Light, crispy churros dipped in a rich, dark, chocolate sauce. Churros con chocolate is a treat everyone will love.
(Love churros? Try this Ritz Bits churros recipe.)
I should have called this The Great Churros con Chocolate Fiasco of 2016. Because it was.
I didn’t realize making these small, seemingly harmless treats can be so challenging!
Lucky for you, I already did the experimenting so you can make them without a hitch.
And you can just enjoy awesome churros dipped in the most indulgent chocolate sauce that transports you straight to a café in Madrid.
Treats from home
No, I’m not from Spain. But in Manila there was this Spanish restaurant known for their churros.
It was considered one of the better restaurants back then so my mom (from whom I got my sweet tooth) and I would consider it a big deal when we get to go.
Even if churros (and tap water) was all we ever ordered.
We have a new deep fryer!
It’s been years since I’ve been there and I don’t even know if it still exists but I wanted churros con chocolate out of the blue one day.
It just so happens that we recently bought a deep fryer and Red’s been playing around with it …now I get to try it out too (and by this I only mean to make desserts but Red will still do the frying. I try to stay away from very hot oil).
But first, making the churros.
Churros Test 1.0
Churros are essentially water, butter and flour that you cook, then pipe, then fry. Other recipes call for eggs but I opted for the lighter, Spanish kind that don’t have eggs in them.
The first batch I made was too soft – imagine the dough swimming in a sea of butter.
I opted to go ahead and pipe anyway (to see if maybe this was how it should be?) but while I was transferring the dough to the piping bag it proceeded to drip out of the bottom. I managed to make a dough faucet.
Churros Test 1.1
Next batch I added more flour and it looked more promising. I was excited! And it even piped properly.
But then they all stuck to the parchment paper. They were supposed to slide right off and into the pan. No sliding happened. They were attached like I glued them.
I put the dough back into the bag, greased a new piece of parchment and tried again. Still stuck even with the very greasy parchment.
So I had to pick them up one by one and put them in the fryer. In the end we had the ugliest (but delicious) churros you’ve ever seen.
Churros Test 1.2
I was convinced I had the right dough because my ugly churros were delicious; I just needed to figure out the right piping/transferring technique.
So for the next batch I ditched the parchment paper and piped them directly into the pan. Carefully done, that worked better than the pipe and slide technique.
And it tasted like the ones from home. (That’s always important to me. Being able to recreate food from home. It makes me feel not so far away.)
Finally, churros con chocolate
I do need to work on making them prettier (maybe I can pipe, freeze then fry next time).
In any case, this batch had the ridges churros are known for, were just the right size, light, and had a bit of a crunch.
Because they are shaken in sugar and cinnamon you can eat them on their own but I highly recommend dipping them in this rich, dark and so very chocolatey sauce. It is heavenly. The combination is just to-die for.
I haven’t been to Madrid but I hope these taste like the ones you had there. And if you haven’t been too, let’s pretend we’re in a café there together. Talking about how wonderful these churros con chocolate are.
Buen provecho (hope I’m using that right)!
Did you make churros con chocolate? Tell me about it in the comments section below. I’d love to hear all about it. What’s your favourite Spanish dish?
Turon is another fried dessert you might like!
How to Make Churros con Chocolate at Home
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Churros:
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- Oil for frying preferably canola or another tasteless oil
For the Coating:
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the Chocolate:
- ⅓ cup chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips
- 1 cup milk divided into ¾ and ¼ cups
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch
- Pinch of sea salt
Instructions
For the Churros:
- In a medium saucepan, add 1 cup water, ½ cup unsalted butter and ¼ teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil and stir until the butter is melted and the salt is completely dissolved.
- Remove from heat and gradually add 1 ½ cups flour. Stir until flour is fully incorporated. It will start to look like custard, then doughy. Watch that it does not get too thick; it will be difficult to pipe later. Transfer into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip (warning: dough will be hot). Set aside.
- Fill another saucepan with oil – at least 2 inches deep – and wait until hot enough to use for frying. If using a deep fryer, set at 320F and wait until ready. Get a baking sheet ready by placing several pieces of paper towels on it. This is where you’ll place the fried churros later to drain excess oil.
- When ready to fry, carefully pipe and drop 3-inch pieces of churros directly into the oil (once you’ve piped the length you need, drop the dough into the fryer by cutting the end of the dough from the piping tip with a pair of kitchen scissors; be careful so that hot oil does not splatter on you). Fry churros until golden brown (about 3 minutes). Remove from oil and let dry on baking sheet.
For the Coating:
- While churros are drying, put ¼ cup granulated sugar and ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon in a large Ziploc bag and shake until combined. Put 2-3 pieces of churros in the bag and gently shake until evenly coated. Repeat until you’ve coated all churros.
For the Chocolate:
- In a medium saucepan on medium heat, add ⅓ cup chocolate, ¾ cup milk and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Stir until chocolate is melted. Switch to low heat and bring to a simmer. Dissolve 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch in the remaining ¼ cup milk and add to the melted chocolate. Stir until the chocolate thickens (when you lift the spoon you get a smooth drizzle of chocolate and not choppy drops).
