This homemade funnel cake recipe is a fair favorite you can make in a regular skillet, no deep fryer required. It’s got crispy spiraled edges, a light airy center, and a sweet dusting of powdered sugar on top.

Light and airy homemade funnel cake on a white plate dusted with powdered sugar.

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The Best Homemade Funnel Cake

There’s something about a funnel cake that takes you straight back to the county fair, the smell of fried dough hitting you before you even get to the booth. After a lot of testing, this is the version I keep coming back to when the craving hits and I don’t feel like waiting for fair season.

A real funnel is the trick to getting those thin, lacy spirals with crispy edges and a soft center, just like the ones you grew up on. The funnel cake batter comes together in one bowl, fries up in about two minutes, and tastes best warm with a heavy dusting of powdered sugar. If you love fair food, try my caramel apples and churros next.

XO - Jamielyn

Recipe Ingredients

Funnel cake ingredients on counter.

Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.

  • Oil for frying: Vegetable or canola oil both work well thanks to their high smoke points and neutral flavor.
  • Milk, water, and eggs: These give the batter the right consistency and help it hold together.
  • Vanilla, sugar, cinnamon, and salt: For classic funnel cake flavor! It makes this treat sweet, warm, and just a little spiced.
  • Flour and baking powder: Provide structure and just enough puff to keep the inside light and tender.
  • Powdered sugar: A must for topping!

How to Make a Funnel Cake

In a large bowl, whisk the milk, eggs, water, and vanilla until smooth. You want the eggs fully broken up so they don’t streak through the batter later.

In a separate medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Doing this separately keeps the baking powder evenly distributed, which matters for the lift.

Funnel cake batter being whisked together in a glass bowl as the dry ingredients combine with the wet.
Whisked milk, eggs, water, and vanilla in a glass bowl, the wet base for funnel cake batter.

Slowly whisk the dry into the wet until smooth. A few small lumps are fine and better than a tough, overmixed batter. You’re aiming for a slightly thin pancake batter, pourable but not watery.

Hold your finger under the bottom hole of the funnel and pour in 1 cup of batter. Position the funnel above the center of the hot oil, lift your finger, and immediately start swirling in a circular motion to make a 6 to 7-inch round cake. Keep the funnel moving the whole time, if you stop you’ll get a thick clump that won’t cook through. Fry for 1 minute.

Pale funnel cake batter just hitting the hot oil in a white Dutch oven, bubbling around the spirals.
Funnel cake frying in hot oil in a white Dutch oven, edges turning golden brown and crisp.

Use tongs or a slotted spoon to carefully flip the cake and fry another minute until both sides are deep golden brown. If it looks pale, give it another 15 to 20 seconds. Underdone funnel cake gets soggy as it cools.

Move the cake to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain, then dust generously with powdered sugar while it’s still warm. Before frying the next one, check that the oil is back up to 375°F. Cold oil is the number one reason funnel cakes turn out greasy instead of crispy.

Two golden brown homemade funnel cakes draining on a paper towel-lined sheet pan.
Homemade funnel cake on a white plate dusted with powdered sugar, lacy spirals visible.

Funnel Cake Topping Ideas

You can have so much fun with toppings on a homemade funnel cake!

Want funnel cake fries instead? Pour the batter into the oil in straight strips instead of swirling. Same cook time, same toppings.

Crisp, golden fried funnel cake dusted with powdered sugar on a parchment paper lined plate.

Recipe Tips

  • Use a heavy-bottom pot. A deep skillet works, and a Dutch oven works even better. The heavy bottom helps the oil hold its temperature when you add the batter, which is what gives you crispy edges instead of greasy ones.
  • Keep the oil at 375°F. A candy or digital thermometer takes the guesswork out. If the oil isn’t hot enough, the batter spreads too much and absorbs grease while it fries, leaving you with a soggy funnel cake.
  • A funnel gives the best result, but you have options. A real funnel makes the thinnest, lacy-est spirals. If you don’t have one, a plastic squeeze bottle, a liquid measuring cup with a spout, or a piping bag will all work. Expect a slightly thicker, less lacy cake with the alternatives.
  • Keep the funnel moving in swirls. If you stop or hover, you’ll end up with clumps of batter in one spot that don’t cook through.
  • Measure flour properly. Use a kitchen scale, or the spoon and level method if you don’t have one. Scooping straight from the bag packs in too much flour and gives you a heavy batter.
  • Want smaller cakes? Use ½ cup of batter instead of 1 cup. Or for a similar fried dessert, try my beignets.
Funnel cake with a piece removed showing the light, airy dough on the inside.

More fun desserts to make: fruit pizza, churro cupcakes, caramel popcorn, and s’mores pie!

More Fair Food Recipes

A homemade funnel cake with a dusting of powdered sugar on a parchment lined plate.

Homemade Funnel Cake Recipe

5 from 8 votes
Recipe by: Jamielyn Nye
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 2
A homemade funnel cake recipe that actually tastes like the fair, made in a regular skillet with a real funnel for those crispy, lacy spirals. Ready in 20 minutes then dusted with powdered sugar!
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Video

Equipment

  • 1 large funnel

Ingredients 

  • Vegetable oil , for frying
  • ½ cup milk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 Tablespoons water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
  • Powdered sugar , for serving

Instructions

  • Heat oil. In a deep skillet, add 1-inch of oil. Heat over medium-low heat until temperature reaches 375°F on a digital thermometer. Line a baking sheet with paper towels.
  • Wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup milk, 2 eggs, 2 Tablespoons water, and 1 teaspoon vanilla until well combined.
  • Dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup flour, 2 Tablespoons sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon salt until combined.
  • Combine. Slowly whisk the flour mixture into the milk mixture until smooth.
  • Fry batter. Using your finger, cover the bottom hole of a large funnel. Add 1 cup batter to the top of the funnel. Holding the funnel over the center of the skillet, remove your finger and swirl the funnel in a circular motion to create a 6- or 7-inch round cake. Fry 1 minute, or until bottom is golden brown. Flip and fry 1 minute more, or until golden brown all over. Transfer to paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain. Repeat with remaining batter, making sure the oil stays at 375 before adding batter.
  • Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve warm.

Last step: Please leave a comment and rating after you make the recipe.

Notes

Storage: I think these are best served fresh, but you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days. 
Freeze: Store funnel cakes individually in airtight containers in the freezer up to 3 months. Wait to sprinkle with powdered sugar until thawed and reheated. 
Reheat: To make sure the funnel cakes get crispy, I recommend reheating them in an oven and not the microwave.

Nutrition

Calories: 392kcal, Carbohydrates: 65g, Protein: 15g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.02g, Cholesterol: 193mg, Sodium: 390mg, Potassium: 536mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 16g, Vitamin A: 370IU, Vitamin C: 0.02mg, Calcium: 248mg, Iron: 4mg

Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.