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Funnel Cake at home tastes just like the county fair, crispy golden ribbons of fried batter buried under a snowfall of powdered sugar, and this easy version makes minis right on the stovetop with 6 pantry staples. The first time I made these on a rainy Saturday afternoon, Maddie and Lizzie decided the kitchen beat the carnival, especially with a scoop of our no churn strawberry ice cream on the side.
The batter comes together in one bowl with a whisk, and a snipped corner of a zip top bag stands in for the funnel.
Funnel Cake Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 4 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 14 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 16 mini cakes
- ⚡ Calories: 147kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Crispy fried batter with sweet powdered sugar
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, simpler than our homemade elephant ears
Quick Answer
Whisk 3 eggs with a quarter cup of sugar, then whisk in 2 cups of milk. Add flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk until smooth. Pour the batter through a snipped zip top bag into 350 degree oil in a spiral web pattern and fry about 2 minutes per side until golden brown. Drain on a wire rack and dust generously with powdered sugar.
Jump to:
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- A pourable batter makes the lacy web. The batter is thinner than pancake batter, so it streams into ribbons that crisscross and fry into that signature crispy lattice.
- Baking powder keeps the inside light. Two teaspoons give the ribbons a tender, airy interior while the outside crisps in the hot oil.
- The zip top bag is the perfect funnel. Snipping a tiny corner gives you total control over the stream, no special equipment needed.
- 350 degrees is the sweet spot. Hot enough to crisp the batter in 2 minutes per side without soaking up oil, cool enough that the center cooks through.
- Minis fry more evenly than one giant cake. Small webs flip easily with tongs and cook edge to center in the same time, so there are no doughy middles.
- A wire rack keeps them crispy. Draining on a rack instead of paper towels lets air circulate, so the bottoms never steam soggy.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It tastes exactly like the fair version, but it is ready in under 15 minutes.
- The recipe uses 6 pantry staples you almost certainly have right now.
- Each crispy cake is the perfect landing pad for our fresh strawberry sauce.
Key Ingredients
Six everyday staples, that is the entire list.
- Eggs: Three large eggs give the batter structure so the fried ribbons hold their lacy shape.
- Milk: Two cups thin the batter to that perfect pourable consistency.
- All-purpose flour: The backbone of the batter, no specialty flour needed.
- Baking powder: The leavening that keeps the inside of each ribbon light instead of dense.
- Powdered sugar: The classic finish, dust it on generously while the cakes are still warm.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
Once you have the web technique down, have fun with it.
- Drizzle the finished cakes with melted chocolate for a chocolate lover version.
- Toss the warm cakes in cinnamon sugar instead of powdered sugar for a churro style twist.
- Make one large fair sized funnel cake at a time in a wide skillet, it just needs an extra minute per side.
- Come October, pipe the batter in a spiral with crisscross lines and add melted chocolate webbing on top to turn these into spooky Halloween spider web cakes, the original party trick this recipe was famous for.
How to Make Funnel Cake
- Whisk the eggs and sugar together until smooth, whisk in the milk, then add the flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk until the batter has no lumps.
- Heat 1 1/2 to 2 inches of oil to 350 degrees in a heavy skillet. Fill a zip top bag with batter, snip a small corner, and pour the batter into the oil in a circle with zig zag lines to form a small web.
- Fry about 2 minutes until golden brown, flip carefully with tongs, and fry the other side another 2 minutes. Drain on a wire rack set over a sheet tray and repeat with the remaining batter.
- Dust the warm funnel cakes generously with powdered sugar, add any extra toppings you love, and serve immediately.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Use a thermometer for the oil. If the oil is too cool the cakes soak up grease, too hot and they brown before the center cooks.
- Snip a tiny hole first. You can always cut the bag corner bigger, but a too big hole dumps the batter in blobs instead of ribbons.
- Keep the stream moving. Circles first, then zig zags across, the overlapping lines are what hold the web together for flipping.
- Fry in small batches. One or two minis at a time keeps the oil temperature steady.
- Drain on a wire rack, not paper towels. Air flow underneath keeps the bottoms crispy.
- Dust the sugar while warm. The first layer melts in slightly, then a second dusting right before serving gives that fair stand look.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
Serve these warm with a scoop of our no churn strawberry ice cream melting into the crevices, that is the full carnival experience on one plate.
Set up a topping bar with our 10 minute strawberry sauce, melted chocolate, whipped cream, and sprinkles and let everyone dress their own.
