Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Tuesdays With Dorie - Not Your Traditional Cream Puff

I don’t remember where I first heard of churros. Maybe it was from the Food Network or from one of the many blogs I read everyday, but these fried delicacies intrigued me. While searching for recipes, I noticed that making churros was a lot like making pâte à choux.

So when I saw that Caroline, of A Consuming Passion, had chosen the Peppermint Cream Puff Ring for this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie, I knew what my cream puff would become. Pâte à choux is quite simple to make and what makes them churros is their shape and the fact that they’re usually dipped in a mixture of sugar and cinnamon. Since I wanted to keep the mint aspect of the recipe, I omitted the cinnamon and added a little vanilla to the dough, for added flavor.

We all loved these, they were a real treat with the Chocolate Sauce and the Mint Scented Whipped Cream. If you’d like the recipe for Dorie’s Peppermint Cream Puff Ring, you can find it on pages 290-292 of Baking From My Home To Yours and on Epicurious. You'll also want to check out the Tuesdays With Dorie Blogroll to see what the other members came up with. If you want something less traditional, give these churros a try, I’m sure you won’t regret it!

Untraditional Churros
1 cup whole milk
4 tbsp butter
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
2 eggs

1/2 cup granulated sugar, for dipping

3 cups canola oil, for frying

In a medium saucepan, mix milk, butter, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Add vanilla. Add flour all at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the dough forms a ball. It will take about one minute. Transfer the dough to a large bowl and let it cool about 5 minutes. Using your wooden spoon, beat in the eggs one at a time until they are incorporated in the dough. It will look lumpy at first, but the dough will come together.

In a large, heavy skillet, heat oil to 350F. Spoon the dough into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Once the oil is hot, pipe in the batter into 3 to 3-1/2 inch long strips, cutting the strip with a knife or kitchen shears. Fry the churros until golden, about 4 minutes total, turning them once or twice. Remove them from the oil onto a paper towel lined baking sheet and let them cool enough to touch. Dip the churros in the granulated sugar to coat.

Chocolate Sauce
2 ounces bittersweet or dark chocolate
1 cup milk
1/2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp sugar (or to taste)

In a small saucepan, over low heat, place 1/2 cup milk with the chocolate and stir constantly until the chocolate is melted. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch with the remaining 1/2 cup milk and stir it into the chocolate. Add the sugar and stirring with a whisk, cook the mixture until it has thickened. It will take about 5 minutes. If the chocolate sauce is lumpy, whisk it vigorously until it is smooth. Pour into cups or small bowls and top with Mint Scented Whipped Cream.

Mint Scented Whipped Cream
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 to 3 tbsp sugar (to taste)
1/8 to 1/4 tsp peppermint extract (to taste)

Pour the heavy cream in your mixer bowl of choice and whip at medium speed until it starts to thicken. Add the sugar and the peppermint extract and whip until the cream holds its peaks. Spoon onto the chocolate sauce and, if you wish, decorate with some fresh mint leaves.

Pin It!

65 comments:

Engineer Baker said...

Is that legal? I totally want to make churros now (well, if I wasn't deathly afraid of frying!).

ostwestwind said...

What a great idea, that makes me wordless

Ulrike from Küchenlatein

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

Oh, yum -- I love churros but have never tried to make them. Do I have enough hands to pipe the batter into the oil while cutting with scissors? I'm willing to try!

Nic said...

They look great!
Is the texture anything like a doughnut?

Anonymous said...

I have always wanted to make these, and seeing how easy you make it look, I definitely will try it!

Prudy said...

Why didn't I think of this? I'm kicking myself! My kids love churros and we shell out so much money at theme parks for them. Thanks for the great idea for next time.

Anonymous said...

What a great take on the recipe!
Looks delicious!!!

vibi said...

Ouin! on se permet de grands écarts de conduite! LOL
Avoir su, moi aussi j'aurais peut-être fait la même chose parce que des choux de ce genre, j'en referai pas trop souvent!
Ils ont l'air aussi appétissants que ceux qu'on retrouve en Espagne et au Portugal! ...avec le chocolat en plus! MENOUM!

Anonymous said...

Oh wow...Those look amazing! I'm going to have to make some churros one day!

Jules Someone said...

That's quite a variation! I love churros. Yours look gorgeous!

Isabelle Lambert said...

extra géniale déclinaison Lyb ! j'adore les churros ! me demande si je ne vais pas aller m'en faire cet aprem...c'est trop tentant !!

Anonymous said...

So beautifully presented...your presentation and photos are amazing. Thanks for the recipe. Thanks for the ideas. Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Ah! That's a churro? I went through a lengthy phase some years ago, before the internet became a source for food knowledge, trying to find out how to make a churro. I never found out. I gave up. I forgot about it. You are awesome. I'm making churros.

Sandie said...

wow those look great! nice changes!

marae said...

oh my gosh....i love love love churros. we have them about 2x a year here but homemade is sooo much better than the cart at the park. those look divine!

Manggy said...

Gosh, it's been such a long time since I've had a churro... We used to buy them at the local pasteleria (we don't call them pastelerias here, but it just happens to be a Spanish joint...) and they were served with a shotglass of very thick hot chocolate. Yum! I'm craving one now, thanks to you >:P

I'm not 100% sure on this but I think you can pipe them out onto a sheet, freeze them solid, knock them out onto a plastic bag and just fry when you're ready, up to a month later. I'll have to try it :)

PheMom said...

Love churros! Cool idea!

Susie Homemaker said...

excuse me? who ARE you? churros? I can't believe the foodie brain on some people...you are fantastic! I would try, but i do not fry...(boo hoo) maybe you could mail 'em?

Di said...

