Chef Elsa
Apfelradeln
Thick apple rings in a light, eggy batter, fried golden in butter and oil, then buried under cinnamon sugar while they're still hot enough to melt it on contact.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Strauben (Tyrolean Funnel Cake)
Created by
Tyrol's golden fried lattice spirals, poured through a funnel into hot fat and dusted with powdered sugar at the table. Market food, festival food, the kind of food that makes you stop walking and stand there eating.
Pastries & Cookies
Austrian
Special Occasion
Celebration
15 min
Active Time
20 min cook•35 min total
Yield4 servings (about 8 Strauben)
The first time I ate Strauben I was ten years old, standing at a market stall somewhere between Innsbruck and the Brenner Pass. Gretel had one hand on my shoulder and the other wrapped around a paper cone of her own. The woman working the stall poured batter through a metal funnel into a wide pan of shimmering fat, swirling her hand in fast circles until the batter formed a tangled golden nest. Thirty seconds later she lifted it out, shook it once, and buried it in powdered sugar. I can still hear the crackle when I bit into it.
Strauben is Tyrolean through and through. You won't find it in every Viennese Kaffeehaus, but travel west into the mountains and it's everywhere: at Bauernmärkte, at Almabtrieb festivals when the cattle come down from summer pastures, at Christmas markets where the smell of hot fat and powdered sugar pulls you across the square. The name comes from the old German strauben, meaning rough or bristly, which is exactly what the fried edges look like when you do it right.
The batter is almost absurdly simple. Flour, eggs, milk, a pinch of salt, a splash of Obstler or rum to keep the dough tender. You pour it through a funnel in loose spirals and let the hot fat do the rest. The thin strands puff and crisp while the thicker intersections stay just barely soft. You eat it dusted with powdered sugar and a spoonful of Preiselbeeren on the side, standing up, with your fingers. Strauben is not restaurant food. It's the food that makes a cold day in the Tyrolean Alps feel like a celebration.
Strauben has been documented in Tyrolean cooking since at least the 16th century, appearing in regional recipe collections as a festive fried pastry prepared for church holidays and harvest celebrations. The technique of pouring batter through a funnel into hot fat connects it to a broader family of European fried pastries, but the Tyrolean version is distinctive for its loose, irregular lattice shape and the use of fruit schnapps in the batter. Today it remains one of the most popular street foods at markets and festivals across Tyrol, South Tyrol, and parts of Salzburgerland, where every family and every stall has its own version of the batter.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
plain flour
Quantity
250g
eggs
Quantity
3 large
whole milk
Quantity
300ml
unsalted butter
Quantity
30g
melted and cooled
granulated sugar
Quantity
1 tablespoon
fine salt
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
Obstler (fruit schnapps) or rum
Quantity
2 tablespoons
lard or neutral frying oil
Quantity
about 1 liter
for deep-frying
powdered sugar
Quantity
for dusting
Preiselbeeren (lingonberry jam)
Quantity
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| plain flour | 250g |
| eggs | 3 large |
| whole milk | 300ml |
| unsalted buttermelted and cooled | 30g |
| granulated sugar | 1 tablespoon |
| fine salt | 1/4 teaspoon |
| Obstler (fruit schnapps) or rum | 2 tablespoons |
| lard or neutral frying oilfor deep-frying | about 1 liter |
| powdered sugar | for dusting |
| Preiselbeeren (lingonberry jam) | for serving |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide deep pan or pot for frying (at least 26cm diameter)
- •Kitchen thermometer
- •Metal funnel with a 10-12mm opening (or a squeeze bottle or small jug with spout)
- •Slotted spoon or spider strainer
- •Kitchen paper for draining
Instructions
- 1
Mix the batter
Whisk the eggs, sugar, and salt together in a large bowl until the sugar dissolves. Add the milk and melted butter, whisk again, then sift in the flour and stir until the batter is smooth and free of lumps. It should be thinner than pancake batter but thicker than crepe batter. Think heavy cream. Stir in the Obstler or rum. The alcohol keeps the fried strands tender and adds a faint warmth you can't get any other way.
