Photo: Natalie Levin
Ever since I visited Barcelona for the first time – I got addicted to churros. These are the traditional Spanish dounts that are also popular in South America, that are served with Dulce de Leche or chocolate sauce. When I started making them at home, I realized why I love them so much – it’s a deep-fried éclair!
Churros are definitely my top favorite kind of donut in Hanukkah, but also for all year round. They are golden, coated with crunchy sugar and cinnamon mixture, and are simply addictive.
I like to serve them with a bit spicy chocolate sauce that is super-easy to make, and adds a little ting in every bite. But if you don’t like spicy food you can definitely omit the chili and get a cinnamon scented chocolate sauce that is simply perfect for dipping anything, in fact.
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Photo: Natalie Levin
Churros with Chocolate Sauce
For the dough:
- 250 ml. (1 cup) milk
- Pinch of salt
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- 60 grams (6 tbsp.) sugar
- 100 grams (1/2 cup) butter, cut into cubes
- 140 grams (1 cup) all-purpose flour
- 3-4 beaten eggs
For chocolate sauce:
- 125 ml. (1/2 cup) whipping cream
- 100 grams dark chocolate (chopped)
- Pinch of ground chili powder
- ¼ tsp. cinnamon
For frying:
- 1 ½ liters of vegetable oil
- 3-4 tbsp. sugar
- 1 tbsp. cinnamon
Dough:
- In a small pot place milk, salt, vanilla extract, sugar and butter and heat to a strong boil. Make sure that all the butter is fully melted.
- Once the mixture is boiling, remove from the heat and add the flour at once.
- Using a wooden spoon, mix the mixture until smooth and uniform dough is formed, separating from the sides of the pot.
- Return to the heat and continue to cook for about 1-2 minutes while mixing.
- Transfer the dough to a mixer bowl with a paddle attachment and whip for 2-3 minutes until it cools slightly.
- Add half of the beaten eggs mixture and continue to whisk at medium speed. The dough will look as if it is falling apart, but it quickly returns to its optimal state.
- Continue to add the eggs gradually until the mixture is flexible and ready. Check whether the dough is ready to pipe by creating a long “line” in it – if it closes in about 1-2 seconds – it’s ready. If it sticks – you need to add a bit more eggs.
- When the dough is ready, transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 2 cm serrated piping tip.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a wide pot until it reaches a temperature of 170-180 Celsius degrees.
- Drip strips of dough gently into the boiling oil. It is important not to overload the frying pan so that the oil temperature does not drop. 4-5 churros at a time is just fine.
- After turning golden-brown on both sides take the churros out of the pan and place on a paper bag to absorb excess oil.
- Mix sugar with a little cinnamon, and roll the warm churros in the sugar mixture.
Chocolate sauce:
- In a small pot, put cream, chili and cinnamon and heat to the boil.
- Pour the boiling cream mixture on the chocolate, wait about a minute, and whisk well until a uniform, shiny sauce is created.
- Serve the hot churros with chocolate sauce.
- The churros are at their best on the day of preparation, and as close to frying as possible.
- You can also serve them with Dulce de Leche.
Photo: Natalie Levin