This easy Funnel Cake recipe brings all the flavors of the fair right to your kitchen. Made with simple pantry ingredients, these homemade treats from scratch are dusted with powdered sugar and served warm for a sweet snack everyone will love.
Whip up homemade mini corn dogs, caramel apples, and fresh-squeezed lemonade and you’ll feel like you are at the fair without ever having left your house!
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights: Funnel Cake
Flavor: Crispy on the outside, soft and airy on the inside, with a sweet hint of vanilla and a classic dusting of powdered sugar.
Recommended Tools: A thermometer makes it easy to keep the oil at the perfect temperature.
Serving Suggestions: Serve warm with fresh strawberries and whipped cream, or try a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar and a drizzle of hot fudge sauce or caramel sauce.
Total Time: 10 Minutes Servings: 2 Cooking Method: Frying
Ingredient Notes
- Milk: Whole milk gives this funnel cake batter the best flavor and texture, but 2% milk or whatever you have in the fridge will work fine.
- Vanilla Extract: Vanilla extract creates the classic sweet fair-style flavor, while a tiny splash of almond extract adds a delicious bakery-style twist.
- Flour: Use all-purpose flour for a light, tender texture while helping the funnel cakes hold their swirled shape as they fry.
- Powdered Sugar: Powdered sugar is the classic funnel cake topping. I like to dust it on just before serving, so it doesn’t melt too quickly into the warm cakes.
- Oil: Hot oil for frying should be a neutral oil with a high smoke point, like vegetable oil or canola oil, so the funnel cakes cook up crisp and golden without burning.
How to Make Funnel Cakes
- Whisk wet ingredients. Add dry ingredients and whisk until smooth.
- Drizzle the batter into the pre-heated oil in thin, overlapping circles.
- Fry until deep golden brown on both sides, then drain and dust with powdered sugar.
- Repeat with the remaining batter.
Storing Sweet Swirls
Funnel cakes are best served right after frying, while the edges are crisp and the center is tender.
Keep leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day or in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in an air fryer or oven at 350°F until warm and crisp.
Freezing is not recommended because the delicate fried texture can become soggy once thawed.
They are very similar since they use almost identical ingredients, but they aren’t exactly the same! Funnel cake batter is thinner and slightly sweeter than pancake batter. The thinner consistency is crucial so it can easily pour through a spout or funnel into the hot oil.
You will want to use a neutral-tasting oil with a high smoke point. Vegetable oil and canola oil are both excellent choices that will give your funnel cakes a perfectly crisp, golden-brown exterior without burning or altering the flavor.
Yes! You can prep the batter ahead of time and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. When you are ready to fry, give it a good whisk. If the batter has thickened up too much in the fridge, simply stir in a tiny splash of milk until it is perfectly pourable again.
Powdered sugar is the ultimate classic! If you want to switch things up, try dusting them with cinnamon sugar, topping them with fresh berries and whipped cream, or adding a rich drizzle of chocolate fudge or caramel sauce.
Funnel cakes are definitely best enjoyed fresh and hot right out of the oil! However, if you have leftovers, keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day, or in the fridge for up to 3 days. To get that crispy texture back, reheat them in an air fryer or an oven at 350°F (avoid the microwave, which will make them soggy).
Fair-Style Sweet Treats
Did you enjoy this Funnel Cake Recipe? Leave a comment and rating below.
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a large liquid measuring cup or batter bowl with a spout, whisk together milk, egg, water and vanilla.
- Add sugar, baking powder and salt and whisk until combined.
- Add the flour, and whisk until completely smooth. Set aside.
- In a medium, deep-sided pan or pot, heat 1" of oil to 375°F over medium-high heat. When you put the end of a wooden spoon in the pot and bubbles form around the spoon, it's ready. Reduce heat to medium.
- Drizzle batter from cup in a thin line, swirling around the pan and overlapping as desired. Cook for 2 minutes or until light golden brown, then flip and cook another 2 minutes or until golden brown.
