Friday, January 22, 2010

CHURROS AND A HOT CHOCOLATE DIP



A 10 mm star nozzle was what I thought I had for these churros. I was wrong. But I had to have it. So I dug, I dig and I dug. 


Finally I settled for the disc-cum-spout star nozzle from a cookie press and used a piping bag to sheath the nozzle with. Very awkwardly I might add. I won't even begin to describe how the contraption looked or worked. But for few odd moments it did. 


The reason I did not use the whole cookie press thing was because it jammed up and it would not press.


However, to cut a long story short the churros turned out looking just the way I wanted them to look. 

Long and slender, 
long and slender, 
Each little churros 
A lady's finger.

And delicious? ~ Utterly ~ Utterly ~ Utterly ~



Then I made a bitter hot chocolate
As a dip or a drink
And the sweet little churros 
I dipped within. 

Were they delicious? ~ utterly ~ utterly ~ utterly~



The recipe..............adapted form Vogue Entertaining and Travel with some necessary  tweaks.......

The dough for these churros are very like the dough for cream puffs or eclairs. The only difference being they are fried not baked and are sweeter. They are also denser inside and not hollow like a cream puff would be. 

And did I say they were delicious? utterly ~

1 cup (4 oz) plain flour
1 cup (4 oz) self raising flour
11/2 cup sugar Or less Or much less

2 cups water
a knob of butter
1 whole egg + 2 egg yolks

cinnamon
lots of cooking oil


Mix 1/2 cup of the sugar with a pinch of cinnamon in a plate and keep aside for later.


Sift both flours together and put aside.


Put the water and 1 cup of the sugar and the knob of butter in a large heavy based pan and bring to a gentle simmer stirring until the sugar dissolves.


Once the sugar has dissolved and the small bubbles appear in the syrup pour both flours in. Stir immediately and vigorously until it becomes a smooth and quite stiff paste and the dough leaves the sides of the pan. Almost. 

If it appears not too smooth, don't worry. Just throw it into the mixer bowl and turn on the machine with the paddle attachment and let it do the work for you for about 15 to 20 seconds.



(Transfer the dough to a bowl of an electric mixer and using the paddle attachment turn on the mixer.) While the mixer is working throw in an egg yolk and beat until the egg yolk is well beaten in. 

Put in the whole egg next and continue to beat. If you find the mixture a little too stiff still add in the other yolk as well and beat well. By this time the mixture should be firm and not too soft but not too stiff either otherwise it will be difficult to squeeze out the dough through the nozzle.

Prepare a piping bag with a 10mm star nozzle if you wish of a plain nozzle if you prefer. Fill it up with half the mixture.


Heat up a medium pan with oil enough to deep fry the churros. Heat up the oil until a piece of bread browns in 10 seconds.


Have a small knife ready near the stove. Pipe the paste directly into the oil as long or as short as you like them to be. Mine were about 10 cm in length and using the knife cut the pastry off from the nozzle. 

Do a few at a time depending on how large or small your pan is. Fry them for about 2 minutes turning so they get evenly brown all over. Finish off the rest of the dough. Drain on kitchen paper and toss teh fried churros in the cinnamon sugar.


Serve with a chocolate dip or a hot chocolate drink. Utterly delicious. 



The hot chocolate drink...........from Chocolate Cooking by David Schwartz...

6 oz plain chocolate, broken into pieces
6 fluid oz hot water
1/4 pint (450 ml) milk


Thicker than hot chocolate, this beverage in Spain is served with churros for breakfast.


In a saucepan, melt the chocolate with the hot water, whisking until teh mixture thickens. Heat the milk in another pan. Divide the melted cocolate between 4 hot mugs and, without stirring, fill each with hot milk. Serve immediately.













60 comments:

Quinn said...

Yes Zu, these are indeed utterly utterly, and can I repeat it again, UTTERLY DELICIOUS LOOKING!!!!

Ju (The Little Teochew) said...