If the batter feels too thick, add milk a tablespoon at a time. Too thin and your lattice strands will dissolve in the fat. Too thick and they won't flow through the funnel. You want a steady, thin stream when you pour. - 2
Rest the batter
Let the batter rest for fifteen minutes at room temperature. This gives the flour time to hydrate fully, which means a smoother flow through the funnel and a more even fry. Don't skip this. A rested batter behaves. An impatient one sputters.
- 3
Heat the fat
Pour lard or oil into a wide, deep pan or pot to a depth of at least four centimeters. You need enough fat that the Strauben can float freely. Heat it to 170 to 175 degrees Celsius. Use a thermometer. If you don't have one, drop a tiny bit of batter into the fat. It should sink briefly, then rise immediately and sizzle steadily. If it browns instantly your fat is too hot and your Strauben will be dark outside and raw inside.
Lard is the traditional Tyrolean frying fat and gives the best flavor and crispness. If you use oil, choose something neutral like sunflower or rapeseed. Save the olive oil for another day. - 4
Pour the Strauben
Hold your funnel over the hot fat with one finger covering the bottom opening. Pour in enough batter to fill it about halfway. Release your finger and move the funnel in quick, loose circles over the fat, letting the batter stream out in thin, overlapping spirals. You're making a rough nest, not a perfect circle. The shape should be wild and uneven, about fifteen to eighteen centimeters across. Some strands thick, some thin, crossing over each other. That's what gives you the contrast between crisp edges and softer spots. If you don't have a funnel, a small jug with a spout or a squeeze bottle works. The Tyrolean market women use everything from antique copper funnels to cut-off plastic bottles. It's the motion that matters, not the equipment.
Practice the swirling motion over a plate first before you go near the hot fat. Once you commit, you have about five seconds before the batter starts setting. Confidence matters more than precision. - 5
Fry until golden
Let the Strauben fry undisturbed for about forty-five seconds to one minute until the underside turns deep gold. The thin outer strands will crisp first. Flip it carefully using two forks or a slotted spoon and fry the other side for another thirty to forty-five seconds. The finished Strauben should be golden brown all over with a dry, crisp surface and lacy edges that shatter when you touch them. Lift it out with a slotted spoon and drain briefly on kitchen paper.
- 6
Dust and serve immediately
Transfer the Strauben to a plate or a paper cone if you want the full market experience. Dust it heavily with powdered sugar while it's still hot. The sugar melts slightly where it touches the warm surface and stays white and powdery on the cooler edges. Serve with a generous spoonful of Preiselbeeren on the side. The tart lingonberries cut right through the richness of the fried dough and the sweetness of the sugar. Eat it with your fingers. Pick it apart strand by strand. That is how it's done in Tyrol, and I've never seen a reason to improve on it. Mahlzeit!
Chef Tips
- •The fat temperature is everything. Too hot and the strands brown before they cook through. Too cool and the batter absorbs fat and turns greasy and heavy. Keep your thermometer in the pot and adjust the heat between batches. Frying is attention, not effort.
- •Don't crowd the pan. One Strauben at a time. Each one needs room to spread into its lattice shape, and adding too much cold batter drops the fat temperature. Patience here is rewarded with crispness.
- •Gretel always said the Obstler in the batter wasn't just for flavor. The alcohol evaporates faster than water during frying, which creates extra crispness in the finished pastry. It's chemistry dressed up as tradition.
- •Preiselbeeren, lingonberry jam, is the proper accompaniment. If you can't find it, good-quality cranberry compote is the closest substitute. Don't use strawberry or raspberry jam. The flavour needs to be tart, not sweet, to balance the fried dough.
Advance Preparation
- •The batter can be made up to two hours ahead and stored in the fridge. Whisk it briefly before using, as the flour tends to settle. Let it come to room temperature before frying for the best flow through the funnel.
- •Strauben cannot be made ahead. They must be fried, dusted, and eaten within minutes. This is not a make-ahead food. It's a stand-at-the-stove-and-eat-as-you-go food.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 220g)
Calories
630 calories
Total Fat
33 g
Saturated Fat
9 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
24 g
Cholesterol
165 mg
Sodium
235 mg
Total Carbohydrates
68 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
19 g
Protein
14 g
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