Churros And Chocolate Dip Recipes

CHURROS

Steps:

• Boil the kettle, then measure 300ml 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. Cooking with hot oil can be dangerous - before you start, read up on how to deep-fry safely to avoid accidents in the kitchen. Heat until a cube of bread browns in 45 seconds to 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. Be very careful here - if air bubbles form in the churros they can explode, especially if the oil overheats or you use old flour. Cooking with hot oil can be dangerous - before you start, read up on how to deep-fry safely to avoid accidents in the kitchen. Keep children out of the kitchen and protect yourself by wearing long sleeves and eye protection, and keeping your face away from the pan.
• Once the churros are crisp and golden brown, remove them from the oil 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. When you've cooked all the churros, toss with any remaining cinnamon sugar and serve with the chocolate sauce, for dipping.To see a video of how to prepare churros, take a look at our churros ice cream sandwich recipe.

CHURROS WITH CHOCOLATE DIPPING SAUCE

Steps:

• Mix the sugar and cinnamon for the churros in a wide, shallow dish; this is for coating the cooked churros.
• Churros: Put the flour into a bowl and stir in the baking powder, then beat in the olive oil and 1 cup freshly boiled water. Keep mixing until you have a warm sticky dough, and let rest for about 10 minutes or for as long as it takes for the corn oil to heat up.
• Heat the oil in a smallish saucepan; it should come about a third of the way up the sides of the pan. When you think it's hot enough, toss in a cube of bread and see if it sizzles and browns. If it browns in about 30 seconds, it's hot enough; or if you're using an electric deep-fat fryer regulate the temperature, it should be at 325 degrees F. Keep a watchful eye on your hot oil pan at all times.
• Preheat the oven to 175 degrees F.
• When you are ready, load up a piping bag with a large star shaped nozzle (8mm) and fill it with the churro dough. Squeeze short lengths, approximately 1 1/2 to 2 inches, of dough into the hot oil, snipping them off with a pair of scissors as you go. Cook about 3 or 4 at a time. Once they turn a rich golden brown, fish them out with a slotted spoon or tongs onto a kitchen towel lined baking sheet. To keep the churros warm while you fry the remaining dough. Blot them with paper towels and transfer them to a parchment lined baking sheet. Put the baking sheet into the oven to keep the churros warm. Even if you let them sit out of the oven, they do need 5 to 10 minutes to rest before you eat them, to allow them to set inside.
• Chocolate sauce: Melt all of the chocolate sauce ingredients in a heavy based saucepan over low heat. Once combined and the chocolate has melted, remove the pan from the heat and set it aside in a warm place.
• Toss the hot churros into the sugar and cinnamon mixture and shake them about to get a good covering, just before serving. Arrange the churros on a serving platter and serve.
• Pour the chocolate sauce into individual pots for serving (to avoid the double dipping dilemma) and dip'n'dunk away.