With a title like that, I feel like I should get right down to business and hand out the recipes! But I like a little backstory sometimes, so here goes.
The Ephrata Fair is here, and though this has been my first experience of it, I have certainly been to other farm shows and fairs. At least enough times to conjure up thoughts of cool summer nights, lots of people out and about, ginormous prize stuffed animals, and food. Oh the food. Delicious smelling, deep-fried, classic fair food. And one of those intoxicating fragrances we noticed this year at the Ephrata fair was funnel cake, of course!
There were a couple of reasons we decided to try and make our own funnel cake at home… ok, make that mostly one (“Wha…?? Five bucks for funnel cake?!”) . Ha! Drew was actually the one to start talking about what might be needed to create some sort of yumminess in our own kitchen…and of course I followed right along. If we were going to really do this, it was going to be deep-fried; this was bound to be a good thing! (And honestly, I get a kick out of trying new foodie things at home!)
So with a bit of help from Google and some minimal tweaking, we have determined that we nailed it. We not only saved quite a bit of money (always a good thing), and it tasted fantastic; but more importantly–we had fun experimenting. Not to mention that we happily munched on funnel cake at home with our jammie-clad boys while we waited for the parade to pass right by our house. (I have been told by some that we are envied because our home is so close to the fair. I don’t mean to add to these feelings of jealousy but I must admit, as unusual as it felt for me to be this close to all the activity, it was super nice to watch the parade from home. Especially knowing that the potty, drinks and the exhausted 2-year-old’s bed was nearby. Oh, yes.)
Speaking of the boys–they were a bit in awe of the concept of funnel cake. It probably has something to do with the fact that people are visual, and who could resist something that so obviously has sugar sprinkled all over it? Yeah, that’s what I thought.
So! First off, we make up some baking mix that would apparently resemble Bisquick. Only I bet this is even better, cheaper and certainly healthier. So I will continue on my streak of Never Having Bought Bisquick Baking Mix In My Married Life, Ever. Thankyouverymuch. Should I hashtag that?
Sorry I did not take any pictures of the “Homemade Bisquick”. Just imagine flour…only crumbly. Hey, you got it! Mix up flour, baking powder, salt and shortening (we used palm oil. Yummy, and good for ya!). The recipe is closer to the bottom of this post, and makes exactly the right amount of mix for the funnel cake recipe.
Baking mix, check! Now, it is funnel cake time!
Heat up some oil for frying (again, we used palm oil)–we poured it to be about one inch deep in our saucepan, and kept it on a medium heat. (#4 on our electric stovetop, if you cared. It probably doesn’t apply to your stove…)
Combine 2 cups “Bisquick” mix with 1 cup of milk and 2 large eggs–stir until well-mixed.
Put batter in some sort of squeeze container (this was our trickiest part. We ended up cutting the top off an old Hershey’s chocolate syrup container, and screwing the top and lid of it into a plastic ziplock baggie. Then we squeezed the funnel cake batter from the baggie. Maybe an old condiment bottle would work, but once Drew created the baggie-system, it went smoothly for him!) (I point out that it was him cooking them by the end of this adventure–I was feeding the baby.)
Squeeze the batter out close to the oil (so it doesn’t splatter… ouch!) in a circular motion until a miniature funnel cake forms. These things cook fast depending on how big the opening of your squeeze-container/baggie is.
Cook on each side for about 30 seconds or until they become a tantalizing golden-brown color. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, and dig in!
Homemade Funnel Cake with Bisquick Mix
Ingredients
Homemade Bisquick Mix
- 2 cups flour
- 1 TBPS baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 TBSP palm oil or other shortening
Homemade Funnel Cake
- 2 cups Bisquick mix
- 1 cup milk
- 2 large eggs
- oil for frying
- 10 x sugar for sprinkling on top of funnel cakes
Instructions
Homemade Bisquick Mix Instructions
- Blend until mixture resembles crumbs.
Homemade Funnel Cake Instructions
- Pour oil about 1" deep into saucepan and heat to medium or medium-high heat.
- Combine Bisquick, milk and eggs and stir until well mixed.
- Put batter into a container or baggie with a small-medium sized hole. Squeeze batter out close to the oil (careful to watch for oil splatters!) in a circular motion, until a miniature funnel cake forms.
- Cook for about 30 seconds on each side, or until golden brown.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel lined plate.
- Sprinkle with 10x sugar, and enjoy!
Notes
This makes an equivalent to 2 cups of Bisquick baking mix.
