PANCAKES POSTPONED

I was cruelly cheated out of pancake day. Struck down in my prime by food poisoning (new London restaurant 'Burger and Lobster' to blame - a delicious meal going down the gullet, grim coming back up) and I have been unabashedly miserable about it.

I love pancake day! It's one of my favourites not least because of its blatant endorsement of gluttony and sloth. I remember the thrill of retrieving the sugar shaker from its shelf (when else does this happen?!) when I was little and my grandmother would fry us endless batches. So you can imagine my emotional state when they were simply not an option on Tuesday. I was sloth for all the wrong reasons. To make up for this devastation I have rescheduled my pancake day for next Wedensday - the traditional savoury pancake bake will be made and lemon and sugar shaker will finally be reunited none-the-wiser.

In the mean time I wanted to go a bit wild, still along the pancake batter route but something to stretch my food vocabulary - The Funnel Cake. These are north American deep-fried fairground treats dowsed in icing sugar and my God they are disgustingly good.

Funnel Cakes..next time I'd add some creme fraiche, fatten it up a bit!

Funnel Cake Recipe

Ingredients
200 ml milk
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
140 g plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted melted and cooled butter
Icing sugar, for topping
300ml oil for deep frying

How to do it...
In a deep saucepan heat about 300 ml of oil over a medium heat until a cube of bread will fry to be cooked and crisp in about 10 seconds. If it rises to the top cooked and crisp before then, then the oil is too hot, if it takes longer the oil is not hot enough.

While it is heating combine all the wet ingredients - milk, egg, vanilla and butter in one bowl, and all the dry ingredients - flour, salt, baking soda and sugar in another. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, whisking to incorporate as you go.

When everything is combined put the mixture into a piping bag and pipe in a circular motion over the hot oil. Cook for about a minute on each side and then remove it and place the funnel cake straight onto kitchen paper to absorb the excess grease. Dust indulgently with icing sugar and you can add fruits, melted chocolate, sauces or creams. Just go mad for it!