Funnel Cake for the Fair Food Deprived

 Funnel cake!  That infamous, glorious food whose smell dominates our senses at fairs and festivals.  Yet for those of us with food allergies, walking past those booths can feel like torture.  We experienced that this past weekend with my kids at a fall festival.  I ended up promising them a "fair food" day. This is the result of my very first try at making funnel cake.  It came out crispy, yet light, and of course much better when eaten warm and coated in powdered sugar.


Most people who know me know that while I may look up a recipe, I rarely get to use it as is.  With kids who are either allergic or intolerant to gluten, dairy, soy, peanuts/legumes, tree nuts, most seeds, corn, and a bunch of other assorted foods, there is rarely a recipe that fits our needs.  I've had to develop a basic sense of what works to limit the number of failed experiments because as anyone with allergies knows, ingredients are expensive.  So here is our version of funnel cake.  The only common allergen it includes are eggs.  

Dry ingredients:
3 cups brown rice flour
1/2 c. tapioca starch
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2  tsp. xanthan gum (Authentic Foods makes a corn-free one)
1 1/2 tsp Authentic Foods corn-free vanilla powder (or 1.5 tsp vanilla extract added to wet ingredients)

Wet Ingredients:
3 eggs plus 1 egg white
2 c. rice milk (we make our own)

Extras:
oil for frying (canola)
powdered sugar or other toppings

Heat 3-4 inches of oil on stovetop.  I used canola.  I use a curved sauce pan so the sides are deeper but not as deep as a pot.  If possible, sift together the dry ingredients.  If not, at least whisk them until they are fluffier.  Mix wet ingredients in mixer until frothy on top, then slowly add in dry ingredients.  Once combined, mix until batter is smooth.  We don't want lumpy funnel cake.
Test oil to ensure it is ready by dropping a small bit of batter in.  If it browns on one side in 60 seconds, it's ready.

Fill bag (frosting bags are perfect but any ziploc-style bag will do) and snip off end or corner to create a 1/2-inch opening.  Quickly squeeze into oil in whatever shape you like - traditional funnel cake is slightly piled on top of itself.  If batter sticks to bottom, it means the oil wasn't *quite hot enough - but don't worry, just use your slotted spatula to lift it gently off the bottom.  When it turns medium brown on the bottom, turn.  The first photo shows a piece I turned when golden brown, and while delicious it got soft pretty quickly, so I suggest letting it go a bit longer.  The photo below shows one that stayed crispier.

Once done on both sides, remove carefully (hot oil, yo) to a pan with a rack so the oil can drip down.  Once cool enough to move but still warm, move to a plate and dust with powdered sugar or other toppings.  Whole Foods makes a corn-free powdered sugar, by the way.