- Dust with 2 tablespoons powdered sugar and serve. Repeat one more time with the remaining batter.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dessert
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Great recipe! Took my kids to Zaxbys today where they are now offering Funnel Cakes for too much money. Told them I could go home and make all of them their own for less than the price of one at the restaurant. They called me on it when we got home and I found this recipe. So easy! Used a dollar tree ketchup bottle I have had floating around for years to pour the batter. Worked perfect! Will keep this as a go to dessert. Thank you!
Quick simple and delicious
Tastes like the ones at Wonderland, for a fraction of the price. And I don’t have to pay for park admission. Sometimes I’ll add some cinnamon. Absolutely delicious.
Awesome recipe❤
Very easy to make!
OK, so middle of the afternoon i started craving Funnel cake. Came across this recipe next minute. Ran to the kitchen next minute. All the ingredients were there. Within the next 10 minutes I had crispy Yummy Funnel Cake in front of my eyes. I topped it with Dulce De leche. Best Funnel Cake i ever had in my life.
THE BEST ABSOULTY AMAZING TRY IT OUT YOU WONT REGRET IT
Easy to make and tasty funnel cake recipe — my family was very pleased. I mixed everything in a 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup and simply poured the batter in swirls into the oil. Delicious. Thank you for posting!
Funnel cake has been my biggest pregnancy craving and I’ve made this a few times already, SO GOOD!!!
I Made this. But the batter was so thick that I added another eighth of a cup, so I can pour it. I also added 1/4 of a teaspoon of baking soda. After frying and adding the powder sugar it was absolutely delicious and came out perfect. I am definitely keeping this recipe. I would just like to know how many eggs to add if I wanted to double the recipe. It seems like a lot of egg flour.
Let’s start by saying that funnel cakes are $7 a piece at the zoo. Outrageous! lol
We can make 9 for less than 3 bux at the house and they taste amazing (we add one more tbsp of sugar) This recipe of perfect, our family just had a bit of a sweet tooth. We can eat them plain when they’re sweet so it’s a tiny trade off.
My 13 year old asked if I could make funnel cakes today, so I did a quick search and found your recipe. It was so easy to do and turned out great. He loved them and asked to keep this recipe as a new family fave. Thanks!
It’s tells how to make it but where is the information need to make it the ingredients I have not found them yet on here
To find the ingredients you can scroll down towards the bottom to find the recipe or at the top you can hit the “jump to recipe” button. I hope this helps LaKeisha!
Terrible, batter was too runny to deal with burnt up in tiny little balls, and any that did form into a considerable ball was raw on the inside.
I was skeptical when I saw the runny batter and small amount – it was AMAZING! This recipe made 3 batches in my pan, the sprinkled powdered sugar with sprinkles and a few chocolate chips was perfect on the soft delicious and crisp funnel cake! Will make again, so easy.
I just made these for the first time and they were quick, easy and delicious!!
a lot of kids don’t like cooking so it’s kind of weird but i love it and i am 12 actually so this is going to be fun.
a only if i could post a picture! Came out so delicious and exactly like the carnival funnel cakes very easy and fun to make highly recommend this specific recipe! you can add whatever toppings you’d like as the base is not sweet.. such as strawberries, icecream,chocolate drizzle, whipped cream. etc…
I am so glad you loved this recipe Areli! If you are on Instagram, you can post a photo there and tag us at @spendpennies so we can see your photo!
The taste was delicious but my dough was so thin it never made an actual funnel cake. It was a mess with tons of little dough strings and droplets. I ended up with deep fried pancakes. It was hidden under a ton of powdered sugar and I ate it anyway, but I was a little disappointed.
Exact same thing happened when I tried. Good flavor but a huge mess.
Hi, what the best oil to use? Peanut oil?
Thanks, looking forward to trying this.
Vegetable/canola oil is best for this recipe, it has a higher smoke point than olive oil :)