How to Make Funnel Cake – It’s easy to make everyone’s favorite sweet county fair treat at home with this fun recipe! These carnival-style funnel cakes are crisp and chewy, and perfect to dust with powdered sugar.
The Best Homemade Funnel Cakes
Warm, crisp, and chewy funnel cakes are one of the most nostalgic treats of all time! If you close your eyes, I bet you can even smell the oil and powdered sugar right now…
Usually, you have to wait to visit a carnival or amusement park to enjoy funnel cake. But they are actually easy to make at home! The recipe base is essentially a thin pancake batter, which is dripped into hot oil to quickly fry golden. Fair-real, they are as fun to make as they are tasty to enjoy!
Our nearly foolproof classic Funnel Cake recipe includes the best tips to make these goodies for any occasion, including how to get those perfect squiggles. PLUS, we share top options for add-ins and delicious toppings. Make a batch for your next party – they are sure to be a hit with everyone!
Ingredients You Need
- All-purpose flour– or your preferred baking flour
- Sugar – granulated
- Baking powder – for that fluffy cake-like texture
- Salt – just a pinch
- Milk – whole is best, but low fat will do
- Eggs – to get a soft and chewy dough
- Vanilla extract – the ultimate sweet flavor enhancer
- Fry oil – vegetable, peanut, or other high heat and neutral-flavored oil for frying
Plus powdered sugar to dust and your favorite funnel cake toppings. Of course!
How to Make Funnel Cakes from Scratch
Set a large 6-8 quart pot over medium-high heat. Add the oil, and clip a cooking thermometer to the side of the pot. Make sure the tip of the thermometer is down in the oil. Heat the oil to 375 degrees F. Set a paper towel-lined tray to the side for the finished funnel cakes.
Pro Tip: If you plan to make a large batch and want to keep them all warm, preheat the oven to 200 degrees F and set aside a baking pan with a wire rack on top.
Meanwhile, set out a mixing bowl. Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients – flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, milk, eggs, and vanilla.
Whisk well, until the mixture is completely smooth. (No clumps.)
Pour the funnel cake batter into a squirt bottle. Pro Tip: You can cut the tip of the squirt bottle to make the batter come out easier.
Alternatively, you can pour the batter into a plastic Ziploc bag, and snip the tip like a piping bag.
Get the Complete (Printable) Easy Funnel Cake Recipe Below. Enjoy!
Once the oil reaches the right temperature, squirt the batter into the hot oil. Move fast, making a 6-inch circle, then fill it in with small circles or zig-zags. The temperature will come down as the cake cooks.
Adjust the temperature as needed, to keep it around 350 degrees F.
Fry the funnel cake for only 30-60 seconds per side, flipping once. Try to pull each funnel cake out of the oil when it reaches a light honey color, or it will cool and be too crispy.
Let the fried funnel cakes sit on a paper towel-lined baking sheet to absorb any excess oil.
Keep them warm for longer: After they have sat on the paper towels for a minute or two, move the cakes to the wire rack on top of the second baking sheet. Place in the 200-degree F preheated oven.
Once all the funnel cakes are ready, give them a generous sprinkling of powdered sugar.
Serve warm and fresh as-is or with other tasty carnival toppings.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you make gluten-free funnel cakes?
Use your preferred gluten-free all-purpose flour.
What other add-ins can be used to make the funnel cake batter?
Give the cakes a kick by adding a generous pinch of cinnamon, apple pie spice, instant coffee granules, or strawberry extract to the batter before frying.
What are the best funnel cake toppings?
Besides the obvious powdered sugar, there are several other sweet goodies you can load onto your fair-tastic funnel cakes! Try fresh sliced strawberries or other fresh fruit, whipped cream, cinnamon sugar, caramel sauce, strawberry sauce, or chocolate sauce/nutella, or canned pie fillings like cherry and strawberry.
How long do leftovers keep well?
Homemade funnel cakes taste best when enjoyed fresh and warm. However, they will keep well for up to 3 days at room temperature in an airtight container. If you need to stack them to store, place a square of parchment paper between each layer.
They can even be frozen! Let the cakes cool, then wrap them individually in plastic cling wrap. Place them all together in a plastic Ziploc bag, and keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Looking For More Family-Friendly Treats? Be Sure To Also Try These Recipes:
Check the full printable recipe card below for the nutrition information including calories, carbohydrates, protein, cholesterol, sodium, fiber, and vitamin percentages.
How to Make Funnel Cake
It’s easy to make everyone’s favorite sweet fair treat at home with this fun funnel cake recipe! These carnival-style funnel cakes are crisp and chewy, and perfect to dust with powdered sugar or load with other tasty toppings.
Servings: 8 cakes
-
Set a large 6-8 quart pot over medium-high heat. Add the oil, and clip a cooking thermometer to the side of the pot. Make sure the tip of the thermometer is down in the oil. Heat the oil to 375 degrees F. Set a paper towel lined tray to the side for the finished funnel cakes.
-
Meanwhile, set out a mixing bowl. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, milk, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk well, until the mixture is completely smooth. (No clumps.) Pour the batter into a squirt bottle. You can cut the tip of the squirt bottle to make the batter come out easier.
-
Once the oil reaches the right temperature, squirt the batter into the hot oil. Move fast, making a 6 inch circle, then filling it in with small circles or zig zags. The temperature will come down as the cake cook. Adjust the temperature as needed, to keep it around 350 degrees F.
-
Fry the funnel cake for 30-60 seconds per side, flipping once. Try to pull each funnel cake out of the oil when it reaches a light honey color, or it will cool and be too crispy.
-
Repeat with the remaining batter refilling the squirt bottle as needed. Once all the funnel cakes are ready, give them a generous sprinkling of powdered sugar. Serve warm and fresh.
Besides the obvious powdered sugar, there are several other sweet goodies you can load onto your fair-tastic funnel cakes! Try fresh sliced strawberries or other fruits, whipped cream, caramel sauce or chocolate sauce, or canned pie fillings like cherry and strawberry.
Homemade funnel cakes taste best when enjoyed fresh and warm. However, they will keep well for up to 3 days at room temperature in an airtight container. If you need to stack them to store, place a square of parchment paper between each layer.
They can even be frozen! Let the cakes cool, then wrap individually in plastic cling wrap. Place them all together in a plastic ziploc bag, and keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Serving: 1pc, Calories: 381kcal, Carbohydrates: 23g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 30g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g, Monounsaturated Fat: 18g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 44mg, Sodium: 175mg, Potassium: 132mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 109IU, Calcium: 66mg, Iron: 1mg
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