Funnel Cake Fries
Ingredients
- ¾ cup AP Flour
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1 medium egg
- ¾ cup Milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 cup confectioners (powdered) sugar for dusting
- 4-6 cups beef tallow or lard for frying
Sauce
- 2 oz vanilla yogurt, 2% or whole preferred
- 2oz strawberry jam (a smooth jam or jelly is best)
Directions
The secrets to this recipe are the cooking oil/fat and the freezing of the batter. I like using animal fats such as tallow or lard for frying because they taste better and are way more natural than seed oils. Any foods fried in these fats (especially tallow) are less greasy and have a better texture. For this funnel cake fries recipe, refined tallow is best as it has a nice neutral flavor profile.
This recipe has your funnel cake looking like little French fries, it’s hard to do that consistently using a squeeze bottle or trying to drizzle it into your how frying oil, so freezing the batter makes it come out perfect every time! With this recipe I use a nonstick bread loaf pan it’s the perfect size and all you must do is cut the frozen batter across to make about 20 perfect “fries” just move quick because the batter will soften up fast, especially on a warm day.
Start by mixing all your dry ingredients (flour, salt, granulated sugar, and baking powder), and mixing them together with a whisk until well combined. Next combine your milk, vanilla extract and egg, mix well. Combine with dry ingredients mixing just enough until it all comes together, but don’t overmix as it will result in a chewy batter.
Usually for funnel cake I would describe the consistency as thick pancake batter, but for this recipe I am looking for more of a normal pancake batter consistency, because it helps keeps it shape better. Next, I pour the batter into a loaf pan lined with parchment paper and place into the freezer unit its completely set up, at least 4 hours.
Once it is completely set, I remove the batter from the freezer and pop it out of the pan and remove the parchment paper. Cutting the short way, cut into even French fry shaped pieces about 1/4 – 1/3” thick. Place back into the freezer.
Bring beef tallow up to about 335 degrees in sauce pot. Its ok to only have a few inches of oil, having it slightly shallow makes it easier to work with. Place about 5-6 fries into a pot at once, they will sink to the bottom so after a few seconds I just use a long skewer or fork to release it. They should begin to float. Cook at 335 degrees for about 2 minutes or deep golden brown. Top with a good dusting of powdered sugar and serve hot with dipping sauce.
Dipping sauce
Combine yogurt and jam into a small bowl, mix well and serve chilled with hot funnel cake fries.