Funnel Cake King

A blanket of powdered sugar falls over the golden latticework of deep fried dough. A dollop of strawberries followed by a splash of chocolate syrup tops off what many carnival and boardwalk goers consider the ultimate sweet treat. The Pennsylvania Dutch refer to it as “drechter kuche.” Those living along the East Coast, however, know it as the funnel cake.

“It’s reputed to be a Pennsylvania German midmorning snack that the farmers’ wives made for them,” says Frank Wilmer, the stout, white-haired, self-proclaimed Funnel Cake King and owner of Apple Frankie Funnel Cakes in Schwenksville, Penn. “For me,” Wilmer pauses, his blue eyes twinkling mischievously, “Well, it’s my bliss.”

Wilmer began selling funnel cakes in 1976, after his wife Jane, a member of the Goshenhoppen Historical Society, made the fried, waffle-like snack at the historical society’s benefit picnic. At the time Wilmer, who possesses a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Temple University, was working as a salesman and searching for a new career. Impressed by the popularity of funnel cakes and their low production cost, Wilmer invested $100 in equipment and ingredients, quit his dreaded sales job and embarked on a new life as a carnival food vendor or, as those employed in the field call themselves, a “carnie.” He has never looked back.

Over the years Wilmer has sold Apple Frankie’s Funnel Cakes on the boardwalks of Cape May, Ocean City and Wildwood, New Jersey and at outdoor events up and down the East Coast, including New Jersey’s Reddington Balloon Festival. He also has made the sugar-dusted treat in far-flung locations, such as at a Greenpeace concert in New Zealand and in thatch-roofed huts in Belize.

When winter approaches, Wilmer does not sit back, relax and wait for work to commence again in the spring. Instead he and his wife Jane journey south with a truck full of equipment and a work schedule filled with festivals and fairs. Wilmer does not embrace idle time, especially when there are funnel cakes to be sold.

Not once in Wilmer’s long, prosperous career has his enthusiasm for his product waned. “I like to think of funnel cakes as a wholesome food, far better than a hot dog or other standard carnie faire,” he says.

To create a funnel cake, Wilmer whips together a batter of fresh eggs, milk, flour, brown sugar, vanilla and baking powder, which he then drizzles in a circular pattern inside a deep fryer. At this stage the batter appears pasty and sloppy, to Wilmer like “a donut that’s had a rough life.”

Forty seconds later, with each side fried golden brown, it looks like “perfection.” Using tongs, Wilmer places the cake on a plate, sprinkles it with powder sugar, suggests an additional, complimentary topping of strawberries, apples or chocolate syrup and then serves it to an eager customer. The cost for this wholesome goodness? Five dollars.

In spite of his ardor for this delectable, crowd-pleasing food, Wilmer has contemplated giving up the life of a traveling food vendor. In the spring of 2003 he declared on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered” that, having reached the age of 60, he intended on hanging up his apron, handing the business over to his son Cody and retiring to the Florida Keys. Yet, two years after this announcement, Wilmer remains at the core of Apple Frankie’s, working such 2005 summer events as the Toms River Festival in Toms River, New Jersey and the Virginia Wine Festival near Winchester, Virginia.

As for why, at 62, the Funnel Cake King shows no interest in abdicating the throne, his 27-year-old son believes that it is the love of being out on the road, of creating and selling a product that he adores. “Besides, Apple Frankie’s without Frank would be like Martha Stewart Living without Martha. You just can’t separate the brand from the person. Without Frank there is no Apple Frankie’s,” Cody concludes

The elder Wilmer offers a slightly different explanation. After almost 30 years of running his own business and being in the public’s eye he believes that he would be lost without Apple Frankie’s Funnel Cakes. For him there is nothing that holds his interest as greatly.

“Like I said, we all have to find our bliss. Funnel cakes just happen to be mine.” He then adds with a smile, “If everyone could be so lucky.”