Churros Rellenos con Chocolate
Chapter 5: Sweets & Drinks
If there is one dessert that signals the glorious, messy end to a long night at an American tapas bar, it is a plate of hot churros bleeding dark chocolate. But pulling this off at home without leaving your guests to sweat over a vat of boiling oil requires stealing a trick directly from the restaurant line. By using an enriched choux dough—which naturally hollows out for stuffing—you can pipe and freeze the churros days in advance. When the last slice of jamón is gone and the Albariño is polished off, you simply drop the frozen batons into hot Spanish olive oil, inject them with a heavy, dark chocolate ganache, and hit the table like a seasoned line cook.
Before you start
The dough can be piped and frozen up to two months in advance.
Once frozen solid on the baking sheet, transfer the churro batons to an airtight container or ziplock bag until you are ready to drop them into the fryer.
Ingredients
- dark chocolate (minimum 70% cacao, ideally Valor)1 cup
- heavy cream3/4 cup
- flaky sea salt1 pinch
- water1 cup
- unsalted butter1/2 cup
- granulated sugar1 tbsp
- kosher salt1/2 tsp
- all-purpose flour1 cup
- large eggs3 large
- vanilla extract1 tsp
- extra virgin olive oil4 cup
- granulated sugar1/2 cup
- ground cinnamon1 tsp
Method
- 01
Prepare the chocolate ganache.
Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl, pour over simmering heavy cream, and let sit for two minutes before whisking in the pinch of flaky sea salt until glossy. Transfer to a piping bag or culinary syringe, refrigerating until needed and gently re-warming in a water bath before service.
- 02
Scald the choux dough.
Boil the water, butter, one tablespoon of sugar, and kosher salt in a saucepan, then remove from the heat and vigorously stir in the flour until it forms a tight, smooth ball. Return the pan to low heat for about a minute, stirring constantly, to cook off excess moisture.
- 03
Incorporate the eggs.
Transfer the hot dough to a stand mixer and beat on low for two minutes to release the steam. Add the vanilla, then beat in the eggs one at a time until the mixture whips into a smooth, sticky paste that holds a soft peak.
- 04
Pipe and freeze the churros.
Transfer the warm dough to a heavy-duty piping bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe straight, five-inch lines onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Snip the ends cleanly with shears, then freeze the sheet for at least an hour.
- 05
Fry the churros straight from frozen.
Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven to exactly 375°F (190°C) and drop the frozen churros in batches of three to four. Fry for two to two and a half minutes per side until deeply golden, then let drain for ten seconds and immediately toss in a mixture of the half cup of sugar and ground cinnamon.
- 06
Hollow and stuff with chocolate.
Insert a wooden skewer through the center of each warm churro to crush the steamy interior crumb and create a hollow tube, taking care not to pierce the opposite end. Insert your ganache piping bag into the hole and squeeze until the churro feels heavy and chocolate just peeks out the top.
Notes
Frying in olive oil is non-negotiable.
The distinct, grassy fruitiness of a Spanish olive oil is the hallmark of an authentic churrería. If using pure extra virgin olive oil is too cost-prohibitive, cut it with a high-oleic sunflower oil, but do not omit it entirely.
Do not attempt to stuff a traditional lean churro dough.
Traditional Spanish churro dough relies solely on water and flour, resulting in a dense crumb that will burst if injected. The enriched choux method provides the necessary airy interior to contain the heavy chocolate ganache.