on the opening dessert menu of my restaurant in ’08, when I would serve them with a rotating selection of seasonal fruit and ice cream. They deliver adults right back to childhood (like roller coasters should be doing!), one-upping donuts by maximizing crispy surface area (read: more oil!). Coated with a thorough dusting of powdered sugar like many of their donut cousins, a defining moment in the eating of the FC is, rushing to have that first bite, inhaling some of that powder and choking, lungs on fire. It still gets me every time. This is an initiation into pleasure in pain, akin to choking on the strand of mozzarella from a gooey pizza slice. Caution: these roads may lead to Malort.
In the United States, funnel cakes originated with the Pennsylvania Dutch but now they are inextricable from any carnival or fair. What I wouldn’t give to learn the story of that polar leap: from the hearth of traditionalism and restraint to those showmanship and thrill-seeking hubs of new and surface value. They are two groups I don’t picture crossing paths much. Did a young baker pass Rumspringa with the circus? Did a carnival barker approach a Lancaster farmhouse for a flagon of water and witness, through the window, the production of the funnel cake, aromas intoxicating? No matter, history has spoken and made available, periodically, the funnel cake to anyone out to see some 4H rabbit breeds or ride the Whirl-E-Gig. The populace has benefitted; I truly hope the Pennsylvania Dutch aren’t miffed.
Making funnel cakes is pretty simple. It is a batter, more or less a thin pancake batter. The batter is streamed into hot oil, overlapping to weave a circle. The batter firms on contact with the hot oil so each strand stays distinct from its mates. The first time I made funnel cakes I used, well, a funnel for this purpose. I did not do this again. It made a mess. One can pour the batter from a liquid measuring cup, though it is a bit challenging to maintain a steady stream. At the restaurant we adopted a more sophisticated tool. We used a Gatorade bottle and punched a 1/4-inch hole in the lid. Please be careful, the hole punching process never didn’t end in a wound. I’m sure a power drill would have been best for this task and not a stabbing chef knife. Ultimately this is really a great vessel for the process, but today I just poured from a measuring cup.
Typically the batter is ‘plain,’ or seasoned with a speck of vanilla. I always seasoned it with a nudge of ground cardamom, which I accented with a pinch of black pepper. Today I used ground ‘grains of paradise’ which I bought at The Chopping Block’s neighbor, Savory Spice Shop. Grains of Paradise add a black pepper-like pop, with a more diverse flavor profile. I also tried something else new. The liquid in my recipe is typically milk, but I had some kefir in the fridge so I thought I’d substitute some of that. It gave the funnel cake a pleasant, mild sourness that I would repeat in the future. If you don’t have kefir, you can substitute half yogurt, half milk. Or just return to my original: all-milk.
Serve just with the powdered sugar, or as I like to do with a fruit compote, such as this strawberry-rhubarb one made by Chef Drake. Revisit the carnival days of your youth, even if you refuse to ride a roller coaster.
Funnel Cake
Scroll down for a printable version of this recipe
Yield: 6-8 6” cakes
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Inactive time: 10 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground grains of paradise or other ground spice of your creative choosing (optional)
1 egg
3/4 cup kefir
1/2 cup milk (whole or otherwise)
Vegetable oil for frying
Powdered sugar for dusting
1. In a mixing bowl, mix the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and grains of paradise.
2. Push the dry off to the side of the bowl and break an egg and beat it.
3. Mix the dairy into the egg. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together. The consistency should be thin enough to stream from a spoon in a thick (1/4 inch) stream. Adjust with flour or milk to achieve this consistency.
4. Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes to hydrate the flour.
5. Meanwhile, choose a broad, heavy-bottomed pot or pan and fill with oil. 2 inches is plenty. Depending on how wide your pot is, this will be a pint or more. Heat oil to 365 degrees Fahrenheit.*
6. Put the batter into a pouring container such as a liquid measuring cup. In a steady, thin flow, stream the batter into the hot oil in a wavy, overlapping pattern until you have three or so layers. Fry on one side to golden, then flip to the second side and fry. (The tool for this oil work is called a spider, a metal wire ‘web’ at the end of a handle.) Remove from oil to a baker’s rack.
7. Have the powdered sugar ready in a fine sifter and coat the cake liberally. Enjoy!
*I love my wire probed candy thermometer for frying. I just drop it into the oil and leave it and can always see my oil’s temperature on the read-out.
This sweet treat is fried, but we have lots of baking and pastry classes coming up to introduce important baking techniques, plus satisfy your sweet tooth. Don't miss:
- Artisanal Breads Boot Camp Saturday, September 9 10am
- Gluten-Free Baking and Pastry Friday, September 15 11am
- How to Bake Bread Saturday, September 23 11am
- Pastry Boot Camp: Modern European Desserts Saturday, October 7 9am
- Pie and Tart Boot Camp Saturday, October 14 10am
- Cupcake Boot Camp: Fall Menu Saturday, October 18 10am
Funnel Cake
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground grains of paradise or other ground spice of your creative choosing (optional)
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup kefir
- 1/2 cup milk (whole or otherwise)
- Vegetable oil for frying
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, mix the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and grains of paradise.
- Push the dry off to the side of the bowl and break an egg and beat it.
- Mix the dairy into the egg. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together. The consistency should be thin enough to stream from a spoon in a thick (1/4 inch) stream. Adjust with flour or milk to achieve this consistency.
- Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes to hydrate the flour.
- Meanwhile, choose a broad, heavy-bottomed pot or pan and fill with oil. 2 inches is plenty. Depending on how wide your pot is, this will be a pint or more. Heat oil to 365 degrees Fahrenheit.*
- Put the batter into a pouring container such as a liquid measuring cup. In a steady, thin flow, stream the batter into the hot oil in a wavy, overlapping pattern until you have three or so layers. Fry on one side to golden, then flip to the second side and fry. (The tool for this oil work is called a spider, a metal wire ‘web’ at the end of a handle.) Remove from oil to a baker’s rack.
- Have the powdered sugar ready in a fine sifter and coat the cake liberally. Enjoy!
