cha-cha-cha-churros!

Happy Cinco de Mayo! I thought I'd celebrate the day with some churros... but these are wonderful any day of the year. There's something really amazing about these. I can't decide if it's the soft, pillowy center of the churro, the crunchy sweet texture of the cinnamon sugar or if each bite drenched in dark chocolate sends me over the moon. It's probably all of the above.

I'll admit, deep frying is not in my comfort zone but these are easy to make and fry up quickly. These would be great to make for your family, or during a party, because you can create an assembly line of helpers. Have someone rolling the hot churros in cinnamon sugar, another person putting the chocolate in small bowls and then everyone gets to enjoy the process of making and eating fresh, hot churros. 

Cinnamon sugar churros with chili chocolate sauce

Recipes barely adapted for churros and chocolate sauce

Makes 15-20 churros

Recipe Notes:

- Special equipment needed: deep fat thermometer and a pastry bag fitted with ½-inch star tip.

- If you’ve ever made homemade cream puffs this dough is very similar to that (basically it’s a pâte à choux).

- The first batch out of the fryer I thought the churros were undercooked in the middle. Upon closer inspection, I realized they were cooked, there’s just an egg-y, soft texture to them. Just fry them until they are a dark brown (but not burned) and they’ll still be soft and fully cooked in the center.

- These really are best served fresh because like most fried food, they don’t have much of a shelf life and they loose their texture.

- The chocolate sauce is a ganache and can be kept in the fridge. Any leftovers can be reheated and used as a chocolate sauce over ice cream. Yum!

Ingredients:

For the cinnamon sugar

1 Cup sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

For the Mexican chocolate sauce

½ Cup heavy cream

½ tsp. chili powder

4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

½ tsp. vanilla

For the churros

2 Tbs. unsalted butter

2 Tbs. sugar

1 ½ tsp. kosher salt

1 ¼ Cup water

1 Cup plus 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour, sifted

2 Large eggs

1 to 2 quarts vegetable oil, for frying

Directions:

For the cinnamon sugar

1. Mix the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl until blended and set aside. The cinnamon sugar mixture can be made ahead of time and stored, in an airtight container at room temperature, up to one month.

For the Mexican chocolate sauce

2. In a microwaveable bowl, place the heavy cream, chili powder and chocolate and put in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time, until the chocolate is smooth and completely melted. Stir in vanilla and set aside. If the chocolate hardens just re-heat in the microwave at 15-second intervals.

For the churros

3. In a medium pot over moderate heat, whisk together the butter, sugar, salt and water to a simmer. Once the butter is melted, remove the pot from the heat and add the sifted flour, stirring vigorously to fully incorporate. Return the pot to moderate heat and cook the mixture, stirring constantly, until the dough is smooth and sticky, about 1 minute. Turn off the heat and remove the pot from the burner; cover with a lid or plastic wrap and let it rest for 15 minutes.

4. Following the 15-minute resting period, add the eggs, 1 at a time, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon until completely incorporated after each addition. Spoon the dough into a pastry bag fitted with a ½-inch star tip.

Frying the churros

5. Line a large baking sheet, or plate, with several layers of paper towels and place the cinnamon sugar nearby, in a shallow bowl or plate.

6. In a heavy large pot, heat 3 inches of oil until a deep-fat thermometer registers 375º F. Working in batches (about 3-5 churros per batch) hold the pastry bag just above the surface of the hot oil and carefully pipe 4-inch ribbons of dough directly into the oil, using a paring knife to cut the batter at the end of the star tip, if necessary. Fry the churros, turning occasionally, until a dark golden brown and cooked in the center, about 2 minutes per batch. 

7. Transfer the cooked churros to the paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain for a few minutes, then toss the churros in the cinnamon sugar and serve warm with the Mexican chocolate sauce.