It’s County Fair time here in Michigan! Fair food is something I’ve always wanted to share with my kids: neon red candy apples, giant caramel apples resting in a bed of nuts, bright yellow popcorn, hot roasted cinnamon almonds, elephant ears, corn dogs and funnel cakes.
It turns out, dairy and egg-free funnel cakes are a snap to make…maybe too easy. I should know. We’ve devoured 3 batches in the past 24 hours and I’m really thankful I don’t have to go on a Tilt-a-Whirl anytime soon. Enjoy!
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Funnel Cakes
- Total Time: 14 minutes
- Yield: 10 1x
Description
These dairy-free and egg-free funnel cakes are really easy to make! The batter whips up in the time it takes to heat the oil!
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
Wet Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup dairy-free milk (I used Silk Coconut Milk) + 1 T cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- A few pinches of fresh lemon zest or a few drops of lemon oil
- Pinch of nutmeg
- Oil for frying (I prefer soy, or a blend of vegetable oils.)
- Extra powdered sugar for dusting at the end.
Instructions
- Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl that has a nice pouring spout.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.
- Dump the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until the lumps are out. Set aside while heating up the oil.
- Pour oil into large, heavy pan, about 2 inches deep. Heat the oil to 375.
- For making the funnel cakes, you can use an actual funnel or improvise with a plastic squirt bottle, a pastry bag or a ziplock with a corner cut off.
- Whatever method you use, making the cakes is pretty simple…just start squiggling the batter into the hot oil and see what happens. Let cook until golden brown and give the whole thing a flip with tongs.
- Allow to drain on paper towels, sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy them hot!
Notes
I prefer to fry in “vegetable oil”, which is usually straight soybean oil, but sometimes a mix of oils. I think canola smells fishy, melted shortening is waxy, other high-smoke point oils like grapeseed oil are too expensive.
If you don’t have a dairy allergy, you can use regular milk in the recipe.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Deep Fried
- Cuisine: American
Thank you for the recipe!!! My son is gonna love these Funnel cakes
No kidding last week I was wondering if i could make these for my boys. I won’t be able to use wheat flour but having a recipe to follow will get me started! thank you!
Have you ever used canola oil, we cant do soy or
dairy.
Yes, I have used canola and it works fine, but sometimes it smells kind of “fishy” if it’s not a fresh bottle of oil and it absolutely has to be stored in the refrigerator or it goes rancid. As such, I prefer to use a vegetable blend oil. Regarding soy allergy and the use of soy oil and soy lecithin, you may want to clarify the need to avoid this with your allergist. Many soy allergic individuals can tolerate soy oil and soy lecithin because a soy allergy is against the soy protein, and soy protein is not really found in oil/lecithin. http://www.foodallergy.org/page/soy-allergy Have fun!
Looks great! Do you think a gluten-free all purpose flour would work just as well with this recipe?
Hi just to be certain… you do mean for the powdered sugar to get mixed right into the batter? When I first read it I assumed it was for topping the cakes after they are done, but then you say to mix the dry ingredients up, etc.
Yep, that 1/4 cup is mixed right in to the batter. You’ll need extra to dust over the finished cakes. I can see how that would be confusing!
I made these tonight, and my family had a fit! These taste just like the ones I used to eat at the fair! My 8 yr old son (milk/egg/peanut/all treenut/coconut allergy) was so excited to finally get to try them. Thank you so much!
I just found your site via the Kids with Food Allergies Facebook page and all I can say is “THANK YOU, THANK YOU!” My daughter is allergic to dairy, eggs and nuts and I always feel like we’re feeding her the same “old stuff.” Thank you for sharing your recipes, resources and guidance!
I have been following your blog for 2 and half years. My family loves so many of your recipes. I especially wanted to tell you how grateful we are for this recipe. We were just at a festival today with all the off limits fair foods… smelling the funnel cakes was so enticing. I knew it was time to try your recipe. My husband and I were giddy with delight after the first bite. Our 3 year old food allergic daughter said “MMMmmmm these are sooo yummy Mommy, your the best.” We have you to thank for sharing your recipe!
Just finished making this recipe with my family. My 2 1/2 year old food allergic son was so excited to try something new. Thank you for the recipe!
Thank you so much for the recipe. Do you think gluten-free all purpose flour will work? Also I was wondering, on the list of ingredients, what is “+1 T cider vinegar”?
It’s worth a try! The trouble I have with gluten-free and egg-free baked goods is that they fall apart without either gluten or eggs to bind things together. If they fall apart, just cover up with extra powdered sugar! The “1 T cider vinegar” is 1 Tablespoon of cider vinegar.
Obviously this is a bit late, but GF flour works fine with these. I used brown rice flour, quinoa, and tapioca. I also use tallow and/or lard for frying.
Do you think I could use this recipe to make apple fritters? Or strawberry fritters?
Finally an easy simple funnel cake recipe w out all the extra bs other recipes do… thank you 🖤