Do Spring days evoke memories of fairs and the irresistible aroma of funnel cakes? If you're following a ketogenic diet, you might think this classic treat is off-limits. But fear not! This article explores how to create delicious, keto-friendly funnel cakes that capture the nostalgic flavors of the fair while keeping your carb count low.
The Keto Funnel Cake Challenge
Many have tried and failed to replicate the perfect funnel cake in a keto-friendly way. Common pitfalls include soggy textures, overly dense cakes, and a lack of the desired crispness. However, with the right ingredients and techniques, a truly satisfying keto funnel cake is achievable.
Key Ingredients and Their Roles
Several key ingredient substitutions make this keto transformation possible:
Lupin Flour: Utilizing more lupin flour instead of almond flour is crucial for achieving a crispier texture. Lupin flour crisps up much nicer than almond flour when fried. It's a legume that's ridiculously low carb and calorie! Think just 3g net carbs per 100g (for reference, almond flour is 7g net!!). It’s also a probiotic fiber.
Mozzarella Cheese: Adding a touch of mozzarella cheese might sound strange, but it's a game-changer. It helps the batter become crunchy, similar to chaffles, and the neutral flavor ensures you won't taste it in the final product. The mozzarella cheese provides that wonderful crispness that grain free flours lack to achieve.
Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers
Whey Protein Powder: Make sure you use whey protein powder (almost zero-carb) and not whey protein concentrate (more carbs). Instead of vanilla whey protein powder, you can use unflavoured whey protein powder or egg white protein powder.
Sugar-Free Sweeteners: To maintain the sweetness without the carbs, Confectioners Swerve or Lakanto's Powdered Monkfruit Sweetener are excellent choices for the powdered sugar topping. For the batter, use your favorite sweetener, adjusting the amount to your preference. And to make powdered ‘sugar’, simply get your blender out, make sure it’s completely dry, and process your sweetener of choice until powdered (allulose and xylitol will give the least aftertaste!). And if using xylitol, make sure to be careful if you have a pup around the house, as it’s highly toxic to the little guys!
Frying Techniques for Keto Funnel Cakes
The frying process is just as important as the ingredients. Here are some tips for success:
Oil Choice: Avocado oil is a great option for frying due to its high smoke point and neutral flavor. Coconut oil or ghee can also be used.
Temperature Control: Maintain a low to medium heat to ensure the funnel cakes cook evenly and become golden brown without burning.
Read also: Keto Calorie Counting: A Detailed Guide
Piping: Transfer the batter to a piping bag with a large ½" tip (or a ziplock bag with a corner cut off). Slowly squeeze the batter into the hot oil in a circular motion to create the classic funnel cake shape. If your batter doesn’t flow freely, use a piping bag with a large round nozzle instead.
Recipe Variations and Substitutions
Flour Alternatives: If you are allergic or want a substitution for the almond flour, two other options you have are walnut flour and sunflower seed flour. With that said, a flour you DO NOT want to use is coconut flour in its place. As mentioned above, to make this low carb simply start by using a low carb all purpose flour alternative such as Carbalose. But, if you want to make this funnel cake recipe gluten free, you could instead substitute the all purpose flour with a gluten free all purpose flour alternative.
Protein Powder: For the unflavored whey protein powder, you can use anything you want for this recipe. Just make sure that it has no added sugars and is low in carbs.
Keto Funnel Cake Recipes:
Keto Birthday Cake Bites
These Funnel Cake Bites are made with Protein Milkshake's Cupcake Batter protein mix! So I present to you Funnel Birthday Cake Bites!These are delicious!
KetoPots.com recipe
Ingredients:
- Almond flour
- Coconut flour
- Mozzarella
- Xanthan gum
- Butter
- Sweetener
- Salt
- Vanilla extract
- Water
- Whole eggs
- Frying oil (for depth of ½ inch in a small saucepan)
- Confectioners Swerve
Instructions:
- In a small bowl combine the almond flour, coconut flour, mozzarella and xanthan gum.
- In a pot add the butter, sweetener, salt, vanilla extract and water and melt over low heat.
- Add the almond flour mixture and cook, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon, for 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Add whole eggs, one at a time, mixing it with an electric mixer after each addition.
- Spoon the dough into a piping bag and cut out the tip.
- Pour the frying oil to depth of ½ inch in a small saucepan and heat it over medium-high heat.
- Pipe the batter into oil in a circular motion.
- Fry until golden brown, 2 minutes on each side.
