It started with wanting to put some churros on the menu.
Being a native Californian, I’m no stranger to churros. It’s my go-to pastry at every good tacqueria, and can now be found sold on street carts (even in New York these days!). If you’ve never had churros, they are deliciously light, deep fried doughnuts that are long and thin, with crispy ridges that have been coated in cinnamon sugar.
Various versions of churros exist throughout the Latin American world - some filled with guava, dulce de leche, or cajeta (goat milk caramel). All delicious, I admit that my preference is the variety from Spain. I have fond memories of indulgent breakfasts of fresh churros con chocolate served with a hot, creamy café con leche (coffee with milk). What is great about Spanish churros is the thick, pudding-like chocolate that is served with it. The pastries are sturdy enough to dip and pick up a generous portion of the warm dark chocolate over and over again. The combination of the two makes for a special treat.
The churros I’ve made a few times in my culinary profession, involved a pate a choux base, an egg puff dough, used often to make éclairs and cream puffs. It creates a great crisp shell with a hollow soft, creamy interior. However, this time, for the restaurant menu, I wanted to master Spanish style churros, which are a little bit thinner, denser and chewier. In my research, I found that the dough is simply made of flour, water, and butter. Knead the dough lightly, and pipe the batter through a star tip pastry bag into hot oil. Beware: dangerously addictive!
Or, if you’re in the neighborhood, come into Oceana for lunch and get some churros, cooked to order! (PS. They come with some warm Chocolate - Ancho Chili Pudding and some Dulce de Leche - Cafe Sauces!)
Here’s my recipe, adopted from a traditional Spanish recipe:
SPANISH CHURROS
Yields: - 18 - 6" Churros
1 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp. Flour
1 tsp. Salt
3 tbsp. Butter
1 c. Water
-In a bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and salt.
-Slowly bring water and butter to a boil.
-Pour boiling liquid into drys and stir. Knead until dough comes together into a smooth batter.
-Place dough in a star tip lined (1/4" wide) pastry bag. Batter is ready to cook.
Use a mixer with a dough hook, if possible.
Pipe the dough in hot oil or on an oiled tray and transfer to the oil.
Fry in oil at 375 F until golden brown. Drain and dust in sugar.
