You don’t need to wait for the county fair to enjoy a delicious Funnel Cake! This easy-to-make recipe can be enjoyed in just a few minutes!
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Is it weird that I didn’t have my first taste of county fair funnel cakes until I was an adult?! To be honest, I sort of had an idea what it was and what to expect, but I really didn’t know … if that makes sense? Was it like a waffle? Was it like a cake? I was pretty certain that I was going to love funnel cakes, though, because who doesn’t love fried dough topped with copious amounts of sugar?!
My first taste of funnel cakes came at a small Midwest county fair when I was about 20 years old. I will never forget that first bite …. talk about food love! I’ve been hooked ever since! I swore as a mother, I was going to make sure my kiddos tried Funnel Cakes before they turned twenty – and they have! Many times!
Although my family loves funnel cakes, we only have them a few times a year. They are so easy to make and I always have all of the ingredients on hand to make them. The best part? I don’t have to wait for the county fair to indulge a little!
To make making these County Fair Funnel Cakes easy, you will need:
- a large mixing bowl
- a whisk
- a funnel
- a frying pan
- tongs
- sugar duster
If you want to get extra fancy with your funnel cakes, you can add a spoonful of your favorite pie filling to the middle of this bad boy – then dig in as usual! With this easy-to-make recipe, you have no reason to wait for the county fair! Enjoy!
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County Fair Funnel Cakes
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Oil for deep-fat frying
- Powdered sugar for serving
Instructions
- Heat oil to 375°F in a deep-fat fryer or larger heavy-bottomed skillet.
- In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add milk, water, and vanilla until well blended. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt; whisk until smooth.
- Cover the bottom of a funnel spout with your finger and carefully ladle ½-cup batter into the funnel. Hold the funnel several inches above the oil and release your finger, moving the funnel in a spiral motion until all of the batter has flowed out of the funnel. Scrape with a rubber spatula if necessary.
- Fry 3-5 minutes on each side or until golden brown, using tongs to flip once. Drain on paper towels. Dust with powdered sugar; serve warm.
- Repeat step 3 and 4 with remaining batter.
Notes
- Always use a thermometer for your oil. If it’s too hot they will burn. Too low and soak up oil rather than fry.
Nutrition
Please note that the nutritional information listed on this page is an estimation based on the products I used. Ingredients and nutritional information can vary significantly between brands. Always be sure to read labels. Please verify that a recipe fits your needs before using it. Nutrition info may contain errors, so please verify it independently. Likewise, recipes may contain errors, so please use your common sense when following them.
Good Afternoon Jamie, Well I never, I have never heard of a Funnel Cake, and it certainly looks fun to make. I love that I can pop over to visit other blogging friends and find new recipes. I am certainly going to make this cake as my nephew will love it.
Enjoy your weekend.
Best Wishes to you.
Daphne
They are amazing! There are 2 reasons we go to the fair-
1) the Indian Tacos
2) funnel cakes
Best 2 reasons to go ?
oh wow! funnel cakes really bring me back to our local fair! love this and I can't wait to try this out!! The fair was always sold out! ;o)
I love this recipe thnx👍👍👍👍👍 5 thumbs up!
I can't start making funnel cakes at home, that would be to dangerous! I love getting them once or twice a year though. Maybe I will talk my mom into making them for a family dinner so I can go on in blissful ignorance 😉
I love funnel cakes and these bring back heaps of childhood memories Jamie! I hope you will share them at the Say G'day Party underway! Pinned and shared!
I have always wanted to be brave enough to try making a funnel cake but never have! Love this recipe and I need to make some the next time the grandkids come to the Ranch!!
Can a non dairy milk be used instead? If so, which kind do you feel would work best?
Can a non dairy milk be used as a substitute? If so, which do you think would work the best?
I'm sorry I am just now seeing your comment! Any non-dairy milk should work in this recipe just fine!
Almond Milk does nice things for the flavor. Also, I did need to add more liquid as I like my pieces to be string-ier. I like it really crunchy.
A little orange zest gives a soft orange flavor
Hello, can you please tell me roughly how many funnel Cakes this can make? Also cam this batter be refrigerated if I don’t use it all, if so how many days? Thanks in advance!❤️
It really depends on the size you make them. For me, I get about 8 really good-sized cakes.
Tried the recipe, it was excellent thank you for sharing. My sister and enjoyed it.
These are so much fun! I LOVE the idea of making them at home!
thank you
We are doing a funnel cake stand for a fundraiser for our Boy Scout Troop. Can this batter be made the night before. I know sometimes with the bs and flour activity its not recommended. It would be nice if it could be
This funnel cake looks beautiful, I am yet to make one myself so hopefully when I follow your recipe the outcome will be this pretty 🙂
Our county fair was this past week and YES I indulged on a funnel cake! Now I can make my own! Thank you!
Quick and tasty.
I have never made one, but I am going to give it a whirl. Looks sooo yummy.
