Funnel cake

Funnel cake or funnelcake is a regional novelty food popular in the U.S. at carnivals, fairs, sporting events, and seaside resorts. Funnel cakes are made by pouring batter through a funnel into hot cooking oil in a circular pattern and deep frying the overlapping mass until golden-brown. When made at concession stands a pitcher with an integral funnel spout is employed. Funnel cakes are typically served with powdered sugar, jam, nutella, fresh fruit, or other toppings.

Funnel cakes are made with an unleavened batter. In the book "I'm Just Here for the Food," Alton Brown (star of Good Eats on the Food Network), recommends they be baked with choux pastry, which expands from steam produced by its high water content.

In America, funnel cakes were originally associated with the Pennsylvania Dutch region. In Austria the equivalent is called Strauben and is made and served similarly. In the Indian subcontinent its equivalent is called jalebi which has a somewhat chewy texture with a crystallized sugary exterior coating; in Iran this would be known as zulbia and is a popular dessert. In Slovenian cuisine they are called flancati (pron. FLAN-tsa-tee). In Finland the analogous tippaleipä is traditionally served at May Day (Vappu) celebrations.

According to one website a 6" diameter Funnel Cake has fewer than 300 calories.^[1]