Funnel Cakes

Funnel cakes are circles of fried dough made lacy and very crisp by pouring a light batter into hot oil with a funnel, stopping the hole with a finger between pastries. In the United States they are associated with Pennsylvania Dutch celebrations and street fairs and are now sold at sporting events. The idea has probably been invented several times, since it appears in medieval Anglo-Norman and Old English cooking manuscripts as “mincebek,” “blaunche escrepes,” or “cryspes” —all deep-fried fritters made by making a hole in a bowl.