Funnel cake | Origin, Toppings, & Batter (2024)

FAQs

What is the origin of the funnel cake? ›

In the U.S., funnel cakes were originally associated with Pennsylvania Dutch Country. It is one of the first North American fried foods, which is associated with the Pennsylvania Dutch, German immigrants who came to Pennsylvania in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Traditional recipes call for a fairly standard batter: flour, eggs, sugar, milk, baking soda or baking powder, but I discovered that you can make awesome funnel cakes with "complete" buttermilk pancake mix (look for brands that only require the addition of water).

A funnel cake needs to be drizzled with portions overlapping so that when it puffs up and cooks, the streams of cake hold together. If your funnel cake is falling apart, try overlapping the drizzle as it falls into the hot oil.

It's important to keep to a frying temperature of around 375 degrees. Any higher than that, and your funnel cakes will brown before cooking through. At too low a temperature, the batter will absorb excess oil, resulting in a greasy, limp funnel cake.

Its origins can be traced back to ancient civilizations like the Egyptians, who used rudimentary funnel-like contraptions made from clay to pour liquids with greater precision. However, it wasn't until the rise of the industrial age that the funnel evolved into a specialized tool for the oil and gas industry.

Funnel cake's origin story started in medieval Persian cultures. Their popular dough-centered dishes spread throughout Europe before Pennsylvania Dutch and German immigrants brought a version that resembles modern-day funnel cake to North America.

What oil is best for funnel cake? I recommend using a neutral oil for in my funnel cake recipe. Vegetable, canola, or peanut oil all work great for this recipe and are my frying oils of choice for frying everything from apple fritters to fried pickles.

Funnel cake frying temperature

A lower temp wouldn't get the cooking going fast enough, and slower cooking would also result in a soggy, oil-logged funnel cake. Of course, getting that temperature right is not merely a question of guessing, or flicking a few drops of water into a hot oil pan.

Funnel cakes are best fresh right out of the oil. If you want to reheat them, I suggest to air fry for 4 minutes at 350 degrees.

Funnel cakes are truly best eaten warm and freshly made. However, if you have some left store them in an airtight container for up to five days in the fridge or in the freezer for up to three months. Reheat them on a baking sheet pan in the oven at 350° F for about five minutes.

Is fried dough and funnel cake the same thing? ›

Fried dough doesn't put on airs or pretend to be something it isn't. It's simply fried dough. You can use bread dough or pizza dough, stretch it into a circle, drop it in hot oil and voila! Funnel cake, on the other hand, isn't dough at all.

What Does It Taste Like? Like the delicious treat that inspired it, the Strawberry Funnel Cake Frap is sweet. Like, really, really sweet. It's a sugar explosion in your mouth, with every sip bringing you fluffy whipped cream, syrupy strawberry puree, and blended coffee.

What Is a Funnel Cake? A funnel cake is a popular dessert made by frying batter. Commonly served at carnivals and amusem*nt parks, funnel cakes (as we know them today) originated in Pennsylvania in the late 1800s. The fried dessert is liberally sprinkled with powdered sugar before serving.

The concept of the funnel cake dates as far back as the early medieval Persian world. These recipes later spread to Europe, and have been found in Anglo-Norman medieval cooking manuscripts. There is even a recipe found in the Middle English cookbook, The Forme of Cury, which dates to 1390 AD.

The first cakes were probably made in ancient Egypt. Yeast was used to making them light and fluffy. Honey was also often used as a sweetener. Nuts and spices were added for flavor and the cakes were sometimes iced with honey or syrup.