Churros with Thick Chocolate Dipping Sauce

Instructions

1. 1

   Set up before you fry

   Stir the sugar and cinnamon together in a wide shallow dish and set it next to the stove. Line a baking sheet with paper towels and set a wire rack over a second sheet. Churros go from perfect to greasy fast, so everything needs to be within arm's reach before the oil is hot. Cut four squares of parchment, about 6 inches each, if you want to pipe the churros ahead of frying rather than straight into the oil.

2. 2

   Make the chocolate sauce

   Whisk the cornstarch into 2 tablespoons of the milk until smooth. Warm the remaining milk, the cream and the sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat until steaming, then whisk in the cornstarch slurry and simmer for about 1 minute, until it thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon. Take it off the heat, add the chopped chocolate, wait 1 minute, then stir until glossy. Keep it warm over the lowest heat or cover and reheat gently later; it thickens further as it sits.

3. 3

   Cook the dough

   Combine the water, milk, butter, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Once the butter has melted and the liquid is at a full rolling boil, dump in all the flour at once and stir hard with a wooden spoon. It will look lumpy and alarming for 20 seconds, then pull together into a smooth ball. Keep stirring and mashing it against the pan for 2 minutes to drive off moisture — you want a thin film on the bottom of the pan and dough that no longer sticks to your spoon.

4. 4

   Cool, then beat in the eggs

   Scrape the dough into a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle) and spread it up the sides to release steam. Let it cool for 5 to 7 minutes, until it's warm rather than hot — hot dough will scramble the eggs. Beat in the vanilla, then the eggs one at a time, working each one in completely before adding the next. The dough will separate into slick clumps and then come back together. Finished dough should be thick, glossy, and stiff enough to hold a sharp ridge when you drag a spoon through it.

5. 5

   Bag the dough and heat the oil

   Fit a sturdy piping bag with a large open star tip, roughly 1/2 inch across (Ateco 824 or 848 both work). Closed star tips and small tips clog or burst the bag under pressure, so go bigger than feels necessary. Fill the bag no more than two-thirds full and twist the top tightly. Pour oil into a Dutch oven or heavy pot to a depth of about 2 inches and heat to 350–360°F (175–182°C), checking with a thermometer.

6. 6

   Pipe and fry

   Holding the bag a few inches above the oil, pipe 5- to 6-inch lengths directly into the pot and snip the dough free with oiled kitchen scissors. Fry 4 or 5 at a time — crowding drops the oil temperature and gives you pale, oil-logged churros. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes per side, turning once with tongs, until they are deep golden brown all over with dark ridges. Pale churros collapse as they cool, so take the color further than you think. Let the oil climb back to 350°F between batches.

7. 7

   Drain and roll

   Lift the churros onto the paper towels for 20 to 30 seconds, just enough to shed surface oil, then roll them in the cinnamon sugar while still hot so it clings. Move the coated churros to the wire rack in a single layer rather than stacking them, which traps steam and softens the crust. Serve with the warm chocolate sauce as soon as you can; churros are at their absolute best within 15 minutes of frying.

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Baker's Tips

• 1.

  A thermometer matters more here than in almost any other fried recipe. Below 340°F the churros soak up oil and turn heavy; above 375°F the outside darkens before the inside sets and they deflate on the rack.

• 2.

  If your churros split open or burst in the oil, the dough was too wet or the oil too hot. Cook the dough a minute longer next time to drive off more moisture, and let the oil settle back to temperature between batches.

• 3.

  Dough that won't hold its ridges needs a bit more body. Beat in a tablespoon or two of extra flour, or chill the filled piping bag for 15 minutes to firm it up before frying.

• 4.

  Pipe onto parchment squares and freeze them solid if you want to work ahead. Fry straight from frozen, adding about a minute to the total time — no thawing.

• 5.

  Snipping the dough with scissors dipped in oil keeps it from dragging and tearing, and it gives you a cleaner end that fries evenly.

• 6.

  For traditional Spanish-style churros, skip the cinnamon and roll in plain sugar — the chocolate is meant to carry the flavor.

Equipment

• Heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or deep pot
• Deep-fry or instant-read thermometer
• Large piping bag
• Large open star piping tip (about 1/2 inch)
• Wooden spoon
• Stand mixer with paddle attachment (optional)
• Kitchen scissors
• Tongs or a slotted spoon
• Wire cooling rack
• Two rimmed baking sheets

Storage