Churros

A deliciously unique cake! perfect with coffee, tea or ice cream

Tips

what is a churro?

A churro is a delightful treat with Spanish and Portuguese roots. It’s essentially a fried pastry made from a special kind of dough called choux pastry. This unique dough is unlike typical bread or cake dough. Instead of relying on baking powder or yeast for rise, choux pastry uses a combination of water, butter, and flour cooked together. Eggs are then added, creating a light and elastic dough that puffs up when fried due to the steam produced by the water. Once piped into hot oil with a star-shaped tip, these choux pastry ropes transform into golden churros, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, begging to be rolled in cinnamon sugar for a sweet and textural explosion.

CAN I MAKE AHEAD?

Yes! This recipe lends nicely to making ahead. There arw two different ways to do this. Eeither refregerate the unpiped dough, or freeze the piped dough.

Refrigerate the Batter: This is the simpler method. Just transfer your prepared churro batter to an airtight container and place it in the refrigerator. The batter will stay good for up to 3 days. When you’re ready to fry, take the batter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature before piping and frying your churros.

Freeze Piped Churros: If you want to prep even further ahead, you can pipe your churros directly onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Freeze the uncooked churros for 20-30 minutes, until they’re firm. Then transfer them to a freezer-safe bag or container. Frozen churros will keep for several weeks. When ready to cook, simply fry the frozen churros directly from the freezer (no need to thaw) in your hot oil. This will drastically drop your cooking oil. I recommend heating oil to 425 before dropping. Once churros are in oil, fry at at least 350 degrees.

churros

Preparation Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Serving size: 12-15 churros

Gather

churros

• 1 cup water
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• Frying oil 

berry sauce

• 1 cup blackberries
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 lime, juice and zested (lemon works, too)
• ¼ cup water

chocolate sauce

• 3½ ounces dark chocolate, chopped
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon espresso powder

Follow

churro

1. Place the water, butter, salt and sugar into a medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Have flour ready to go. (The trick to crispy churros is adding the flour to hot water.)
2. Remove from heat, add flour and stir vigorously with a rubber spatula until smooth. The dough will pull away and form a ball.
3. Transfer the dough to a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Allow it to cool for 5 minutes.
4. Turn mixer to low. Add the vanilla and egg, mixing until combined, smooth and creamy. 
5. Transfer the dough to a large pastry bag fitted with a large star tip (such as a Wilton 1M tip). This will just give you the familiar churro shape; however, any piping tip you have works.
6. Pipe dough onto a baking sheet with parchment, anywhere between 6-inch and 9-inch  strips. Let sit in freezer until set, 15 to 30 minutes.
7. Prepare the cinnamon sugar coating: In a baking pan or large plate, place cinnamon and sugar to roll hot churros in. You may also want to prepare a cooling rack or plate with a paper towel to let the churros drain for a second.
8. Pour the oil into a deep frying pan and heat it to 360 degrees. Once at temperature, place churros into oil. Do not overcrowd the pot; 2 to 4 is ideal, but depends on your pot size. Cook until golden brown and crispy, 2 to 4 minutes.
9. Once complete, remove from hot oil with either spider catcher or thongs. Place on a paper towel to drain for a few seconds to remove excess oil, then immediately roll in cinnamon sugar mixture.

berry sauce

1. In a medium pot, combine blackberries, sugar, lime juice and zest, and water.
2. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Allow the mixture to cook for 7 to 10 minutes, stirring often. Once the sauce has thickened, remove from heat and transfer to a serving dish.

chocolate sauce

1. Chop chocolate and place into a heat-proof bowl. Heat up heavy cream until warm (90 to 100 degrees). This can be done in a saucepan (be sure not to boil) or by microwaving the cream. If microwaving, be sure to watch it. (I usually microwave it in 30-second increments to avoid it boiling over.)
2. Pour heated cream over chocolate. Sprinkle in espresso. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for a few minutes to allow the chocolate to melt. Stir to combine.