If you haven’t had a churro before , consider a doughnut like stick , rolled in sugar and dipped in chocolate . They are so easy to make , its ridiculous. Yes , they are deep fried . But I think this blog gave up calorie counting a long long time back ! We believe in calorie sharing – and a plate of these churros passed around will make sure any sinful eating guilt is passed on equally !
Back to churros – these are a form of slender , fried pastry very popular in Spain and possible roots in Portugal or Mexico . They are made using regular kitchen pantry staples like flour , butter/ oil , salt and sugar. Eggs are often added for richness . The piped dough is then fried and rolled in sugar that can be plain or mixed with cinnamon .
Many of the churro recipes involve making the dough in a pan on the stovetop. I came across a couple which didn’t even involve the cooking of the dough. Its simply made by mixing hot water into seasoned flour , so that’s what I tried ! And since I was skipping eggs , I used some baking powder for the needed fluffiness in the dough. I also added some cinnamon into the dough itself for a little jolt of added spice.
Traditionally , churros are shaped in long cylinders with a ridged exterior and this is achieved by piping the dough using a star tip. Its best to use a large star tip , so the insides are soft. A smaller tip will also do the job but the insides will be more on the chewier side. Still delicious. No star tip ? No problem. just snip the end of a piping bag (or any sturdy food grade plastic bag and pipe ). They will still taste the same !
But be warned , this is a dense dough and piping may involve plenty of pressure and possibly some burst piping bags. So double up on the bags if needed !
The best way to have these eggless churros – fresh and still warm !
Eggless churros with chocolate dipping sauce
Ingredients
For the churro dough :
- 160 grams or 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour or maida
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 200 ml hot boiling water 3/4 cup plus 1 tbsp
- 1 tbsp oil
For the chocolate dipping sauce :
- 100 grams or 2/3 cup dark chocolate
- 120 ml or 1/2 cup cream
- 14 grams or 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
For frying and finishing:
- OIl to fry the churros
- 50 grams or 1/4 cup castor sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
Instructions
To make the chocolate dipping sauce :
- In a sauce pan , heat the chocolate , cream and butter together until melted and smooth.
- Take off heat and mix in the vanilla
- Keep aside until serving time
To make the churro dough :
- In a large bowl, stir together the flour , salt , cinnamon , sugar and baking powder.
- Add the hot boiling water and oil.
- Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until it forms a dough.
- Knead this for a minute ( when hot enough to handle) until smooth
To fry the churros :
- Fit a piping bag with a open star tip ( use two piping bags one inside the other if they are flimsy).
- Fill with the churro dough
- Stir together the cinnamon and sugar . Keep ready in a plate or shallow dish
- Heat oil in a pan over medium high heat
- Once hot and sizzling , hold the piping bag over the oil and pipe out about 2 inches of the dough. Slide a knife across the piping tip to snip the churro off. The dough will fall into the oil
- Similarly pipe out around 10 churros into the oil ( depends on size of your pan )
- Fry while turning over occasionally until the churros are golden brown. This takes a few minutes.
- Remove using a slotted spoon onto a tissue or napkin
- After a minute , toss the warm churros in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
- Repeat with all the dough .
- Serve warm immediately with the chocolate dipping sauce !
Notes
Nice and crispy on the outside , soft on the inside ! Plenty of cinnamon sugar and some generous dipping in the chocolate sauce . As the dough itself doesn’t have much sugar , these eggless churros hit just the right balance of sweet and spice!