Churros with thick hot chocolate (chocolate a la taza)
Ingredients
Method
- For the chocolate, mix the cornstarch with a little cold milk. Heat the rest of the milk with the sugar, add the chopped chocolate and stir until melted. Add the cornstarch and cook for 3 to 5 minutes over low heat, stirring, until the chocolate coats the spoon. Keep warm.
- Bring the water to a boil with the salt and oil. Off the heat, add the flour all at once and stir vigorously with a spatula until you have a smooth, thick, lump-free dough. Leave to cool for 10 minutes.
- Heat the frying oil to 180 °C in a wide saucepan or deep frying pan. Fill a churro maker or a sturdy piping bag fitted with a star tip with the warm dough, pressing it down well to remove air.
- Pipe 12 to 15 cm lengths directly over the oil and snip them off with scissors. Fry 4 or 5 churros at a time for 2 to 3 minutes, turning them, until deep golden.
- Drain them on paper towels, then immediately roll them in sugar, mixed with cinnamon if you like.
- Serve at once with the thick hot chocolate in a cup for dipping.
Notes
Crisp outside, soft inside, dusted with sugar and dipped in chocolate so thick it coats the churro: homemade churros are Spain’s favorite treat, on Sunday morning or as an afternoon snack. Here is our easy churros recipe, the real one, with a three-ingredient dough and Spanish-style hot chocolate.
Churros, a Spanish breakfast and snack specialty
In Spain, churros are an institution. People buy them hot from churrerías in the morning for breakfast, for merienda (the late afternoon snack) or in the early hours after a night out. Madrid has made them its emblem, with cafés that have been serving churros since the 19th century. They are as much an afternoon snack as a breakfast, always with a cup of chocolate a la taza.
In Madrid you’ll also find porras: thicker, longer and softer churros, fried in a spiral and then cut into pieces. In Andalusia, tejeringos are fried in one big spiral. The principle stays the same: a simple dough fried in very hot oil.
The traditional Spanish churros recipe
The recipe for traditional Spanish churros is surprisingly simple: boiling water, flour and salt, sometimes a drizzle of oil. No eggs, no butter, no baking powder. It is not choux pastry: the dough is stiffer and denser, which gives crisp, slightly chewy churros. The classic proportion is about 200 g of flour for 250 ml of water.
Churros or fairground churros: what’s the difference?
Many fairground and Latin American churro recipes are closer to choux pastry, with eggs, butter or milk in the dough, which makes them puffier and softer. They are usually rolled in cinnamon sugar. Spanish churros, made without eggs, are crunchier and often rolled in plain sugar.
Churro dough without a churro maker
A churrera is a metal press that pushes out the very stiff dough. Without one, use a sturdy piping bag (canvas, or two disposable bags one inside the other) and a closed star tip about 1 cm wide. The dough is hard to push: fill the bag halfway, press it down well and push with both hands. The ridges are not just decorative: they increase the crisp surface and stop the churros from bursting.
Why churros explode in the oil
Because air or steam gets trapped in the dough. When the heat expands the bubble, the crust that has already formed bursts and splatters oil. To avoid it: press the dough down well in the bag to push out the air, use a star tip (a plain round tip makes churros explode), keep the dough firm and even, and don’t overcrowd the pan. Stand back and use a slotted spoon.
Which oil for frying churros?
An oil that handles heat well: sunflower, peanut or light olive oil, widely used in Spain. The ideal temperature is 180 °C: below that, churros soak up oil; above it, they brown outside and stay raw inside. Without a thermometer, drop in a small piece of dough: it should rise immediately, surrounded by small bubbles.
Churros crisp outside, soft inside
Three rules: a well-worked, smooth dough, oil at the right temperature and churros served immediately. Don’t make them too thick: 1 cm in diameter is enough. Drain them on paper towels and roll them in sugar while hot so it sticks.
Hot chocolate for churros
The hot chocolate for churros is chocolate a la taza: a thick, almost custard-like hot chocolate, thickened with a little cornstarch. It should coat the churro when dipped. Use dark chocolate with 50 to 70% cocoa and whole milk, and cook for a few minutes over low heat, stirring constantly. In Spain, people drink whatever is left straight from the cup.
Spices for churros
In Spain, churros are simply rolled in sugar. Cinnamon sugar is more of a French and Latin American habit, but it is delicious: use a teaspoon of cinnamon for 50 g of sugar. A pinch of cinnamon or a little orange zest in the chocolate also works wonders. Discover all our spices in our spice guide.
Baked churros without frying?
Baked and air fryer churros exist. Pipe them onto a baking sheet lined with parchment, brush with oil and bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 200 °C. Let’s be honest: the texture is different, drier and less crisp, closer to a cookie. It is a good lighter alternative, but not a real churro.
Homemade churros in a Thermomix
A food processor with a cooking function is handy for the dough: heat the water, salt and oil for 4 minutes at 100 °C, add the flour and mix for 30 seconds on medium speed. The chocolate can also be made in it: 7 minutes at 90 °C on slow speed. Frying is always done in a pan or deep fryer.
Storing and reheating churros
Churros are much better freshly fried. If you have leftovers, keep them at room temperature wrapped in a tea towel, without sugar, and reheat them for 5 minutes in the oven at 180 °C before rolling them in sugar. The chocolate keeps for 2 days in the fridge and reheats gently with a splash of milk.
A Spanish menu all the way to dessert
For an all-Spanish meal, start with an Andalusian gazpacho in summer, continue with a tortilla de patatas and finish with churros. Love fried or griddled street treats? Try Dutch poffertjes and stroopwafels too. And for another great Spanish dessert, try crema catalana with lemon and cinnamon.
Frequently asked questions
Can you make churro dough ahead?
Yes, a few hours ahead, covered with plastic wrap touching the surface. It hardens as it cools: pipe it while still warm if possible, it will be easier.
Why are my churros greasy?
The oil was not hot enough, or too many churros were fried at once and cooled it down. Check it is at 180 °C and fry in small batches.
