Churros con Chocolate
Spanish Fried Dough with Thick Chocolate
A Spanish churro is nothing but flour, water and salt, beaten into a stiff paste, piped through a star nozzle and fried until the ridges are crisp. The chocolate that goes with it is thick enough to coat the dough, and is meant for dipping, not drinking.
Churros with chocolate are a Madrid breakfast and also the classic merienda, the late afternoon snack.
The Spanish recipe read uses equal volumes of water and flour, stirs the flour into boiling salted water until the paste leaves the sides of the pan, pipes it and fries it, then rolls the churros in sugar. It warns that air trapped in the dough makes the oil spit.
Ingredients
For the churros
- 250 ml water
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 250 ml plain flour, measured in the same jug and levelled (about 150 g)
- 1 litre sunflower oil, for deep-frying
- Caster sugar, for dusting
For the chocolate
- 100 g dark chocolate (about 70% cocoa), chopped
- 150 ml double cream
Method
- Make the dough Bring the water and salt to a rolling boil in a saucepan. Take it off the heat, tip in all the flour at once and beat hard with a wooden spoon for about 1 minute, until you have a smooth, stiff paste that comes away from the sides of the pan. Leave for 5 minutes to cool slightly.
- Fill the bag Spoon the warm dough into a strong piping bag fitted with a large open star nozzle, pressing it down firmly so that no air pockets remain. The ridges from the star nozzle matter: they let steam escape as the dough fries.
- Heat the oil Pour the oil into a deep, heavy saucepan; it should come no more than a third of the way up. Heat to 180°C.
- Fry Pipe lengths of about 12 cm directly into the oil, snipping each one off with scissors, four or five at a time. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes, turning once, until deep golden and crisp. Lift onto kitchen paper and dust with sugar. Let the oil return to 180°C between batches.
- Make the chocolate Heat the cream in a small pan until it just steams. Take off the heat, add the chocolate, leave for 1 minute and stir until smooth and glossy. Serve warm in small bowls with the hot churros.
Food safety
Deep-frying: never fill the pan more than a third full, never leave hot oil unattended and keep a lid to hand. Churro dough can burst in hot oil if it contains trapped air or is piped as a smooth cylinder. Always use an open star nozzle, pack the bag tightly and stand back as you pipe.
The dough is stiff and needs a strong bag. Thin disposable bags split.
Eat them within minutes. Churros do not keep.