They are utterly, utterly, utterly pretty! My girl loves her churros (always associated with her happy times at Disneyland), and yet I've never attempted to make them! I'll try yours. I'll say this is Aunty Zurin's utterly, utterly, utterly yummy recipe!

Angie's Recipes said...

They are totally my type of snacks to be enjoyed in the lazy afternoons!

tracieMoo said...

They look delicious!! Do come by my blog to pick up an award for you, kay?

La Table De Nana said...

What a little treat..and so delicate looking..One of my daughters loves these..her friend makes them..Now I am so tempted..a very famous French resto is famous:) for them also..Yes a French resto!

Beautifully presented too!

Dominique said...

we could share your churos and my spicy hot chocolate, and have a nice time together?

fimere said...

je les trouve beau tremper dans le chocolat ça doit être délicieux
bonne journée

Su-yin said...

I tried churros for the first time a month ago and fell in love very quickly... :P Yours look absolutely amazing though, you did a great job! Could do with some now, with the grey gloomy day and all... :P

ann low said...

WOW! This is definitely delicious!

food with style said...

i am not sure if i come for the food, or the art...

Unknown said...

Wonderfull, for the moment, I'm just looking at your photos, and I feel frustated !
I just want one, they look so delicious !

Federica Simoni said...

ciao!! grazie della tua visita!!

che buoni questi churros è molto tempo che non li mangio...mi fai fatto venire fame!!!!

un abbraccio!

Mary Bergfeld said...

What a wonderful cookie to serve with afternoon coffee or tea. These are a great little treat.

Nadia said...

LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hamzah said your look crunchier than mine and mine looks poofier LOL...

chow and chatter said...

oh wow i remember these in Barcelona you did great clever thing you

Kitchen Butterfly said...

I want to go to Spain...again...for these, by the bar. Yours look stunning....not fair. Not enough hours at the weekend to cook, take photos, sleep...and look after family!!!!!!

pigpigscorner said...

I had this once in Barcelona and loved it! Dough with choc...yum!

Barbara said...

Can I come over? Pretty please?

Zurin said...

Thanks everyone for such precious comments!:))~ happy sigh ~

Dominique, nothing id like better!! :))

Juli, LOLOL Hamzah!!

Barbara, please do !! :))

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

This look beautiful, and I never try this before, I'm sure my kids will love this. Thanks dear.

terri@adailyobsession said...

love them churros. utterly delicious.

Kate at Serendipity said...

Oh, man, now you've done it. If my husband sees this it's all over. When we were in Spain he had churros and chocolate every morning. I mean EVERY morning. For breakfast.

Normally he only eats muesli for breakfast. Except in Spain. These look delicious. I didn't know it was chou pastry!

Pei-Lin said...

Look decadent!! I'd say they're sinful indulgence ... I love having churros & Mexican hot choc together ... Ahh ... The heavenly couple!!

OK, after CNY, I'm gonna clear out my space & try my hands on these dainty fingers!!

Beautifully written with a perfect sense of humor! =)

Kana said...

Zurin - lovely churros!!

nuhaafnan said...

whenever I eat 'pak tongkol' (have u heard of that kuih?), I think of churros. utterly utterly yumm

melopapilles said...

I love those ! and the pictures are gorgeous !

pam said...

I believe you!!! Those look utterly delicious!

Helen said...

oh yum. i had some of these in a restaurant the other week but they were bigger and a bit undercooked and chewy in the middle. i may have to try my own to get my churros fix before i go back to spain in march!

Pierre said...

dlicious i loove the combination of churros and chocolate !!thanks Pierre

Percicilan said...

OMG!!! THIS IS MY FAVOURITE !!!!

Sarah said...

Oh, I wish I had a plate of these for my morning coffee. These do look delicious! Thanks for the visits and the thoughtful comments. I'm so happy we met through Food for Thought. Looking forward to next Saturday! ~ Sarah

Pam said...

These look delicious. I can see the sugar on them and that just makes me want some. What a nice idea to serve these with hot chocolate.
Pam

Ramya Kiran said...

