Churros

Ingredients

Dough

• 500 mlwater
• 60 gbutter
• 1 tbspsugar
• 1 tspsalt
• 280 gplain flour
• 1egg, optional

To fry and coat

• 1.5 litresneutral oil
• 200 gcaster sugar
• 2 tbspground cinnamon

Chocolate

• 400 mlwhole milk
• 150 gdark chocolate
• 1 tbspcornflour
• 2 tbspsugar

Directions

1. Bring the water, butter, sugar and salt to a rolling boil.
2. Tip in all the flour at once and beat hard over the heat for 2 minutes, until it forms a smooth ball that comes away from the sides of the pan.
3. Let it cool for 5 minutes, then beat in the egg if you are using one. The traditional Spanish and Mexican dough is flour, water and salt alone, and the egg makes a softer modern churro.
4. Fill a piping bag fitted with a large closed star nozzle.
5. Use a star nozzle rather than a plain one. The ridges are structural: they increase the surface area so the churro cooks through before the outside burns, and a smooth-piped one comes out raw in the middle every time.
6. Heat the oil to 180°C (355°F) and keep it there, adjusting the heat between batches.
7. Pipe lengths of about 15 cm directly into the oil, cutting them free with scissors.
8. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes a side, until deep golden and rigid.
9. Drain briefly on a rack, then roll them in the cinnamon sugar while still hot so that it sticks.
10. For the chocolate, whisk the cornflour into a little of the cold milk, heat the rest with the sugar, then add the chocolate and the slurry and stir until it is thick enough to hold a churro upright.
11. Serve immediately. Churros are good for about ten minutes and no longer, which is why they are sold at stalls rather than kept.

Technique

• Steady oil temperature matters more than exact timing. A crashed oil gives greasy churros that never crisp.
• The dipping chocolate is meant to be thick enough to stand a churro in, not a drinking chocolate.
• Churrería El Moro in Mexico City has fried them beside thick chocolate since 1935 and still does.

Substitutions

• A churrera press, which is easier on the hands than a piping bag.
• Half milk in place of some of the water, for a richer dough.

Variations

• Filled with cajeta, dulce de leche or chocolate.
• Porras, the thicker Spanish version made with a raised dough.
• Rolled in plain sugar rather than cinnamon sugar, which is the Madrid habit.

History

Most food historians trace the fried-dough technique to Spanish and Portuguese sailors and colonizers, who carried a version of the recipe to the Americas from Iberia beginning in the 1500s, though the exact origin of churros within Spain itself is debated, with one popular but unverified story crediting Spanish shepherds for a dough easy to fry over an open fire in a star-shaped ring using a simple tube. Mexico developed its own strong churro culture after Spanish colonization, adding cinnamon sugar and often filling them with chocolate or dulce de leche, distinct from the plainer, thinner Spanish version usually dipped in thick drinking chocolate. Street vendors and dedicated churrerías selling them fresh and hot remain a fixture of Mexican cities today.

Frequently asked questions

What is Churros?

Churros is a street food from Mexico: fried ridged dough rolled in cinnamon sugar, dipped in chocolate. Most food historians trace the fried-dough technique to Spanish and Portuguese sailors and colonizers, who carried a version of the recipe to the Americas from Iberia beginning in the 1500s, though the exact origin of churros within Spain itself is debated, with one popular but unverified story crediting Spanish shepherds for a dough easy to fry over an open fire in a star-shaped ring using a simple tube. Mexico developed its own strong churro culture after Spanish colonization, adding cinnamon sugar and often filling them with chocolate or dulce de leche, distinct from the plainer, thinner Spanish version usually dipped in thick drinking chocolate. Street vendors and dedicated churrerías selling them fresh and hot remain a fixture of Mexican cities today.

How long does Churros take to make?

Churros takes 20 min of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 20 churros. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Churros?

Yes, within limits. A churrera press, which is easier on the hands than a piping bag. Half milk in place of some of the water, for a richer dough.

What is the most important thing to get right in Churros?

Use a star nozzle rather than a plain one. The ridges are structural: they increase the surface area so the churro cooks through before the outside burns, and a smooth-piped one comes out raw in the middle every time.