For a fair food party, pair them with our cinnamon sugar elephant ears and a slice of Dr Pepper black forest cake for the chocolate fans.
Funnel cakes are truly best the moment they are made. If you need to hold them, keep them uncovered on a wire rack for up to an hour and re crisp in a 350 degree oven for 3 to 4 minutes. Skip the refrigerator, the moisture turns them soft.
Funnel Cake FAQs
Just eggs, granulated sugar, milk, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. It is a thin, pourable batter, closer to a crepe batter than a pancake batter, which is what lets it stream into those crispy ribbons in the hot oil.
A neutral oil with a high smoke point, vegetable, canola, or peanut oil all work great. You only need 1 1/2 to 2 inches in the skillet, and keeping it right around 350 degrees is more important than which neutral oil you choose.
Yes, that is exactly how this recipe works. A gallon zip top bag with a tiny corner snipped off gives you a steady, controllable stream. A squeeze bottle or a liquid measuring cup with a thin spout also works in a pinch.
The web was too loose or flipped too early. Pour the batter so the lines overlap and connect, then let the first side fry a full 2 minutes so it sets before you slide the tongs underneath. Mini cakes are much easier to flip intact than one big cake.
Yes, the batter holds in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours in a covered bowl or the zip top bag. Give it a gentle massage or stir before frying since the flour can settle. Fry the cakes fresh though, they do not store well once cooked.
They are cousins but not the same. Funnel cake is a thin unleavened style batter poured into oil in ribbons, while elephant ears and fried dough are rolled or stretched yeast style doughs fried in one flat piece. Same fair stand, different textures.
Made this homemade Funnel Cake? Leave a comment and a star rating below, I would love to hear how it turned out!
Keep the carnival at home going with a batch of mini baked donuts.
Funnel Cake
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups milk
- 3 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Oil for frying
- Powdered sugar for topping
- Melting chocolate for decoration
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together until smooth. Carefully whisk in the milk.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and salt, and whisk until smooth with no lumps.
- Now, set aside in the fridge until ready to fry the cakes OR place half the mixture into a gallon-sized plastic bag and close it, letting all the air out first.
- In a heavy bottom skillet, place about 1 ½ to 2 inches of oil over medium heat to 350°F.
- With scissors, snip a tiny hole in one of the bottom points of the bag so now you have a funnel. Carefully pour some of the batter into the hot oil using your funnel. Do this by making a small circle and zig-zag lines into the oil, so the batter forms a small “web” or circle.
- Fry until golden brown, and carefully flip this over with a tong. Let the other side get golden brown. This only takes about 2 minutes on each side. Now, let drain on a wire rack over a sheet tray. Keep repeating with the remaining batter.
- Dust them with powdered sugar.
- Melt the chocolate and using another plastic baggie, snip off a corner and use this to decorate the tops of the funnel cake like a spider web. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Nutritional information does not include the powdered sugar or chocolate.
- These are best served warm. Since they will be warm, the melting chocolate will not harden. If you want the chocolate to harden, wait until the funnel cakes are completely cool, then pipe on the chocolate.
- Plastic or candy spiders can be put on top of these.
- The powdered sugar adds a great sweetness to these, I recommend using it.
- You can use other chocolate, see above on how to do that.
- If you don’t want to use chocolate you can use black icing in its place.
- This works best using a piping bag with the tip cut off.
Nutrition
Love This Recipe?
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Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop your post is featured at Katherines Corner today ♥
This is a great Halloween recipe! Thanks for sharing it at The Pin Junkie Link Party. This recipe was featured in a HUGE Halloween roundup. Hope you can stop by to grab a button and let everyone know that you were featured on The Pin Junkie. http://www.thepinjunkie.com/2013/10/halloween-roundup-31-halloween-projects.html
Tum thanks for sharing on my bloghop last week!!
These funnel cakes are super cute with the spider web drizzled onto it. Super creative and fun for every one!
Stopping by to let you know I’m featuring you twice on tomorrows Linky on Made in a Day!! Thanks so much for linking up!
Kim
This is adorable (and YUMMY looking, too!). Thanks so much for linking it up at the party! I’m going to have to make some for Halloween! TOO cute!
Just wanted you to know that you have been featured on my blog! Thanks so much for sharing at The Scoop!…hugs…Debbie
http://confessionsofaplateaddict.blogspot.com/2013/10/30-more-fun-halloween-ideas.html