Funnel Cake

Funnel cake — a thin batter poured through a funnel (or from a squeeze bottle) in a spiral pattern into hot oil, fried until golden, and dusted with powdered sugar — is the definitive American fair and carnival food and a Pennsylvania Dutch creation. The technique descends from the German *Strauben* or *Drechter Kucha* (funnel cake in the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect), brought to southeastern Pennsylvania by German immigrants. The dish migrated from the Pennsylvania Dutch farmers' markets to county fairs across America and is now present at every state fair, every carnival, and every amusement park in the country.

A thin batter (flour, eggs, milk, sugar, baking powder, salt, vanilla) poured in a thin stream from a funnel or squeeze bottle in a spiral/crisscross pattern into 2-3cm of hot oil (175°C), fried for 1-2 minutes per side until golden, drained, and dusted heavily with powdered sugar. The cake should be lacy, crispy at the thin edges, softer where the batter overlapped, and sweet from both the batter and the sugar coating.

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