Churros

If you’ve ever made choux pastry for profiteroles or eclairs, then you certainly won’t have any problem making Churros.  Popular in Spain, (they are often referred to as ‘Spanish doughnuts’) although they can also traditionally be found in Portugal, France, Peru, Venezuela & Colombia.  

We have arrived finally at the beach for a much awaited 3 week holiday, and I thought these would be appreciated not only by Annabella & Joseph after a long swim in the ocean, but also by their friends.  After testing two recipes I have realised that making and gifting Churros is a sure way to have all the kids think you are a major legend!

Although I looked at recipes where Churros can be baked, I fried them, as is tradition.  I tried two different recipes, one with eggs, and one without.  I am going to post both recipes for you and then you can decide for yourselves which you prefer.   I’ll tell you at the end of the post which one I thought was better and why. The dough can be mixed with an electric mixer on low, but as I don’t have one here, I mixed both recipes by hand.

Churros

• 250ml water
• 110g butter (unsalted)
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 130g plain flour
• 3 large eggs
• vegetable oil for frying
• caster sugar mixed with cinnamon (circa 1 teaspoon cinnamon for 200g sugar)

1. In a saucepan, add the water, butter, sugar, and salt, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, and sift in flour, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon for 1 minute.
2. Add eggs, 1 at a time, stirring well after each addition until each egg is incorporated well into dough mixture.
3. Transfer mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1.5cm star tip, and allow to rest for 20 – 30 minutes.
4. Heat oil in a deep saucepan until it reaches 180°C.  (I didn’t have a thermometer and so tested the oil first with a little piece of dough to test if it was ready.)
5. Pipe 2 or 3 lengths at a time of Churros batter carefully into the oil, cutting it off with a pair of scissors.   (Annabella helped me do this, and she was responsible for this part.)
6. Fry until golden brown, turning over once cooking both sides. Transfer onto kitchen paper towel to absorb excess oil for a few minutes before rolling in sugar and cinnamon.  They are best eaten hot!

Second Recipe

• 450ml water
• 60ml olive oil
• 325g plain flour
• 30g caster sugar
• vegetable oil for frying
• sugar & cinnamon mix

1. In a saucepan bring to the boil water and olive oil, reduce heat and add sifted flour, sugar and salt.  Stir until mixed in, turn off heat, and continue stirring until a smooth dough is formed and all ingredients are well incorporated.
2. Follow steps 3, 4, 5 & 6 from method of first recipe.

Some points about both recipes

• The first recipe (with eggs) has a softer batter/pastry and is much easier to pipe into the oil.
• The first recipe made Churros that were crunchy, but had softer centres.
• The second recipe was much more compact and harder to pipe, so I really suggest you use a sturdy piping bag if you use this recipe.
• The Churros that resulted from the second recipe had a stronger structure, were crunchier on the outside, and by far our favourite!
• Churros are often served for breakfast dipped in dulce de leche, hot chocolate or cafè con leche.  I made a dark chocolate ganache which burnt, (thus ruining a saucepan) because I was trying to do too much at the same time in the kitchen (insert eye roll emoji)….. but all the kids decided that Nutella was a perfect substitute!