The first time I ate Churros was at Disneyland many years ago. They were huge foot-long wands of fried dough served Mexican style- dusted with sugar and cinnamon. After eating one of these, you definitely wouldn’t want to take a ride on either the spinning Tea Cups or the treacherous Space Mountain ride!
Then when I was in Madrid last year, I had the pleasure of eating churros Spanish style-with blonde wands of fried dough dipped in a thick chocolate sauce. “Where’s the dusting of sugar and cinnamon?” I asked my Spanish friend. “Not necessary, when you’ve got the dipping chocolate!” she answered.
One of the most famous places in Madrid to experience Spanish churros is the Chocolatería de San Ginés tucked away in a back alley near the Puerta del Sol. This establishment has been going since 1894 and is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year! Madrileños come here not only for dessert but for breakfast as well, often feasting on churros at 6:00 am after a long night of partying!
Chocolatería San Ginés
Here is a photo of my churros con chocolate at San Gines; the dough is fried very lightly and I felt I could have eaten a dozen of them at one time (and only regretting it later)!
Arriving home from Spain, I decided to make my own churros. My first two batches tasted good but lacked the crisp fluted edges typical of churros.
What went wrong? The recipe called for using butter, eggs and flour (like choux pastry). If you want crisp fluted edges, my advice is to leave out the butter and eggs and only use only flour, water, salt and a little sugar. Most traditional Spanish recipes follow this rule.
Place the dough in a piping bag with a star-tipped nozzle, before frying in hot oil:
Make sure the oil is hot before piping in the dough, but careful not to burn the churros. The chocolate sauce should be thick and creamy, ready for dunking. Serve immediately (I bet you can’t eat just one)!
Combine the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl and set aside. In a medium-size saucepan, bring the water and oil to a boil; remove from heat and pour the flour mixture into the water in one go. Mix with a large wooden spoon until the sides of the dough fall away from the sides of the pan. Let cool for several minutes, then place the dough in a piping bag with a star-shaped nozzle. To fry the churros, fill a sauce pan or wok with enough vegetable oil to reach about 1 1/2 inches up the sides of the pan. Heat the oil until it reaches about 350 F. (180 C. ) or until a small cube of day-old bread turns golden brown when placed in the oil. Pipe the dough into the hot oil, with each churro measuring about 6-8 inches each. Gently swirl the oil around the churro as it cooks. If the churro is browning too quickly, remove the pan momentarily from the burner. Cook for several minutes until the churro is golden in color. Let drain onto kitchen paper. Dust each churro with a little sugar. For the Chocolate Sauce: Combine the milk and cinnamon stick in a medium sauce pan; bring to a soft boil for several minutes to infuse the flavors. Lower the heat and add the semi-sweet chocolate; stir until the chocolate melts. Add the sugar and stir. Combine the corn starch (or corn flour) with 1/4 cup cold water in a separate container then add this mixture to the chocolate mixture. Stir until the chocolate sauce thickens. If the sauce is too runny, add more corn starch, if required. Serve the churros with a cup of the chocolate sauce for dipping. Try using 'self-rising' or enriched flour to get a slightly more puffy churro.Churros with Chocolate Cinnamon Dipping Sauce
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8 Comments
John / Kitchen Riffs
February 17, 2018 at 3:57 amI’m a sucker for anything fried, and fried dough is at the top of the list! Churros are good. Never had them Spanish style, with the chocolate. Need to try that! Good tip, too, on how to get those crisp edges. Thanks!
Fran Flint
February 18, 2018 at 2:57 amThanks John for your comment. Took me several tries to get the crisp edges right!
Mimi
February 18, 2018 at 9:21 amOh those photos are beautiful! I’ll never make churros, but I can just stare at your photos and drool!
Fran Flint
February 18, 2018 at 10:37 amThanks Mimi- I’ll think of you when I eat my next batch of churros!
Karly
February 19, 2018 at 3:03 amLove churros! I too had my first churro at Disney!
David
February 19, 2018 at 5:48 amI had my first churros in a small village south of Ensenada (south of Tijuana) – I was in love! But I never thought of making them at home! And your dipping sauce sounds drinkable!!
Jean | DelightfulRepast.com
February 22, 2018 at 2:03 amFran, I still haven’t gotten around to making churros, but when I do I’m definitely going to use your hints for getting those crisp edges – gotta have the crisp edges!
Raymund
February 28, 2018 at 5:46 amVery addictive, I will go non stop on this when you serve me some