Preparation
- For the sauce, heat the cream in a small pan until it just begins to simmer, pour it over the chopped chocolate, leave for 2 to 3 minutes and then stir until smooth. Keep warm.
- Mix the sugar and cinnamon for the coating on a flat plate.
- Bring the water, butter, salt and sugar to the boil in a pan. Add the flour all at once and stir over medium heat until a smooth ball forms that pulls away from the bottom of the pan. Transfer to a bowl and leave to cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time until you have a smooth, thick but pliable dough. Spoon it into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle (about 1 cm opening).
- Heat the oil to 170 to 180 °C. Pipe strips of dough about 15 cm long directly over the hot fat and snip them off with scissors; fry 3 to 4 at a time so that the oil does not cool down.
- Deep-fry the churros for 2 to 3 minutes, turning, until golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper, roll in the cinnamon sugar and serve hot with the chocolate sauce.
Drink with it
Fortified wine · excellent match
Pedro Ximénez sherry, lightly chilled
The raisin, fig and caramel notes of PX go with cinnamon sugar and dark chocolate, and its sweetness keeps up with the sauce.
Port wine: understanding Ruby, Tawny, and VintageAged rum · excellent match
Aged rum, neat or with an ice cube
Toffee, vanilla and spice in cask-aged rum pick up the cinnamon and chocolate, and the alcohol cuts the film of fat from the fried dough.
Drinking rum neat: how to get to know a bottlingCream liqueur · excellent match
Cream liqueur on ice
Creamy sweetness with cocoa notes reinforces the chocolate sauce; the ice keeps it fresh.
Mezcal · good match
Mezcal Joven, neat in small sips
The smoke of the mezcal picks up the toasty notes of the dough and the dark chocolate, with the cinnamon linking the two.
Tequila and Mezcal: What's the Difference?
Why it pairs well
Mezcal with churros is the unusual choice: its smoke plays off the toasty notes and the dark chocolate.