Making Shizuoka Green Tea Funnel Cakes

We are now in the midst of summer and I cannot seem to keep childhood memories of American festivals out of my head. Along with the memories, I have developed a huge craving for funnel cakes. Of course, they are not sold in Japan, so I was left with no choice… I had to make them!  

My boyfriend was a fan! He loved the crunchy outside and chewy inside!

However, I did not choose to make just any funnel cakes… I wanted to go all out! I made matcha funnel cakes! It was highly experimental. I have never heard of them before, but I was able to find matcha pancake mix at the supermarket and took the challenge.

I am so happy I was able to find this gem! It was only 599 yen! 

First, I mixed the batter according to the instructions on the package. It only required water! I love simple recipes!

Even though the mix is technically for pancakes, the consistency needed is about the same. After that, I poured the batter into a zip lock bag. Technically, funnel cakes are made using a funnel, hence the name, but I made due!

I snipped off a corner of the bag and I poured it, while layering it, into my fry pan filled with oil. (I don’t know the exact temperature, but you can tell it is ready by testing some batter. If the oil is popping out and burning you, it is too hot! I unfortunately learned that lesson while making them...Haha...) I cooked them for about one minute on each side.

I used olive oil because that was all I had, but I think regular canola oil would be best! I have to admit, it looks a bit strange in the pan!

After I took them out of the oil, I laid them on some paper towels in order to soak up the oil. After that, I topped them off with some powdered sugar!

Overall, I was pretty pleased with the result, however, I recommend adding some matcha powder to the powdered sugar to make sure the flavor really comes through. The oil did soak up a bit of the flavor. Adding some vanilla ice cream would taste pretty good too!

Nothing reminds me of my childhood more than funnel cakes! Did you eat funnel cakes when you were a child?  

Give this recipe a try! Happy cooking!

This post is supported by Shizuoka Green Tea Guide, one of City-Cost's Supporters helping City-Cost bloggers to enjoy life in Japan and engage in new experiences.