Churros con Chocolate (Spanish Churros with Thick Hot Chocolate)
Local name: Churros con chocolate
In short: Crisp ridged churros fried from a simple flour and water dough, rolled in sugar and served with a cup of thick, dark hot chocolate for dipping. It takes about 55 min in total and makes 4 servings.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Total
- 55 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Calories
- 475 kcal
Churros are Spain's breakfast and late-afternoon treat, piped in long ridged strips, fried until crisp and dipped into chocolate so thick a spoon nearly stands in it. Spanish churros use a plain dough of flour, water and salt, with no eggs, which makes them crunchy rather than cakey. They are sold from street stalls and churrerías at dawn, after festivals and at the end of a night out.
Instructions
- Bring the water, 1 tbsp oil and salt to a rolling boil in a saucepan. Take it off the heat, tip in the flour all at once and beat with a wooden spoon for 1 minute until a smooth, stiff dough forms. Cool for 10 minutes.
- Spoon the dough into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle, about 10 mm (3/8 in) wide.
- Heat the frying oil to 180°C (350°F) in a deep pot. Pipe 12 to 15 cm (5 to 6 in) lengths straight into the oil, cutting each with scissors. Fry 3 or 4 at a time.
- Fry for 3 to 4 minutes, turning once, until deep golden and crisp. Drain on paper towels and roll in the cinnamon sugar while hot.
- For the chocolate, whisk the cornstarch into 3 tbsp of the cold milk. Heat the rest of the milk with the sugar and salt until steaming.
- Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and the chocolate. Stir over low heat for 3 to 5 minutes, until the chocolate is thick enough to coat the spoon. Serve the churros hot, with cups of chocolate for dipping.
Tips
- Pipe the dough while it is still warm and check the oil temperature. Oil that is too cool makes greasy churros, and oil that is too hot browns them before the inside cooks.
- Pipe a few churros as a test. If the dough is hard to squeeze, stir in 1 to 2 tbsp warm water. Strong star nozzles stop the bag from bursting.
Questions and answers
Why are my churros soggy?
The oil was probably too cool, or the pot was crowded. Keep it at 180°C (350°F), fry in small batches and eat the churros within 20 minutes of frying.
Can I make churros ahead of time?
Pipe the dough onto a tray and freeze, then fry from frozen at 170°C (340°F) for 5 minutes. Cooked churros can be crisped in a 200°C (400°F) oven for 5 minutes.
Can I bake churros instead of frying?
You can bake them at 220°C (425°F) for 15 to 20 minutes, but they come out drier and less crisp. For a closer match, brush them with oil first.
How long does it take to make Churros con Chocolate (Spanish Churros with Thick Hot Chocolate)?
About 55 min in total: 30 min of preparation and 25 min of cooking.
How many calories are in Churros con Chocolate (Spanish Churros with Thick Hot Chocolate)?
About 475 kcal per serving, with 9 g of protein, 62 g of carbohydrates and 21 g of fat. These values are estimates.
Nutrition per serving
| Calories | 475 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 9 g |
| Carbohydrates | 62 g |
| Fat | 21 g |
| Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 32 g |
| Sodium | 220 mg |
Estimated values, calculated from the ingredients.
