What the hell is Funnel Cake?

As summer comes to an end (one can hope it is a slow and steady decline but this is Seattle, so fall could arrive at any given moment), the Fairs are in full swing and along with them... Fair Fare! Inspired by an electronic conversation amongst my best girl friends and a recent trip to the Monroe Fair (yes, I hit up Monroe twice in one weekend), I decided to look a little closer at a fair goers favorite; FUNNEL CAKE!

I have never actually seen or tried funnel cake before, but all I ever hear about come fair time is fricken funnel cake or deep fried snickers! In my head I envisioned some sort of cake shaped like a worm, which sounds less than appetizing. Come to find out, that is EXACTLY what it is, minus the cakey consistency. The consistency is more like a doughnut (fried dough), not to be confused with Elephant Ears, which are totally different (see below).

Wikipedia says funnel cakes are made by pouring batter through a funnel into hot oil in a circular pattern and deep frying it until golden-brown. They are often served with powdered sugar, jam, or other toppings.

What is the difference between funnel cake and said fair treat 'elephant ears' you ask? The difference is totally obvious. Elephant ears are made with risen yeast dough, whereas funnel cakes are made with an unleavened batter. And well, one looks like the ear of a giant African beast, and the other looks the same before and after you eat it (I know, inappropriate).


I thought I would also include an image of a deep fried snickers since I have never seen one of those either. This to me does not resemble something I would like to eat, let alone a dessert. However, rumor has it these are delicious morsals worth every fried, gooey, chocolatey calorie!

I am fascinated by the American-Hick tradition of fairs. The Evergreen State Fair aka the Monroe Fair, went on for like three weeks and the Puyallup Fair (the Monroe of the South) will now be going on for the next two! Some people actually purchase week-long passes, which I just do not understand. One day or even a few hours is plenty of fair fun for me. There are only so many farm animals/livestock to see/smell, rides that cost $5/ticket, and fried food to eat that always leads to trouble (I think you know what I mean). Though I am never one to pass up a bag of kettle corn.

My friend Coffey ventured to P-town last night and made a few of the following observations, along with some of my own:

- Hefty gals who keep their cell phones in their bras... WTF? A pager... maybe, but a cell phone?

- Stand in line for an hour for the Zipper only to finally reach the front and the ride closes due to an excess of puke from a teenybopper that has spewed in and around the ride. Icky....

- A mother who asks if she can hold her BABY so she can go on a ride (this was actually someone elses observation but I thought it was too absurd to leave out)

- One of the ride operators forgot to buckle in patrons and the ride took off with them screaming for mercy. There was a default safety mechanism but still.... 15 year olds should not be operating rides made in the 70's somewhere deep in Iowa (heard this one on the news this am)

- Republican Party booth giving away fake money with Obama's head in Arab garb and people actually thought it was real... COME ON PEOPLE!

-Parking for $20... in a field... next to a 1979 el camino and a cutless supreme

Happy Fairing!