I made this and my batter was so thin. Not sure why? And i made sure the oil was the right temp but when i added the batter it went into tiny pieces all over the oil amd didn't for the funnel cake shape. Not sure if maybe the oil got too hot? They were still yymmy, though!
If it is too runny just add flour until it thickens, do the opposite if it is too thick, add milk til it is the thickness you like!! I hope this helps!! 🙂
Made this recipe, I do have to admit its perfect if you know the consistency of the batter. I have made these before, and the batter is a bit thick. This was easily fixed by adding just a quarter cup milk I'm sure water would do the trick as well. Overall taste : spot on! the thickness was the only issue I noticed.
What type of oil works best?
I’ve made funnel cakes many times. Definitely gonna try this recipe.
Just made this for the Grandkids on March break from school. We did serve it like like we get at the fairs here, dusted with sugar then vanilla ice cream, strawberry sauce and chocolate syrup.
I just made these for a youth event last Friday. I multiplied the recipe x5 and they were perfect! Everyone loved them and said they wouldn’t change a thing! I used a pancake batter squeeze bottle and improvised with a 8 inch spring-form pan in a Westbend electric fryer for the uniformed shape. 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!!
Made this today and couldn’t be more happier with the results. It was just perfect ?and there was no need to adjust the amount of ingredients. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
This recipe is amazing. We bought the funnel cake kit, and were not impressed. But this is just like the fair.
Will definitely try it
Do you think I could use a icing bag to add the batter to the oil instead of a funnel? I don’t have a funnel, and want to make these now ??
Put the batter in a zip lock bag and cut a tiny corner off and squeeze -then no clean up either. Just throw away the bag.
Now just add 2 tsp of Maple Extract and when fryed put some crumbled bacon on the tope of Powdered sugar
Omgoodnes I will fight you over one of these. .
I am going to try this recipe. I used to run a funnel cake stand for many years in the Midwest. I find that a deep and heavy sauce pan works well. It is small enough in diameter to keep the funnel cake the right size. I also use a pitcher or a glass measuring cup with a spout instead of a funnel. Then I just keep making circles connecting all of the dough. In a pinch for a quick kinda of “cheat version” you can use pancake batter. Just thicken it to the right consistency . This recipe you posted sounds great!!!
Great recipe, you can also use pancake mix just add vanilla, cinnamon or any flavoring you like.
Funnel cake itself was not sweet enough but it came out very well
Can I store the batter in the fridge? I made the batter and realized I didn’t have enough oil to make the entire batch. So will I be able to put it in the fridge until I run to town later for oil?
This recipe is awesome I would add just a little more sugar to give a lot the that extra sweetness
What can I use if you don’t have a funnel?
I put the batter in a Ziploc bag and snipped the end off, worked perfectly.
I made these and they were amazing. I only had one person asking for a change, she wanted me to make hers thicker. I gave no clue how to do do? Thank you for sharing. It made a quick amazing dessert.
I am anxious to make this. How many does this recipe make?
Love it, love it,
I love thin batter onion rings. I found them at a county fair. The guy making them told me to use funnel cake batter. I haven’t tried it yet but going to soon.
These were really good and quick to make, highly recommend. I made one with cinnamon sugar, one with powdered sugar, and one with ice cream and chocolate syrup.
These are really good. Will be making them a lot.
The funnel cake I made I substituted gluten free flour and doubled the vanilla extract. It came out amazing! Thank you for sharing your recipes!
I made this my husband said the outside
was crunchy but not the inside. I lived it that way but my question is should they be crunchy on the inside
H
Hello Jamie
Omg I’ve been making your funnel cake recipe over & over again, delicious.
I’ve been making and ringing my neighbirs door bell with the funnel cake
They can’t thank me enough delicious and awesome.
Thank you again keep on posting your recipes I am ready to try another one.
I love this recipe. I got tired of my fingers over hot oil. So I bought a plastic squzze bottle and cut the tip off. Works great. Made them this past weekend at my sisters house. Everybody loved them.
What an amazing treat for Super Bowl Sunday! Thank you for this delicious recipe!
Omg I’m going to try this , I’ve been wanting funnel cake ever since I was in usa & tried them but in Australia it’s not know anywhere , well that’s going to change when I start making them
Awesome! I hope they are as good as you remember! 😊
How many funnel cakes will the batter make? Can the batter be frozen in portions to be thawed and used later?
It really depends on the size you make. I’ve never frozen the batter but have heard from others they have had success with it.
Use a condiments bottle(like the clear ones for mustard and ketchup). Works wonderful. It’s what I’ve used to make my funnel cakes for years now.
Thanks For Sharing this amazing recipe. My family loved it. I will be sharing this recipe with my friends. Hope the will like it.
I love this recipe thnx👍👍👍👍👍 5 thumbs up!
Here on Vancouver Island B.C. Canada we don’t have county fairs we have local fairs or exhibitions so I’d never heard of these until now. The big seller at our local fairs is corn on the cob or burgers, fries, or Chinese food. I’ll definitely be trying this recipe
Use your favorite can of pie filling over the top, then dust with powder sugar