RECIPE: Churros and Chocolate (HEAVEN!)

I do love a good donut. Donuts of all descriptions but Churros really do it for me. Perfect balance of dough to cinnamony-sugary, crispy goodness. Add a pot of dipping chocolate into the mixing and I'm good to go.

Last year I bought myself a Churros maker which, to be perfectly honest, looks like a gentlemen's genital enlargement tool. Ok, I'm trying to be polite... quite frankly it looks like a penis pump, but if it gets the job done and makes good Churros, then I am happy. Basically you only really need a piping bag with a star-ridged nozzle to do the job really, so don't go frantically looking for a special Spanish Churros maker like I did!

This recipe is not my own; it is a recipe from Thomasina Mier's 'Mexican Food Made Simple'which I bought last year with the intention of making Churros. So forgive me, as clearly I am a little behind but MAN was it worth the wait! So here is the recipe;

Churros and Chocolate

125g plain flour
125 self raising flour
450ml of boiling water
2 tablespoons of olive oil
A good pinch of salt
2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon
200g of caster sugar
1.5-2 litres of sunflower oil

For the chocolate sauce
200g dark chocolate (preferably 70% cocoa)
50g milk chocolate
2 tabelspoons of golden syrup
300ml of double cream

In a heavy based saucepan over a very gentle heat, pour in the double cream, golden syrup and break in all of the chocolate and stir well until the chocolate melts and the sauce because a rich, glossy chocolate mixture. Then turn the heat off. Then preheat a large pan over a medium to high heat (or medium if using gas) and pour the sunflower oil in it in preparation for frying your churros.

In a heatproof or metal bowl sift the flours and salt together into the bowl and make a well in the centre. Measure out 450ml of boiling water in a measuring jug then add your olive oil into the hot water and stir well before pouring into the centre of your well in the bowl with the flour in it and using a fork, stir well.
The mixture is going to look bizarre, like a thick, raw bread dough but this is correct and you will need to let it rest for 10 minutes.Once done, fill a piping bag with some of the mixture and testing the oil is hot enough first (usually a small bit of bread should turn golden within 30 seconds) and pipe in your churros dough (about 5 inches long) and snip the ends off with a pair of scissors. Don't overcrowd the pan because they have a tendency to stick together in the oil otherwise, so 3 at a time works best. Fry them all and once done place on a plate lined with a couple of sheets of kitchen towel to drain off excess oil.

Mix the caster sugar and ground cinnamon together and either roll the churros in the sugar mixtures of liberally sprinkle the sugar mixture over the Churros... And don't forget to pour yourself a nice cup of the chocolate sauce to dip the Churros in. HEAVEN!