These look absolutely delicious. Something i need to try very soon.

Deana Sidney said...

wow, these look so good... I'm afraid if I did it they would look like bad sticks... yours are perfect... I love them!

The Cocoa Lady said...

I simply love churros and hot chocolate. Thxs for the recipe!

Cakebrain said...

I know that I would love churros because they're fried, but though I've had opportunities to eat them, I actually haven't ever! It looks so yummy, I'll have to remember to try them next time...you've convinced me with the chocolate!

Anonymous said...

Yay, Zu!! YOu made Churros. They are so good with chocolate dip. I can have them everyday :)

Nina said...

My favorite dessert....

Mrs Multitasker said...

I love churros! These look great.

And this post reminded me of my recent trip to Hong Kong Disneyland where my husband walked in every possible direction to find some churros but ended up with nothing. Can you believe that? An amusement park with no churros!

Nadji said...

Your churros look so delicious.
I like them.
See soon.

B & D said...

i love making churros especially for weekends ..my sister and i eat it hot hot in bundles.. :)

Linda said...

Oy...these pics just made me sigh...they are perfectly beautiful...
A perfect churro belongs with a perfect cup of thick, rich, hot chocolate...
Woould that I could reach in and grab one right now...it is cold and gray and rainy here...this would perk up the afternoon....
I am going to try these really soon Zu...thank you!
L~xo

Daniela said...

Che buoni questi churros sono una vera delizia, complimenti
Ciao Daniela.

diva said...

oh i seriously love churros! had my first one ever when i was a child in Australia and then came across them again in my hometown; and then last summer we saw fat chocolate filled ones in Spain. good lord. it's time i followed this recipe and made my own! x

S said...

zurin, sorry for not having visited ealier- i am really far behind in blogging, as you can see after reading my latest post:) wishing you a very happy new year, my dear. churros are a treat- dark hot chocolate, and it is all you need. as you know, i have a weakness for dark chocolate :) x shayma

Jane said...

Good God, these look INCREDIBLE!! I am hungry at the moment and it's torture to see your beautiful, perfect churros dipped in chocolate! Gorgeous.

Shirley @ Kokken69 said...

Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever had Churros- have always seen them but never be moved enough to try them. Yours look really pretty! By the way, I bought a copy of 'The Namesake' at Mumbai airport and am reading it now... so far, I like her writing style... :)

MaryMoh said...

I love churros. Looks so delicious here. I have to try making them. Thanks for sharing.

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

They look mouthwateringly good! There's nothing like a freshly cooked churro is there!? :D And you so cannot tell that there were piping issues :)

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

I only had Churros but they were delicious. Would love to make them some day.

tigerfish said...

I have not tried churros before even having stayed in the States for a while. Dipping in chocolate sounds like a great idea.

Kathleen said...

I love freshly made churros! Your photos are wonderful.

Elin Chia said...

Great Churros ! I won't having this for my afternoon snack. Zurin, thanks for sharing the recipe :))

Daiva said...

Hi Zurin! It was nice to see you on my blog. It's written in lithuanian and now in spanish too.

I like your blog. And churos, too :)

Mari @ Once Upon a Plate said...

Zurin, I'm sorry to hear about the stuggle with your improvised solution (BRILLIANT idea, by the way!)

Look at how beautiful they came out. But oh-oh, it makes me want one right now! I've never had a chocolate dipped one ~ I would love that. Thank you for sharing the recipe.

Your photos are perfection!

Divina Pe said...

Gorgeous photos. I love churros with chocolate sauce. I remember one chef who add a lime slice while the oil is heating up and he removed it before frying the churros. The result was lime-flavored churros which is good. Maybe you can try it then next time you make it.

fimere said...

bonne soirée

WendyinKK said...

They look super yummy

2 Stews said...

I am making these when my son comes home for spring break....with the chocolate, of course!

Thank you, thank you!

Diane

Hayley said...

Your presentation is utterly gorgeous.

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