Mini Maple Bacon Funnel Cakes

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I love ALL the crazy foods of the State Fair (like these Pork Parfaits), but most especially Mini Maple Bacon Funnel Cakes, don’t you?

This recipe was created in honor of the upcoming Kansas State Fair as part of Chef Alli’s Farm Fresh Kitchen, sponsored by Kansas Farm Bureau, on WIBW 13 News This Morning, Sept. 2014. These funnel cakes fry up more crispy that the traditional fair funnel cakes and making minis helps with the guilt of enjoying them.

2 large eggs
1 1/3 cup milk, I use 2%
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup + 1 Tbs. granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
powdered sugar, for dusting
6-8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
Maple Butter Cream Frosting, recipe below

Pour oil in a large cast iron skillet until it’s about 1 1/2 inches deep in bottom of pan; heat oil over medium high heat to 375 degrees F. Line a few plates with paper towels and get your spatula or tongs ready.  Meanwhile, create funnel cake batter in a large mixing bowl by beating eggs and milk together.  In a separate small bowl, combine dry ingredients (except for powdered sugar); add to the egg mixture and stir until batter is smooth.

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large frosting tip and squeeze batter into the hot oil in small, random, round, overlapping manner, making sure to cross the batter back over itself a couple times so that it adheres together well when flipping. Once funnel cake is floating in oil and is golden brown, approx. 45-50 seconds, flip over using spatula or tongs, so other side can cook.  Remove from oil and set onto paper-towel-lined plate; sprinkle with powdered sugar and then drizzle with maple frosting; top with bacon crumbles and eat at once.

Note – if you don’t have a pastry bag for making funnel cakes, a gallon freezer bag will work fine.  Simple cut a very small piece of the corner of the bag off and squeeze batter from there into the hot oil – works like a charm.  Also, batter can be made up to 1 hour ahead of time, but that’s about it.

Maple Butter Cream Frosting
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 tsp. maple flavoring
2 Tbs. melted butter
2 Tbs. strong brewed coffee
2-3 Tbs. milk
salt, to taste

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, maple flavoring, butter, and coffee; add milk, a little at a time until frosting reaches desired consistency, very thick but still pourable.  Season to taste with salt.
Now You’re Cookin’,
Chef Alli