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Sunday, June 8, 2008

Hay Hay It's Funnel Cake!

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Well, it is finally starting to feel a bit more like the beginnings of summer here in Utah. Summertime will always and forever remind me of County Fairs.  Though the County Fair and State Fair won't happen until later in the summer I don't see any reason to wait to give this treat a chance.  The timing was also perfect to send this as my entry to Suzana of Home Gourmets, winner of the last round of Hay Hay It's Donna Day, the event created by Barbara at Winos and Foodies, and with its new home with Bron Marshall.  Suzana has chosen Choux! for HHDD#20 - so now was as good a time as any to try my hand at making an old fashioned country Fair favorite - funnel cake.   I recently watched an episode of Good Eats where funnel cakes were made and knew that it wouldn't be too long before I had to give it a go. 

It was super simple and easy and made for a very, airy light concoction.  I guess you could call them sort of like a doughnut, but either way, it was a nice fun treat.

I modified a basic choux recipe just a bit to add some extra flavor to my funnel cakes with the addition of a bit of vanilla, cinnamon and ginger.  Just pipe a bit of a random pattern straight into the hot oil and fry up some chouxy goodness - easy peasy - plus it was really fun to watch.  

Besides, we all like treats that can be prepared start to finish with minimal fuss or mess in a short amount of time.  Making these only took about 35 minutes from start to eating a stack of funnel cakes dusted with some powdered sugar.  Definitely worth a repeat.  

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Choux Funnel Cakes
- Approximately 10 depending on size - mine were about 6 inches across
1 cup (8 fl oz) water (240 ml)
100 grs (3 ½ oz) unsalted butter
¾ cup (112 ½ grs / 4 oz) plain all-purpose flour
5 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

Confectioners' sugar for dusting, if desired

Place the water and butter in a saucepan over high heat and bring to the boil. In a small bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon and ginger.  Add flour mixture and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Cook, stirring over low heat until the mixture leaves the side of the pan. Remove from the heat. 

Place in an electric mixer and beat on high, gradually adding the eggs until well combined.  Beat in the vanilla.

Once all eggs have been added and mixture is smooth, put dough in a piping bag fitted with a number 12 tip. Heat about 1 1/2 inches of oil in a heavy pan. Pipe dough into oil, making a free-form lattice pattern; cook until browned, flipping once. Remove cake from oil, drain on paper towels, and top with powdered sugar. Continue until all of the batter is used.

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25 comments:

Bron said...

They look fantastic Holly, very pretty and no doubt very moresh...yum yum!

Manggy said...

That's so much fun Holly! I think I'd like to have mine with cinnamon/vanilla sugar, or maybe even a fudge sauce (I'm so naughty, heh) :)

chriesi said...

Ooooh yummy!

Suzana said...

Awesome variation of choux! Love what you done with the pastry. Thanks for submitting those lovely cakes to HHDD!

Maria said...

Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog. I hope to join the Utah Hive, just let me know what I need to do! I am getting married on Sat. but hopefully life will calm down so I can post more recipes, etc. soon!

grace said...

absolutely brilliant variation! funnel cakes are my gotta-have treat when i go to fairs (i'm downright pouty and no fun at all until i get one). they're so, so, so good, and yours are stunning. nicely done!!

Jenny said...

Holy yumminess! I get one of these puppies any time we go to Knotts Berry Farm, LOVE it!

I remember watching Alton Brown do this recipe on his show. Great post!

Jersey Girl Cooks said...

Nice blog you have! These look fantastic! Funnel cakes always remind me of fairs, festivals and the Jersey shore.

Anonymous said...

Oh Holly! Those look amazing! And you make it sound so easy! I'll have to add this to the impossible list of recipes I have to try! Thanks for sharing!

Mumsy said...

Oh! I love that idea! I bet that tastes SO much better than the lame funnel cake I tried a few summers ago. Talk about disappointment--I know it was just the venue, but still...

Yummy, yummy, yummy!

Cassie said...

Yum! I just found your blog today - from clicking on somebody else's blog. I don't really like to cook all that much but I added you to my reader anyway. I do love to eat --- and your photos are just YUMMY!!!
Thanks for sharing!

Cierrajohns1 said...

I love funnel cake!!!!!!!This makes me want one.It looks so good.

Barbara said...

That is fantastic. I love it.

Anonymous said...

I haven't had a funnel cake since I was a little girl! Boy do those bring back some memories! I never thought to make them at home, but yours look sooo yummy!

Oh for the love of food! said...

Hi there, Holly! These Funnel cakes look interesting and sounds awfully yummy! I have never tried them before but I just know I'll love them! - I simply adore anything made with choux pastry. I wonder why I don't see it here in Australia??

My Sweet & Saucy said...

Boy do these photos bring back memories! They look so delicious!

Mari said...

As a native Kansasan, funnel cakes are the stuff of my childhood fantasies (my parents were health conscious and wouldn't let us have them)! These look so yummy and I can almost smell that funnel cake aroma from here!

RecipeGirl said...

How fun! I always see these at the fair and I'm afraid to eat all of that deep fried goodness. Maybe if you make it at home, you can somehow sop up the excess oil!!

Cannelle Et Vanille said...

i saw this photo on tastespotting and i wanted to come comment but i got side tracked. but i am here to tell you that i love fried choux!

Deborah said...

I've heard that funnel cakes are actually really popular in Utah. I haven't had one in ages - they look fantastic!

Anonymous said...

Holly you rock. I love-love-love the look of these!

ChichaJo said...

Oh these look like so much fun! What a fantastic version of choux! :)

Y said...

Those look so deadly.. In a good way!

Jenny said...

Are you and I twins? I was planning on making this too, with my date being the last day of school as a special treat (for dinner actually, with strawberries and ice cream.) Thanks for saving me the search for a good recipe.

Clumbsy Cookie said...

I absolutely adore funnel cakes and don't have one in ages! Your are so fat and delicious looking! I love the addition of the spices too!

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