Patent Application
20140099415
This invention relates to foods such as funnel cake, and to apparatus and methods for making funnel cakes for human consumption.
Funnel cakes constitute a popular, cake-like food for consumption made from a batter which has a low or non-existent yeast component, i.e. is unleavened. Typically, funnel cakes are cooked and served with sugar, icing or other toppings as confections in concession operations such as fairs, bazaars, carnivals, circuses, sporting events and the like, although funnel cakes can be prepared in homes, restaurants or other places for consumption. Typically, batter is applied to a hot oil in a receptacle where the batter is cooked to produce an edible, cake-like food.
It is now desirable to prepare funnel cakes in an elongated format, making them easier to handle and eat, particularly as served in a concession. Moreover, it is desirable to prepare an elongated funnel cake on a stick for easy handling and eating, made much like the well known “corndog”, for example.
To provide such a product, one recent process involves a pre-baked, elongated funnel cake on a stick, typically frozen, and which is removed from packaging, then finally cooked in hot oil.
It is now desirable to provide apparatus and methods for preparing and cooking elongated funnel cakes on a stick from the uncooked, cake batter state.
To this end, a platform and a funnel cake mold is provided for placement in a fryer, for example, containing hot oil. Sticks are removeably secured in each cake mold cavity. Funnel cake batter is poured into each mold cavity around the sticks immersed in cooking oil. The batter is initially cooked or fried and “set” about the stick in each mold. After a bit of frying, the sticks are removed from the mold, with the sticks with the partially-cooked funnel cake thereon remaining in the fryer where they float freely. The hot oil finally cooks the funnel cakes in an elongated shape on the sticks. These are removed in the form of a cooked, elongated, funnel cake finger on a stick for toppings, serving and consumption.
A mold according to the invention comprises a multiple cavity mold, each cavity in the general form of a funnel cake shape as finally desired. Each mold cavity has, at each end, a stick receiving slot with a spring detent or other suitable mechanism for removeably holding a near end of a stick, and in a position where the stick extends through the cavity and out the other end, Thus, the stick has two ends, each freely extending from the cavity and outwardly from the cavity. The stick in each cavity is releasably received in a stick-support structure in or adjacent the cavity ends.
In use, the mold is first pressed down onto an array of sticks in a loading frame. The mold, with the sticks releasably secured in each cavity, is placed in a hot oil fryer and onto a platform therein. Batter is poured into each cavity and is partially cooked where, then, the sticks with the partially cooked batter are pushed from the mold and left in the hot oil while the mold is removed. The partially cooked batter forming a unitary, stick-mounted funnel cake finger on a stick and from each mold cavity is finally cooked in the hot oil.
To removeably support the noted stick in the cavity, each cavity mold end preferably comprises a slot and a yieldable spring or detent tab disposed proximate the slot. Insertion of the stick fully into the slot as the mold is pressed down onto the array of aligned sticks in the loading frame moves the detent tab first away, then back toward the stick with the detent and slot at each end operable to releasably capture the stick and hold it in place within a space for the initial batter poured into the cavity, while initial cooking is performed. The entire multiple cavity mold is then lifted from the fryer loading platform and placed in the fryer with batter being poured into each cavity around the stick therein. The sticks with partially-cooked batter thereon are then pushed out of the respective slots and mold cavity, against the spring bias, and remain in the oil for final cooking. The mold is removed and can be pushed onto the loading frame for new sticks and a fresh batch of cakes.
In this manner, batter can be made at the preparation site so it is fresh. Pre-baking is not required. Moreover, there are no frozen, partially cooked components requiring special storage or handling, and the batter can be used both for the on-stick funnel cakes and funnel cakes in other forms, simplifying the concessionaire's processes. The molds can be of single or multiple cavity structure and reused as soon as the sticks are removed. Moreover, the molds can be used in any fryer of a size sufficient to accommodate the mold size. Non-stick coatings can be applied to the molds for product quality and easy cleanup.
These and other advantages and modifications will become readily apparent from the following detailed written description and from the drawings in which:
Turning now to the drawings, a finished, fully-cooked funnel cake 10 on a stick 11 is shown in
The mold 20 of the invention is shown in
Preferably, mold 20 is pressed onto a stick loading frame 30, then placed upon a platform 29 having a flat surface for supporting mold 20 at a desired height within a fryer 40.
In
Loading frame 30 has two end flanges, 33, 34 extending upwardly from bottom 31. Flanges 33, 34 have upper edges in which are found cradles or notches 32 for holding aligned sticks 11 therein at each end of frame 30 at position laterally outside the ends 21-23 and 21a-23a of mold cavities 14-16. The notches 32 are aligned with the slots 25 respectively in the ends of the mold cavities 14-16, so that a stick is positioned for receipt in a respective slot 25 when the mold 20 is pressed down onto the frame 30.
The fingers yield upon manual pressure by the mold pressing downwardly to receive the sticks and by downward pressure on the stick ends to release sticks 11 with partially-cooked funnel cakes thereon.
Mold 20 is shown in
Mold 20 is disposed on a platform 29 in fryer 40 for batter loading and initial partial cooking. Fryer 40 is operably associated with any suitable form of controlled heater 50, preferably including a means such as a knob 51 and suitable control (not shown) for setting and maintaining a desired oil temperature in fryer 40. For clarity, no oil is shown in
For description,
It will be appreciated that when in fryer 40 for cooking, the mold 20 is disposed on platform 29 therein so the mold is covered by cooking oil therein.
In use, a mold 20 is pushed down onto frame 30 such that sticks 11 in the recesses or notches 32 are releasably located in mold slots 25. A slot 25 at each end 21-23 and 21a-23a of each cavity receives a stick 11, corresponding notches 32 at each end of the frame 30 corresponding to one mold cavity 14-16 to hold a stick for placement therein. Downward motion of the mold 20 causes the tabs 26 to engage and yieldably receive a stick 11 in the associated slot 25, the downward motion onto the frame 30 positioning the mold 20 such that respective sticks 11 are releasably captured in slots 25 at the ends of the mold cavities 14-16.
The mold with sticks 11 in place is then lifted away from the now empty frame 30 and placed on the platform 29 in the fryer with the cavities 14-16 under the surface of the cooking oil. Batter is poured into the cavities 14-16 and partially cooked in the hot oil in fryer 40.
Thereafter, the sticks 11 with partially cooked batter are removed from the slots 25, such as with tongs or other implements. The sticks 11 with partially cooked batter remain in the hot oil of the fryer to finish cooking.
New sticks 11 can then be placed in the notches 32 of frame 30 and the process repeated. To that end, the frame 30 is reloaded with new sticks. Mold 20 can then be lowered onto platform 29 after the prior finally-cooked funnel cakes are removed or reoriented in the fryer.
Accordingly, no frozen components are used as would present storage or handling problems. Funnel cakes are prepared from fresh batter and on a stick for easy topping application and consumption. Batter can be used both for the disclosed funnel cakes on a stick and for funnel cakes in other forms.
Moreover, it will be appreciated that any suitable yieldable mechanism for yieldably received and releasably holding the sticks in the mold cavities can be used. For example, ball and detent, magnetic or other devices could be used.
These and other modifications and variations of the invention will be readily appreciated by the foregoing to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the invention and applicant intends to be bound only by the claims appended hereto.
