Churros & Chocolate

The first time I see one of these guys, I was at about the only place where it is only logical to see them -- a theme park. A Spanish pastry in a US concept theme park in Japan? Oh look, it's Mickey's head! Sure, I'll eat it. It could be the -3°C weather versus the hot, slightly crunchy churros, or just the fact that it's Tokyo Disneyland where everything is nice, I devoured the churro within a minute and soon, I was craving for more!

Churros has been on my baking list since then, but never had a chance to go about trying them. With their Spanish origins, I was surprised to find out that they are actually fried choux pastry which makes them, technically speaking, a rod shaped Beignet. Some people have commented that they are akin to donuts (doughnuts). Not in my universe. Heehee.. Donuts are too "bready", too "doughy" and too filling, I can't munch on them whole day long without looking like Homer Simpsons.

Churros & Chocolate (makes about 40x 15cm pieces)
(recipe taken wholesale from mowielicious)

Churros
   75g     Butter
 250g     Water
  1.5g     Salt

 140g     Flour, sifted

    3        Eggs, beaten

 *enough oil for frying

1. In a saucepan, heat butter and water till it boils. Add in salt and flour, mixing vigorously until it forms a dough and no longer sticks to the sides of the pan. Remove from heat.

2. Mix in the eggs gradually. It will look separated, sloppy and like they are not going to get together at any time. Just continue mixing, and they will combine eventually. Batter should be thick, smooth and lump-free.

3. Transfer the batter into a piping bag fitted with an open star tip. You may then decide to:

• Deep fry (recommended). Heat oil till it reaches 170°C. Carefully pipe 15cm length of batter into the oil, and use a knife or scissors to cut off at the tip. Fry for 1-2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. 

• Baked. Preheat oven to 190°C. Pipe 15cm length of batter onto a lined baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes till golden brown. During the last 1-2 minutes, move the sheet directly under the top heating element, just to slightly crisp the exterior.

If there are not too many health complications, I strongly suggest deep-frying. Baking them will just end up having something like the éclairs shells. They will still taste great, but it kinda take out the meaning from Churros. It's like Boiled Fried chicken (if there's such a thing. LOL), quite oxymoron.

Cinnamon Dust

   25g     Sugar

     7g     Ground Cinnamon
  *seeds of 1 vanilla pod

4. Mix the above in a large tray. Roll the freshly fried or baked churros in the mixture, get every nooks and cranny coated. If the cinnamon sugar doesn't stick as well on the baked churros, you may sprite just a little water or neutral tasting oil to help it coat better.

Chocolate Dipping Sauce
 200g     Dark Chocolate

 200g     Double Cream (aka heavy cream)
 120g     Golden Syrup

5. Melt the above over a bain-marie. Stir till mixture is smooth and glossy. Keep the mixture warm if not using immediately.

Look at that.... rich, bittersweet chocolate sauce dripping all over the place, with the hot cinnamon sugar crusted, freshly fried dough. It is just me that find Churros a really sexy dessert? Hahaha..

I chose the recipe from mowielicious simply because her photos look amazing! Well, so is the recipe she ripped out from Delicious magazine, I don't even have to modify anything. I think I might have fry them longer than I'm supposed to, but they are still delicious, so easy to eat, so munch-able! I think I'm gonna end up with a sore throat tomorrow. Shall brew a huge pot of cooling herbal tea the next time I make these babies!

All blog posts and photos are properties of WhatToBakeToday (unless otherwise stated). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of these contents, whole or part thereof, without express or written permission from this blog's author is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to WhatToBakeToday with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.