Spanish Churros with Chocolate Sauce

النسخة العربية

Golden Spanish churros, crisp on the outside and soft and light on the inside, coated in cinnamon sugar and served with a hot, glossy chocolate sauce for dipping. An easy homemade recipe with ingredients you’ll find in any supermarket, ready in about 35 minutes.

⚠️ Allergy note: contains Wheat/gluten (flour), Eggs, Dairy (butter, milk, cooking cream; chocolate may contain milk), Soy (chocolate may contain soy lecithin), Chocolate may contain traces of nuts.

Um Ghaith’s tips

• Use a star tip, not a round one: the ridges give the crunch and keep the churros from bursting in the oil.
• Keep the oil at 180°C: if it’s cooler, the churros soak up oil and turn soggy; if it’s hotter, the outside burns while the inside stays raw.
• Don’t add the eggs while the dough is very hot, or the eggs will cook and the dough will turn lumpy.
• Roll the churros in the cinnamon sugar as soon as they come out of the oil, because the sugar won’t stick once they cool.
• If you don’t have cooking cream, use the same amount of whole milk instead and add an extra 1/2 tsp cornstarch.

Spanish Churros with Chocolate Sauce

Golden Spanish churros, crisp on the outside and soft and light on the inside, coated in cinnamon sugar and served with a hot, glossy chocolate sauce for dipping. An easy homemade recipe with ingredients you’ll find in any supermarket, ready in about 35 minutes.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Servings: 4 people

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Spanish

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 250 ml water 1 cup
• 30 g butter about 2 tbsp
• 1 tbsp white sugar for the dough
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 150 g all-purpose flour about 1 1/4 cups, sifted
• 2 eggs at room temperature, beaten
• 1/2 tsp vanilla powder or 1 small sachet of vanilla sugar
• 1 liter vegetable oil for frying sunflower or corn oil, about 4 cm deep in the pot
• 100 g white sugar 1/2 cup, for coating
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon mixed with the coating sugar
• 120 g dark chocolate chopped into small pieces, 50–70% cocoa
• 200 ml whole milk just under 1 cup
• 100 ml cooking cream about 1/2 cup
• 2 tbsp white sugar for the chocolate sauce, to taste
• 1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbsp cold milk
• 1 pinch powdered sugar optional, for garnish

Method

 

1. Mix the 100 g sugar with the 2 tsp cinnamon in a wide plate and set aside.
2. Put the water, butter, 1 tbsp sugar and salt in a pot over medium heat until the butter melts and the mixture starts to boil.
3. Turn the heat down to low, add the flour all at once with the vanilla, and stir hard with a wooden spoon for 1 to 2 minutes until a smooth ball of dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the pot.
4. Move the dough to a bowl and let it cool for 5 minutes until it is warm, not hot.
5. Add the beaten eggs in three additions, mixing well after each one, until the dough is smooth, glossy, firm and holds its shape.
6. Put the dough in a piping bag fitted with a wide star tip (1–1.5 cm).
7. Heat the oil in a deep pot over medium-high heat until it reaches 180°C (when you dip a wooden skewer in, small bubbles form steadily around it).
8. Pipe 10–12 cm lengths straight over the oil and cut them with scissors; fry only 4–5 churros per batch.
9. Fry the churros for 2–3 minutes, turning them with tongs halfway through, until deep golden on all sides.
10. Lift the churros onto paper towels for just 30 seconds, then roll them right away, while hot, in the cinnamon sugar.
11. For the chocolate sauce: heat the milk, cream and sugar in a small pot over medium heat until it starts to steam, without letting it boil.
12. Add the cornstarch mixture while stirring constantly, and leave it for 1 minute over low heat until it thickens slightly.
13. Take the pot off the heat and add the chopped chocolate; leave it for 1 minute, then stir until the sauce is smooth and glossy.
14. Serve the churros right away while hot, with a bowl of the warm chocolate sauce for dipping, and dust with a little powdered sugar if you like.

Notes

⚠️ Allergy note: contains Wheat/gluten (flour), Eggs, Dairy (butter, milk, cooking cream; chocolate may contain milk), Soy (chocolate may contain soy lecithin), Chocolate may contain traces of nuts

Use a star tip, not a round one: the ridges give the crunch and keep the churros from bursting in the oil.

Keep the oil at 180°C: if it’s cooler, the churros soak up oil and turn soggy; if it’s hotter, the outside burns while the inside stays raw.

Don’t add the eggs while the dough is very hot, or the eggs will cook and the dough will turn lumpy.

Roll the churros in the cinnamon sugar as soon as they come out of the oil, because the sugar won’t stick once they cool.

If you don’t have cooking cream, use the same amount of whole milk instead and add an extra 1/2 tsp cornstarch.

Frequently asked questions

Why do churros burst or splatter in the oil?

Usually because of air bubbles in the dough or using a smooth round tip. Use a star tip, squeeze the bag well to push out the air before frying, and make sure the oil is no hotter than 180°C.

Can I make churros without a piping bag?

Yes, you can use a thick plastic bag with one corner cut off and a star tip fitted in it, or use a ma’amoul cookie press with the star disc. What matters is that the ridges stay clear.

Why are my churros soft or doughy inside?

Because the churros are too thick or the oil is too hot, so the outside browns too fast. Pipe medium-thick churros and fry them at 180°C for 2–3 minutes until deep golden.

Can I make churros ahead of time?

They’re best served fresh. You can make the dough an hour ahead and keep it covered in the bag, or reheat fried churros in a 180°C oven for 5 minutes and then coat them in the sugar.