Spanish Churros with Hot Chocolate

About This Recipe

Churros are Spain's most iconic street food and breakfast treat, eaten fresh from the fryer at churrerías (churro shops) throughout Spain and Latin America. The dough is simple — just flour, water and salt — but the technique produces ridged cylinders with a crisp exterior and soft, slightly chewy interior. In Spain, churros are invariably served with a cup of thick, intensely rich hot chocolate (chocolate a la taza) for dunking.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 250 mlwater
• 250 mlwhole milk
• 1 tspfine salt
• 1 tspolive oil
• 250 gplain flour
• vegetable oil(for deep-frying)
• 100 gcaster sugar
• 1 tspground cinnamon
• 200 gdark chocolate(70% cocoa, chopped)
• 400 mlwhole milk(for hot chocolate)
• 1 tbspcornflour(for thickening hot chocolate)
• 3 tbspcaster sugar(for hot chocolate)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the churro dough

   Bring water, milk, salt and oil to a boil in a saucepan. Remove from heat and add flour all at once. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until a smooth, thick dough forms and pulls away from the sides. Cool for 5 minutes.

2. 2

   Pipe and fry

   Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle. Heat oil to 180°C in a deep pan. Pipe 15cm lengths of dough into the hot oil, cutting with scissors. Fry for 3–4 minutes, turning halfway, until deep golden brown. Work in batches. Drain on paper towels.

   A star nozzle creates the characteristic ridges that give churros their surface area for crispiness.

3. 3

   Coat in cinnamon sugar

   Mix caster sugar and cinnamon together. Roll hot churros in the mixture immediately after draining.

4. 4

   Make Spanish hot chocolate

   Whisk cornflour into a little cold milk until smooth. Heat the remaining milk in a saucepan. Add chocolate and sugar, stirring until melted. Add the cornflour mixture and cook, stirring, until it thickens to a glossy, spoonable chocolate sauce.

5. 5

   Serve immediately

   Serve hot churros alongside the thick hot chocolate in small cups for dipping. Eat immediately — churros lose their crispiness within minutes.

Variations

• •

  Filled Churros: use a round nozzle and fill cooled churros with dulce de leche or chocolate using a piping bag.

• •

  Baked Churros: for a lighter version, bake at 220°C for 20 minutes — they won't be quite as crispy but are still delicious.

• •

  Vegetarian: swap the protein for roasted king oyster mushrooms, smoked tofu or cooked chickpeas — adjust seasoning slightly upward to compensate.

• •

  Spicier: add a finely chopped fresh chile or a teaspoon of crushed Aleppo/Urfa pepper to the aromatics for warm, layered heat instead of a single sharp hit.

Storage

Best eaten immediately. If necessary, reheat in a 200°C oven for 5 minutes to restore crispiness.

Frequently Asked Questions