- Remove from heat, add a pinch of sea salt and give the chocolate one final stir.
Notes
- When frying churros, only fry 3 churros max at a time. This will ensure each one is fried evenly.
- It is best to make the chocolate dip right before eating the churros. If the chocolate cools and seizes, you can make it smooth again by microwaving it for a few seconds and giving it another stir.
- This recipe yields 16 3-inch churros.
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only.
Louisa
Bookmarked! I love churros especially the chocolate dip! Looks like it took quite a few tries to get it right but you did! Love your blog design. Very neat yet colorful 🙂
Jolina
Thanks for bookmarking Louisa! Let me know how it turns out when you get the chance to try the recipe out. And thanks for your kind words about the blog 🙂
Krysten
Haha! That great churro fiasco! I have definitely had some recipes that I feel turned out like that!
The final product looks amazing! I love churros so much! I will have to try this asap!
Jolina
Thanks Krysten! I’ve had many, many fiascos on the kitchen haha 🙂 I feel the look still needs tweaking but I’m happy about it at moment 🙂 Hope you like it as much as we did!
Bessy
This recipe is so awesome! I love your persistence to get it just right:) I’ve had churros con chocolate in Barcelona, but I have to say the best churros I had were in Mexico from a street cart vendor who was piping them right into the oil. They were so light and chewy and delicious. He was like a dream because when I went back for more the next day, I couldn’t find him again. Nice work on this recipe and thanks for sharing:)
Jolina
You don’t know how happy you made me! I thought me piping directly into the oil was a last resort kind of thing – ha! pros do it too 🙂 Hope you get the chance to try this recipe. Let me know how it compares to the Barcelona or the Mexico churros
Ali
OMG! I am coming over for Churros. Those look like something I’d order from a bakery not make myself. I might have to give this one a try.
Jolina
Come on over Ali! Though I have to say we’ve eaten every last bit lol. It’s very easy to make, it will surprise you 🙂 (Barring any fiascos though I am certain you’re a better cook than me!)
Annie
Oh my goodness, these look amazing!! Churros are one thing I’ve yet to master, but these look glorious!! I need to make some ASAP!
Jolina
Thanks Annie! Apart from my fiasco they are surprisingly quite simple to do 🙂 Try it once and you won’t pay $$ for this at a restaurant again.
Ann
oh yeah!Now this is what I’m talking about. BTW- I try to stay away from hot oil too but I’ll brave it for these little bites of happiness.
Jolina
Oh I stayed away. Good thing my cook is not a scaredy cat like me haha. Try this Ann, they are delicious (and that chocolate sauce)
Carrie
Yum! Both my husband and I love Churros! So I will definitely have to try to make these.
Jolina
Awesome! Hope you and your husband enjoy this Carrie 🙂 Let me know how it goes.
Robin
I remember these churros…Dulcinea! Can’t wait to make them
Jolina
That’s exactly the restaurant I was referring to! I loved it there 🙂 These churros taste like the churros there as I remember them 🙂 Hope you get the chance to try these out!
alison
These look insanely amazing! I am making a batch this weekend! They look spectacular to me and covered in that sugar and cinnamon and chocolate you don’t have to worry about the shape! Totally made my night!
Jolina
That’s great Alison! And you’re right the sugar and cinnamon do a nice job of masking imperfections 🙂 Let me know how your churros weekend goes 🙂
Liz Mays
Oh cool! I think it would be fun to try making some of these. I’m glad you were able to figure out how to make them!
Jolina
I was glad too 🙂 It was fun and the anticipation of the end result is even better. Thanks for passing by Liz!
Nya
Oh damn I love churros ! This is actually very cool and original to write about your multiple attempts ! I will try to do this but it will take time ! I’ll need to do more attempts than you I’m sure to make them good ! Haha
Jolina
Hahaha thank Nya 🙂 It’s important to remain authentic right? I’m sure you’ll do just fine 🙂 Let me know how it goes.
Lily Travella
These look absolutely delicious! I love churros and I love chocolate even more! Great version and cheaper than buying them out too!
Jolina
Thanks Lily! And you’re right, so much cheaper making them at home. Plus you know what’s in them 🙂
Freya Farrington
They look delicious, Churros are my absolute favourite! However, if you struggled, I’ll have know hope!
Jolina
Thanks Freya! They are one of my favourites too 🙂 And I’m sure you’ll do better than me! 🙂
Ana De- Jesus
I love chocolate churros they are so good especially if you add bananas into the mix yum yum!
Jolina
Bananas are such a great idea! I will try that next time 🙂 Thanks Ana!
Suchi
Looks like all your efforts paid of girl! I love churros. I alway get one in a mexican restaurant but never had one from Spanish place. This looks so good and easy, well apart from frying. Like you I rather stay away from hot oil had oil splatters recently!
Jolina
Thank goodness for that Suchi! And thank goodness I REALLY wanted churros that day lol. I really don’t know how different they’ll be, except that maybe the Spanish ones are lighter? And yes, let us all stay away from hot oil! 🙂