A medium funnel is needed for this recipe.
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons honey
1 egg
7/8 cup milk, warm
Oil for deep-frying
Honey or maple syrup
Sift together all the dry ingredients and then add the honey, egg and milk. Beat until smooth. Heat about 2 inches of oil in a large cast-iron skillet, or other heavy pot. To test the correct temperature, drop a small piece of dough into the oil. If it floats to the top and bubbles appear around the edges, you are ready to make the funnel cakes.
Hold your finger at the bottom of the funnel to stop up the batter, and then remove finger to pour batter. Using a spiral motion, let the batter pour into the oil. The cakes should look like free-form spiral sculpture. Fry until golden brown, turning once. Drain on paper towels. Drizzle with honey or maple syrup and serve hot. The number of servings depends upon the amount of batter you use for each cake.
Note: We dusted with confectioners' sugar or granulated sugar mixed with cinnamon. We doubled this recipe with excellent results.
"Bread Winners" on www.ichef.com
Thursday, July 06, 2000