Funnel Cakes

SG had some delightful friends to spend the night  Saturday night.  They were polite, enthusiastic, and the perfect group to sample the latest sensation to hit our kitchen! 

Need I say more!! Funnel Cakes...who knew?!  Tom Hudgens knew and is now elevated to  genius status in my mind and the minds,hearts, and stomachs of hungry teenagers!

As a family, we have never been able to pass any funnel cake stand.  The state fair, the rodeo, any major league ballgame, a major part of the fun is the "scald your mouth" hot twisting, twirling mass of freshly fried dough.  Watching the  cream batter hit the grease, see it sink in a pile, then pop to the top and float around the vat a silky brown mass.  Then the glorious moment when the vendor flips it on the paper plate to both drain and carry.  While the powdered sugar  absorbs onto the cake, you are practically tossing the cashier your money. Then comes the moment when one of the children says "I want to carry my own."  For a split second you are torn, as this is a moment of independence for your child, you should let him or her carry it.  "Tell you what, you carry the cokes, and I'll carry the cake." Really, who cares if cokes are spilled , the worst is when the funnel cake hits the ground, lost forever! Well fear no more as homemade funnel cakes are here!

Tom Hudgens doesn't assume you have a deep fat fryer. I do own a "Cool Daddy" fryer  but please don't tell as so many people believe a deep fried food held in your hand will extend evil tentacles grabbing your throat and choking the life out of you on the spot!  Please people, this is an OCCASIONAL treat and treat it is! He recommends using a narrow deep saucepan with about 3 inches of  vegetable oil. Heat the oil to 375 degrees.

While the oil is heating, mix the flour, eggs, milk, butter, baking powder and vanilla in a bowl.  The batter was  slightly thick, but dripped from the spoon.

Using you kitchen funnel, plug the hole with your finger, and fill it  with batter using a ladle.

Holding it over the oil, move our finger, and voila!!

There it goes slithering into  the oil.

After cooking on one side, use a slotted spoon to flip it to the other.

Ok, so I might be showing off a little with two in the pan:)

Drain them on paper towels.

Into the delish powdered sugar and flip,  A small  wire sieve would work as well but this way the powdered sugar is on both sides.  Might as well go for broke...

Here are some of the remaining ones. Sorry I don't have pictures of the girls eating them.  Teenagers refuse to be photographed early on Sunday morning in pajamas with bedhead  eating deep fried foods.  I might have negotiated with them, but I had already played my trump card by making the funnel cakes!  The only thing missing were the paper plates.