Churros and Chocolate
It had been raining all day in Barcelona, and it finally let up at nightfall. The streets were filled with people strolling and enjoying the evening after a late-night dinner when I spotted a line of people standing in front of a small stall where a woman was filling paper cones with hot fried churros. As she handed out the bundles of fried dough her daughter poured hot chocolate sauce into small cups for dipping the churros. I learned that churros and chocolate are not only a treat for ending the day, but they’re often enjoyed for breakfast. I sampled a few churros and chocolate while I was in Spain, and later in Mexico. Most often, they’re served directly out of the fryer, but I like to sprinkle them with sugar and cinnamon. The chocolate sauce should be rich and thick, using the best quality chocolate you can find. You can make the dough up to 2 days before frying, as long as you keep it tightly covered in the refrigerator. That way, you can fry them up for a midnight snack, breakfast, or both!
Ingredients
Serves 8
Churros:
1 cup milk
1/2 stick butter (4 tablespoons)
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup flour
4 eggs
Chocolate Sauce:
9 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
4 cups vegetable oil, for frying
1 cup sugar,
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Process
Churros:
In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, butter and salt and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and add the flour and stir with a large wooden spoon until flour is completely blended. Dough will be very stiff. Let cool for two minutes, and then add eggs one at a time, stirring each egg until completely combined before adding the next egg. Spoon the batter into a large pastry piping bag fitted with a 1-inch star tip. Set aside and make the chocolate sauce.
Chocolate Sauce:
Put 1-inch of water into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Place a metal bowl on top of the saucepan, making sure the bowl does not touch the water. Add the chocolate, heavy cream, butter, and corn syrup into the bowl. As the mixture melts, stir occasionally until well combined. Remove from the saucepan and set aside.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan to 375 degrees, using a candy thermometer. Pipe the dough directly into the hot oil in 6-inch ropes or curls. Use kitchen scissors to cut off dough from the tip. Fry 3 or 4 churros at a time, turning with tongs until they’re golden on all sides, about 90 seconds total. Remove churros with tongs to a paper-lined plate, and immediately roll them in the sugar-cinnamon mixture. Serve with warm chocolate sauce.
