Churros con Chocolate

Churros con Chocolate

Crisp, ridged lengths of fried choux dough served with a thick, dark drinking chocolate for dipping — Spain's classic breakfast and late-night treat.

Prep

20 min

Cook

25 min

Total

45 min

Serves

4 (makes about 16 churros)

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •250 ml (1 cup) water
• •50 g (¼ cup) unsalted butter
• •5 g (1 tsp) fine salt
• •10 g (2 tsp) granulated sugar, for the dough
• •170 g (1¼ cups) all-purpose flour, weighed after sifting; Spanish churrerías use a plain wheat flour similar to Tipo 00 pastry flour
• •2 whole large eggs, lightly beaten
• •1 l (4 cups) neutral frying oil, sunflower or mild olive oil; Spanish churrerías often use a mild olive oil — home deep-fryers should stick to a neutral oil with a high smoke point for safety and clean flavour
• •60 g (¼ cup) granulated sugar, for tossing the fried churros
• •1 tsp ground cinnamon, optional, mixed with the tossing sugar
• •200 g (7 oz) dark chocolate (70% cacao), finely chopped; Spanish chocolate para beber is closer to 60–65% with added starch — a good 70% bar is the closest widely available substitute
• •500 ml (2 cups) whole milk
• •20 g (1½ tbsp) cornstarch (maicena), traditional Spanish drinking chocolate is thickened with maize starch rather than left as a thin drink; substitute with all-purpose flour if needed
• •30 g (2 tbsp) granulated sugar, for the chocolate; adjust to taste

Steps

1. 1 Make the chocolate first: whisk the cornstarch and 50 ml (3 tbsp) of the cold milk together in a small bowl until smooth. Heat the remaining milk with the sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until just steaming and the sugar dissolves — do not let it boil.
2. 2 Add the cornstarch slurry and whisk constantly as the milk comes to a gentle simmer; cook 1–2 minutes until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat, add the chopped chocolate, and stir until completely smooth. Keep warm over very low heat or in a bain-marie; the sauce should coat a churro thickly when dipped — loosen with a splash of hot milk if it tightens too much.
3. 3 Make the churro dough (choux paste): combine the water, butter, salt and 10 g sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a full rolling boil so the butter is completely melted.
4. 4 Add all the flour at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon over the heat for 2–3 minutes, until the mixture forms a smooth ball that pulls away from the sides of the pan and a thin film forms on the bottom of the pan. This dries the dough so it will hold its shape when fried — do not shortcut this step.
5. 5 Transfer the dough to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (or keep in the pan off the heat) and beat for 1 minute to release some steam. With the mixer running, add the beaten eggs a little at a time, beating fully between additions. The dough is ready when it is glossy, smooth, and slowly falls from a spoon in a thick ribbon — it should not be runny. If it is too stiff, beat in another lightly beaten egg yolk; if too loose, the dough was undercooked in step 4.
6. 6 Load the warm dough into a sturdy piping bag fitted with a large open-star tip (about 1–1.5 cm / ½ in). Twist the top closed to push the dough down.
7. 7 Heat the oil in a deep, heavy saucepan to 175 °C / 350 °F — use a thermometer; this is the safe frying temperature for a wet choux dough. If the oil is cooler the churros will soak up oil and be greasy; hotter and they will brown before cooking through.
8. 8 Pipe strips about 12–15 cm (5–6 in) long directly into the oil, cutting the dough with clean kitchen scissors as you finish each strip. Fry 3–4 churros at a time so the oil temperature stays steady — they should sizzle gently on entering the oil. Turn occasionally with a slotted spoon.
9. 9 Fry for 3–5 minutes total, until deep golden brown all over and crisp on the ridges. Internal doneness: the dough should be cooked through and no longer raw/elastic at the centre — break one open to check if unsure; it should look like fully cooked choux with no wet core.
10. 10 Lift out with a slotted spoon, drain briefly on paper towels for 10 seconds, then toss immediately in the sugar (mixed with the cinnamon if using) while still hot so it sticks. Repeat with the remaining dough, letting the oil return to 175 °C / 350 °F between batches.
11. 11 Serve at once on plain plates with the warm chocolate in small cups or bowls alongside for dipping — push each churro into the sauce rather than pouring. Eat hot; churros do not keep their crispness for long and are not designed to be reheated.