Bring the Fair Home with Homemade Funnel Cakes

 

Bring the Fair Home with Homemade Funnel Cakes

There are a lot of reasons to love fair season.

The exhibits. The livestock. The rides. The games. The competition. The people.

But come on.

We all know the food is part of the deal.

September marks the beginning of fair-food season in the OCW Recipe Collection, and we're starting with one of the most recognizable treats on any midway: Homemade Funnel Cakes.

Featured in the September 3 edition of Oklahoma’s Choice Weekly, this week's recipe shows you how to make the crispy, golden, powdered-sugar-covered classic without ever leaving home.

That Unmistakable Fair Favorite

There are certain foods we rarely think about until fair season rolls around.

Then suddenly, the smell of something frying hits you from halfway across the fairgrounds and whatever sensible eating decisions you made that morning are officially over.

Funnel cake has that kind of power.

Made by drizzling batter into hot oil in overlapping circles and zigzags, funnel cakes develop their distinctive tangled shape as they fry. The result is crisp around the edges, tender inside and practically designed to catch ridiculous amounts of powdered sugar.

Traditionally, that's really all they need.

But since we're making them at home, there's no reason we can't have a little fun.

Fresh strawberries and whipped cream can turn a funnel cake into a full-blown dessert. Chocolate sauce, caramel, cinnamon sugar or a scoop of vanilla ice cream can take things even further.

Or you can stick with a mountain of powdered sugar.

There are no wrong answers here.

The Secret Is in the Oil

Making funnel cakes isn't particularly complicated, but oil temperature matters.

For our recipe, the oil is heated to approximately 375°F. A cooking thermometer takes the guesswork out of maintaining the proper temperature while frying.

Oil that's too cool can leave fried foods greasy, while excessively hot oil can brown the outside too quickly.

And because we're dealing with hot oil, the September 3 recipe also includes a Kitchen Safety section.

Use a deep, heavy pan with plenty of room above the oil, never leave hot oil unattended and keep children and pets away from the cooking area.

Most importantly, never use water on a cooking-oil fire.

It's not the glamorous part of making fair food, but it's an important one.

Fair Food All September

Homemade Funnel Cakes aren't just another addition to the OCW Recipe Collection.

They're kicking off our September fair-food series.

Throughout the month, we'll be celebrating some of those foods that make county and state fairs such a memorable part of the season.

We're talking about the kind of food you can smell before you can see the booth.

The kind you tell yourself you're going to share.

And then don't.

We figured if we're going to celebrate fair season, we might as well do it properly.

Find the Recipe in Oklahoma’s Choice Weekly

You'll find the complete Homemade Funnel Cakes recipe, ingredients, step-by-step directions, topping ideas and kitchen-safety information in the September 2 edition of Oklahoma’s Choice Weekly and in the growing OCW Recipe Collection.  https://oklahomaschoiceweekly.com/digitaledition/

So break out the powdered sugar and bring a little bit of the midway home.

The Ferris wheel is optional.

The funnel cake isn't. 🎡