Mini Funnel Cakes..

 

A few weeks ago, I shared with you one of my favorite treats from the State Fair of Texas, Deep Fried Cookie Dough, well here is another of my favorite fair foods…

As you can probably guess from the title and the picture it is funnel cake! Only this funnel cake is in a much friendlier portion size. Typically State Fair funnel cakes look like this..

 

The cake is the size of the plate and you feel sick if you eat one by yourself (not that I would know from experience or anything) I decided that I wanted to make funnel cakes that were a more manageable size. This required a few modifications from the traditional funnel cake.

Traditional funnel cakes are made by filling a funnel with batter and then moving that funnel over hot oil in circular criss crossing motions to make the iconic funnel cake shape. This is great if you are making a cake the size of a plate, but not the best if you are trying to scale down the cake in size. Using a funnel on a smaller target can be more difficult to control, I found that for smaller cakes, You can have much more control if you use a squeeze bottle. So technically these are Squeeze bottle cakes I think funnel cake is a better name, so I am sticking with that.

As you can see, the principle is still the same, only with using a smaller bottle you have more control over your cake’s shape. I am using a 4 in circle cookie cutter to contain my cake and give it a nice circular shape. When spreading the batter out, just keep the dough inside the metal circle and go in random patterns. Have fun with it!

Before you begin forming your cake, shake the batter towards the top of the squeeze bottle so you will get a nice consistent flow of batter.

There is no right or wrong way to make the design. I prefer to make a circle around the outside and then fill back in. Just remember to try and overlap as much as you can so your cake will stay together. Here is my funnel cake recipe.

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Mini Funnel Cakes

Makes about 15-20 4in diameter cakes (will vary depending on how much batter used in each cake)

Dry ingredients

1 1/2 cups AP Flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup powdered sugar

 

Wet ingredients

1 1/3 cup milk

1/4 tsp lemon zest

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

 

Sift the dry ingredients into a large container that you can easily pour from (like a plastic pitcher). In a separate bowl, beat the egg with the rest of the wet ingredients. Pour wet ingredients into the dry and stir until a thick batter forms. Using a funnel, pour batter into a squeeze bottle. The batter is thick so be patient for it to flow into the bottle. You may also pour the batter directly from the pitcher into the plastic squeeze bottle.

In a large pan, pour in your favorite frying oil until it is about 1/2 inch deep, and heat to 350F (I used peanut oil). Place metal 4in metal rings into pan. Depending on the size of the pan, you can fit 1-4 ring. Squeeze batter into ring and cook until ring is solid (30 seconds-1min). Using tongs, remove metal ring and let cakes float. Flip and cook the other side for 30 seconds to a minute or until a nice light golden brown. These cook very quickly so be careful not to burn. Try experimenting with your first few to find a cooking  time that works best for your oil and pan set up.

Once golden brown, remove from pan and place onto brown paper bags to let the excess oil drain. Immediately top with powdered sugar. Best if eaten when still warm right after frying.

©Taylor Mathis

www.taylortakesataste.com

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Hmm what to top these delicious treats with.

Topping with powdered sugar right after cooking is a must. On top of  that, I like chocolate sauce or strawberry preserves! Really you can top them with anything, whipped cream, ice cream, bacon, syrup. Whatever you choose!