Nifty idea. I love seeing all the different things people come up with!

Anonymous said...

Wow! Great idea to make churros. I made some at work two weeks ago, and you're look so much better than mine. I'll have to try your recipe next time.

Anonymous said...

Great idea. They look so good...I want one...now!

Anonymous said...

These look absolutely delicious! I will have to give this a try sometime!

Anonymous said...

Oh, I love churros! Just discovered them this year, but I haven't made them at home yet. YUM.

Heather B said...

ohhh yum! They remind me of the churros y chocolate that I had in Madrid! So yummy!

test it comm said...

Churros with chocolate dipping sauce sounds great!

Jaime said...

wow! love your adaptation.

i grew up in southern CA near lots of amusement parks - disneyland, universal studios, six flags, knott's, etc. so i grew up eating churros! :)

Anne said...

Wow, yum! Those look great!

Lucy..♥ said...

I made them recently & we devoured them... heehee!

I love your take on them, wonderful flavor you've got going on there ;-)

Lauren said...

oh, churros! I grew up with them as a treat, but your look like the amazing ones I've had in Spain with awesome, thick hot chocolate. GREAT adaptation!

My Sweet & Saucy said...

I love this! Your photos are making me crave one right now!

The Food Librarian said...

absolutely delicious!!! amazing!!

Anonymous said...

I'm loving the different directions people went with this. The churros are inspired! I think from now on I might stick with mint extract over fresh mint. I guess I won't be a purist, but oh well : )

cindy* said...

these churros look amazing! i have been thinking of making churros, but making a non-cinnamon-sugar variety never even crossed my mind. beautiful!

Anonymous said...

Those look fantastic! I would have a hard time stopping at just one :)

Anonymous said...

This seems to be the recipe for incorporating other inspirational recipes. Churros! Excellent!

Marie Rayner said...

Those look fantastic! What a wonderful idea! Well done you!

kimberly salem said...

i... heart... churros! great idea & lovely photos :)

grace said...

oh yes, this is a fabulous variation. churros are irresistible to me--for the life of me, i can't walk past a cart selling them without partaking. i'm not sure if i could get past the lack of cinnamon here, but i'd sure try. you deserve at least that much. :)

Liliana said...

These look delicious! I don't fry often but I am sure willing to give these a try.

Great photos!

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Totally original! Wow those "churros" look gorgeous!

Cheers,

Rosa

Nicole said...

yum! I've never had a churro before but I think I will be making these very soon!

p.s. I tagged you!

Bumblebutton said...

That is so cool! Never realized that about the choux dough--I bet it was so much more tasty that way. Your photos are gorgeous I could just jump right in. Yum.

Unknown said...

WOW! my stomach is grumbleing.

Sherry Trifle - Lovely Cats said...

What a creative adaptation of the Cream Puff Ring recipe. Now I must try some churros.

Anonymous said...

All I can think of to say is "mmmmmm....chuuuuuuurros...." those look SO GOOD. That's my kind of cream puff!

Patricia Scarpin said...

You, my dear friend, are just amazing - these churros look fantastic!

I grew up eating them, but they are a bit different here in Brazil - they are large and tall, and filled with dulce de leche.

Lisa T. said...

What a fab idea. I've never made churros but yours look fantastic! I love that you kept the original flavour combination.

Shari@Whisk: a food blog said...

That sounds delicious! Very creative.
Shari@Whisk: a food blog

Mary Ann said...

What a great take on this recipe! Amazing!

CB said...

I LURVE CHURROS! Yours adaption is so clever. Yum yum! Great job!
Clara @ I♥food4thought

Mary said...

You are so clever! Churros? I would have never thought to turn a cream puff into a Churro. Man, those look GOOD! Great job.

Ginny said...

Um...yum!!! Really? This are amazing!!!! Can I have one or five?

RecipeGirl said...

We see lots of churros around here, and these look like some good ones! This is exactly the reason that I can't participate in this group... too many sweets!!

Elle said...

Oh my gosh. You. Are. A. Genius.

Seriously amazing looking!

Anonymous said...

Mmmmm.... love churros. Used to eat them when I was a Navy brat growing up in Spain. Love the combo of flavors you chose on yours. YUM!

Rigby said...

I never heard of churros before...this is intriguing to me! They look delicious :)

Aimée said...

I've always wanted to make these, Lyb. I had them in Mexico and fell in love. Of course anything fried and coated in sugar sounds good to me! Lovely photos, by the way.

Susan from Food Blogga said...

Oh, I go weak in the knees for churros, and yours are making me wobbly.

Rajani said...

wow!! these look amazing... I am usually scared of baking - though I love reading about them!! so for me this totally works. will be making this really soon and hope to post about the attempt as well!

Mari said...

LyB...these look TO DIE FOR!!! My mouth is watering as I type this...YUM! Guess who'll be my OSI choice for this round?!

Dolores said...

Wow. What a way to take inspiration from Dorie on a confection completely your own. Its posts like this that remind me what I love about my baking groups... the chance to learn for myself and from all of you.

Casa Costello said...

These look gorgeous! I have never heard of them before but feel they are def worth a go! Hx

Anonymous said...

I think I just got diabetes.

the Aspirant Abecedarian said...

These look amazing! ...and I think I could use that chocolate sauce for a lot of dishes. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

They look good but in Spain churros are not made with eggs. Just flour, a pinch of salt and boiling water. You can add a bit of baking powder if you wish though it's no necessary. Then they're deep fried - in olive oil of course. The sugar coating is optional.

In Madrid for instance churros and porras -porras are made with the same recipe as churros but they're bigger- aren't coated in sugar.

You can dip them in Spanish thick hot chocolate, eat them with your coffee or on their own.