As a much loved sister to the donut, Churros seem like they could be just as fiddly to make, but in reality Churros are a breeze, with a simple dough that doesn’t need to be kneaded or proved. This means ingredients to tummy can be just 30 minutes - what a dream!
Churros originated in Spain and Portugal, but variations on the recipe are common in Mexico too. Some versions of the Churros recipe are very similar to a choux dough, including egg for the rise. I have chosen to create my cinnamon churros version from a dough risen with baking powder instead, to make the recipe even easier.
Many Churros arrive hand in hand with a bowl of something delicious to dip into (chocolate sauce, salted caramel etc) but here cinnamon is King and is present both in the dough and in the sugar liberally coating the outside.
50g butter
1tbsp caster sugar
1tsp baking powder
1tsp cinnamon
300g plain flour
250ml boiling water
Plus you will need:
caster sugar and cinnamon for coating
flavourless oil for frying
Into a jug, pour the boiling water and the butter and stir until the butter has melted. Into a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon and mix.
Pour the water and butter mixture into the flour mixture and stir well to combine. The dough should be quite sticky but still a little firm. If it is too wet, it will struggle to hold its shape when piped. If it is too firm, you will struggle to squeeze the dough through the piping nozzle! To rectify, add a little extra flour to the former and water to the latter.
Leave the mixture to rest for 10-15 minutes.
In a saucepan, pour in enough oil to be about 6cm deep. Heat the oil to around 180degreesC. (please be careful - hot oil can cause nasty burns and do not leave oil on a hot stove unattended).
Whilst the oil is heating, get a wire rack ready with some paper towels underneath to catch any excess oil drips. You can also mix together in a bowl some caster sugar and cinnamon to dredge the cooked Churros.
Put the dough into a piping bag fitted with a star piping tip.
Once the oil is hot, squeeze the dough into the pan in strips. Fry the churros for a few minutes until browned and crispy. Once cooked, remove them carefully from the pan and place on the wire rack to cool. You might need to fry the Churros in stages, so as not to overcrowd the oil.
Once all the Churros have been cooked, liberally coat with the sugar and cinnamon mixture... and devour!
