Spanish CHURROS

A churro is a fried-dough pastry—predominantly choux—based snack. Churros are very popular in Spain, churros can either be thin (and sometimes knotted) or long and thick. They are normally eaten for breakfast dipped in champurrado, hot chocolate or café con leche.

Like pretzels, churros are sold by street vendors, who may fry them freshly on the street stand and sell them hot. In Spain and much of Latin America, churros are available in cafes for breakfast, although they may be eaten throughout the day as a snack. Specialized churrerías can be found in the form of a shop or a trailer during the holiday period. In addition, countries like Peru, Venezuela and Colombia have churrerías throughout their streets. In Portugal, they are commonly eaten at carnivals, fairs and other celebrations, where they are made freshly at street stands.

INGREDIENTS

50g butter  melted
½ tsp vanilla extract
250g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
about 1 litre sunflower oil
few chunks of bread
For the sauce
200g bar dark chocolate, not too bitter, broken into chunks
100ml double cream
100ml whole milk
3 tbsp golden syrup
½ tsp vanilla extract, if you have some
For the cinnamon sugar
100g caster sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

How to:

Boil the kettle, then measure 350ml boiling water into a jug and add the melted butter and vanilla extract. Sift the flour and baking powder into a big mixing bowl with a big pinch of salt. Make a well in the centre, then pour in the contents of the jug and very quickly beat into the flour with a wooden spoon until lump-free. Rest for 10-15 mins while you make the sauce.
Put all the sauce ingredients into a pan and gently melt together, stirring occasionally until you have a smooth shiny sauce. Keep warm on a low heat.
Fill a large deep saucepan one-third full of oil. Heat until a cube of bread browns in 45 seconds – 1 min. Cover a tray with kitchen paper and mix the caster sugar and cinnamon together.
Fit a star nozzle to a piping bag, 1.5-2cm wide is a good size. Fill with the rested dough, then pipe 2-3 strips directly into the pan, snipping off each dough strip with a pair of kitchen scissors. Fry until golden brown and crisp, then remove with a slotted spoon and drain on the kitchen paper-lined tray. Carry on cooking the rest of the dough in batches, sprinkling the cooked churros with some cinnamon sugar as you go. Once you’ve cooked all the churros, toss with any remaining cinnamon sugar and serve with the chocolate sauce, for dipping.