Low-Carb Funnel Cakes Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 cup boiling water (240 ml/ 8 fl oz)
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter (85 g/ 3 oz)
- 1 tbsp blackstrap molasses (20 g/ 0.7 oz)
- 1 cup vanilla whey protein powder (100 g/ 3.5 oz) - see alternatives in the intro
- 1/3 cup coconut flour (40 g/ 1.4 oz)
- 4 large eggs
- 1 egg white
- 1 cup virgin coconut oil or ghee for frying (240 ml/ 8 fl oz)
- 2 tbsp powdered Swerve or Erythritol for dusting (20 g/ 0.7 oz)
Instructions:
- Prepare all the ingredients. For the dry ingredients it's always best if you use a kitchen scale to make sure you have the right amounts.
- Whisk the whey protein and coconut flour together.
- Place the butter, molasses and boiling water together in a pot on the stove and bring to the boil.
- Remove from heat and stir in the protein powder and coconut flour, stirring until a thick batter forms.
- Place in the bowl of a stand mixer and leave to cool (approx. 15-20 minutes).
- Once cool, add eggs in the following order; 2 whole eggs, egg white, 2 whole eggs, beating well in-between additions.
- Heat coconut oil to medium-high on the stovetop. Do a quick test of your batter through your funnel, as it can be a bit thick for some. If your batter doesn’t flow freely, use a piping bag with a large round nozzle instead.
- Place about 1/4 cup (60 ml/ 2 fl oz) of mixture into your funnel and pipe it in circles in the hot oil.
- Cook for only 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side until crispy and golden. (It is very easy to cook these too long, so keep an eye on them to prevent burning!)
- Drain on a paper towel and pipe the next one.
- Serve dusted with powdered Swerve or Erythritol.
Lightly Crisp Keto Funnel Cakes
Ingredients:
- Lupin flour (or fat-reduced almond flour)
- Almond flour
- Sweetener
- Baking powder
- Xanthan gum
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Heavy cream
- Water
- Mozzarella
- Oil for frying
- Powdered 'sugar' (Swerve or Erythritol)
Instructions:
- Mix lupin flour (or fat-reduced almond flour), almond flour, sweetener, baking powder and xanthan gum in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Whisk thoroughly together in a medium bowl the eggs and vanilla extract.
- Whisk in the dry ingredients followed by the heavy cream and water, a tablespoon at a time. You can play with the thickness a bit, but I found the best consistency to be with 6 TBSP of water (the batter is thicker, but will fluff up nicely in the oil).
- Mix in the mozzarella and allow the batter to rest while you heat up your oil.
- Prepare your frying station by adding enough oil to make it roughly 1-inch deep, and heat it up to 350°F/180°C.
- Transfer the batter to a piping bag (or ziplock!) and cut out the tip (1cm or 1/3" wide).
- Pipe into oil in a circular motion and fry until deep golden, flipping it over gently to get both sides.
- Serve right away with powdered 'sugar'!
Sugar Free Baked Funnel Cakes
This recipe calls for baking our funnel cakes rather than frying them in oil. Baking these cakes certainly can make them seem a bit less unhealthy and thus, a better choice for many of us to choose. I personally would love to make a funnel cake in an air fryer.
Read also: Magnesium Supplements for Keto
To make this low carb simply start by using a low carb all purpose flour alternative such as Carbalose. First off, make sure that the ingredients in your alternative are what they say they are and have not been combined with anything else such as regular flour. What I am saying is that we will dust this funnel cake with powdered sugar before we serve it. You can also buy your own sugar free powdered sugar online here.
Ingredients:
- Flour (AP)- 2 cups.
- Milk- 1 ½ cups.
- Sugar Free Powdered Sugar - at least ½ cup.
- Low carb all purpose flour alternative such as Carbalose.
- Gluten free all purpose flour alternative.
Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 375 and prep a baking sheet for nonstick.
- Whisk or sift together the flour (or alternative) baking powder, and salt in a medium sized mixing bowl. Set this bowl aside
- Next, in a mixing bowl, beat together your milk and eggs.
- For the next step we will add the dry ingredients from the first bowl to the mixing bowl from the last step. To do so first add half of the dry ingredients, lightly mix and then add the remaining dry ingredients. Then add the vanilla extract. Mix until blended.
- If the batter seems too thin to form the shapes that we will make in the next step add a small amount of the flour alternative at a time (teaspoon or so) until you reach a good consistency.
- Using a funnel, or simply a plastic bag with a corner cut off, push the batter through the hole as you move the funnel, or bag, around in a swirling manner. This may not look perfect but, we will cover it up later on with the sugar free powdered sugar.
- Bake this for 20-25 minutes or until it begins to brown.
- Dust with the sugar free powdered sugar and serve.
Serving and Enjoying Your Keto Funnel Cake
Serve your keto funnel cakes immediately after frying for the best texture. Dust generously with sugar-free powdered sugar. These treats are delicious on their own but can also be paired with keto-friendly toppings like berries, whipped cream (unsweetened or lightly sweetened with your preferred alternative), or a drizzle of sugar-free chocolate sauce.