Joy the Baker

Small Batch Baked Funnel Cake

Hi friends! 

We made funnel cake on Instagram today – small batch (these 4 palm-sized cakes) and baked (how dare we, honestly).  

These are crisp on the outside, soft and eggy on the inside, brushed in butter and dusted with powdered sugar. 

We pulled it off! We’re making these dreams come true. 

We’re essentially making a small amount of easy pate a choux batter.  

We’ll need to: 

•  bring water, butter and a pinch salt to a boil. 

•  remove it from heat and add flour and a bit of sugar.  

•  whisk until it thickens and smooths and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. 

•  let it cool in a bowl before beating in two eggs, one at a time, for one minute each.  Add an extra minute of mixing after the last egg. 

The cooked batter needs to cool in a bowl, releasing some steam before the eggs are whipped in.  

The first egg mixed in will leave the dough feeling dry and piecey. 

The second egg will smooth and gloss the dough though it will still be thick.  

Spoon all of the batter into the corner of a large ziplock bag. Cut off of the tip to create a 1/2-inch hole in the bag. 

I traced 4 1/2-inch circles on a piece of parchment paper with a marker and turned the parchment paper marker side down.  I just wanted to make sure I sort of knew what the circle shape would be before piping across the paper in a circle shaped zig-zag that overlaps on itself. 

Bake to golden and puffed.

While the cakes are still hot, crush with butter (a generous amount of butter), and dust with powdered sugar (a generous amount of that too).  We’ll eat them warm. We’re wizards and we get to enjoy our cakes about it. 

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Small Batch Baked Funnel Cake

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup (half a stick) unsalted butter
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

  1. Place a rack in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. To make the pate a choux, combine the water, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan, over medium heat and bring to a rolling boil.
  3. Remove the pan from the heat, and add the flour and sugar all at once, using a spatula to stir quickly and vigorously.
  4. Return the pan to the burner and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture smooths to a glossy consistency and pulls away from the sides of the pan. The mixture will also steam and cook off some of the water.
  5. Remove the pan from the heat, and let the mixture cool for 10 minutes. The mixture will still be warm but place in a medium bowl. Use a spatula to stir the mixture around the bowl to release some of the heat and steam
  6. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing for 1 full minute between each addition. The mixture will look curdled with the first egg. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure all of the ingredients are mixed evenly. The batter will be smooth and glossy after the last egg is added. Beat for another minutes after adding the last egg.
  7. Spoon the batter into the corner of a large ziplock bag. Snip off a corner of the bag creating an about 1/2 inch hole.
  8. Trace 4 1/2-inch circles on the parchment paper with a marker and flip over the sheet so the marker side faces down but you can still see the lines through the paper. Squeeze zig-zag lines across the parchment paper circles and atop the batter as pictured above.
  9. Bake for 18-20 minutes, rotating the pan after 10 minutes of baking if necessary.
  10. Bake for 18-20 minutes, rotating the pan after 10 minutes of baking if necessary.  Remove from the oven. Allow to cool for 3 minutes or so.
  11. Brush with butter. Sprinkle seriously with powdered sugar. Enjoy immediately.
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