How To Pour Funnel Cake Batter For The Crispiest Results

The funnel cake of fair food dreams is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside for a perfect textural juxtaposition. There's no place for sogginess on that paper plate! Despite its simplistic look of dough fried in oil and then heavily dusted with powdered sugar, there is some technique that goes into creating the perfect funnel cake. 

The dough needs to be done just right or it won't fry up right, whether due to not expanding or to having an inconsistent cook. The way the dough is poured into the hot oil also requires some skill in order to be able to create that famous funnel cake look of intertwining pieces that can be broken off and enjoyed. While a funnel is the traditional way to drop the batter into the pan (hence the name), a piping bag can be used for greater control. Even a squeeze bottle will work. Not only is the tool you use to pour the batter into the oil important, so is the pattern that you form with the batter because it will affect how crispy the end result will become.

In order to create a funnel cake with an extra crispy exterior, make sure to leave significant space in between batter ribbons as they are formed in the frying oil. By doing so, you create as much surface area as possible so that all the big and little corners and crevices of the poured design are touched by the hot oil and become crispy. Either a zigzag or spiral pattern is best to use when pouring the dough into the oil. Also remember not to overcrowd the deep fryer or pan of oil as the batter is poured because that can lead to undercooked or uneven cooking of the food, as well as spilled oil, according to the USDA. 

Now that you have created a beautifully crispy funnel cake it would be a huge disappointment for it to get soft and mushy, so one more step needs to be completed to make sure that doesn't happen. Allow the oil to drain from the fried treat by placing it on a cooling rack with paper towels underneath to absorb the drips. Then, all that is left to do is sprinkle on some powdered sugar and sink your teeth into the crispy, yet fluffy fair favorite.