Churros Rellenos con Chocolate
(choo-rohs rey-yeh-nohs kohn choh-koh-lah-teh)
Chapter 5: Sweets & Drinks
Midnight at a packed tapería, the oil hisses, a star-tipped piping bag shears dough, and churros arrive leaking dark chocolate across tables sticky with spilled Albariño. To pull this off at home without sweating over a vat of boiling oil while your guests finish the Albariño, we rely on an enriched choux dough—perfect for hollowing out—pipe it, and freeze it solid days in advance. When the time comes, those frozen batons hit hot olive oil, crisp up beautifully, and are ready for injecting with ganache in exactly five minutes. Bite into them while the crust still shatters and the center threatens to burn your chin.
Before you start
Make the ganache ahead of time.
The chocolate filling can be made days in advance, refrigerated, and gently rewarmed in a water bath before piping.
Freeze the piped dough for up to two months.
Once the piped churro batons are frozen solid on the baking sheet, you can transfer them to an airtight ziplock bag and keep them in the freezer until you are ready to fry.
Ingredients
- water1 cup
- unsalted butter1/2 cup
- granulated sugar1 tbsp
- kosher salt1/2 tsp
- all-purpose flour1 cup
- eggs3 large
- high-quality vanilla extract1 tsp
- dark chocolate chips1 cup
- heavy cream3/4 cup
- flaky sea salt1 pinch
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil4 cup
- granulated sugar1/2 cup
- ground cinnamon1 tsp
Method
- 01
Prepare the chocolate ganache.
Place the dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream just to a simmer, pour it over the chocolate, and let it sit undisturbed for two minutes before whisking in a pinch of flaky salt until glossy and thick.
- 02
Scald the dough.
In a medium saucepan, bring the water, butter, one tablespoon of sugar, and kosher salt to a rolling boil. Remove from heat, immediately dump in the flour all at once, and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until it forms a tight, smooth ball. Return to low heat for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly, to cook off excess moisture.
- 03
Incorporate the eggs.
Transfer the hot dough to a stand mixer and beat on low speed for two to three minutes to release the steam. Add the vanilla extract, followed by the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition until the dough whips into a smooth, glossy paste that holds a soft peak.
- 04
Pipe and freeze.
Transfer the warm dough to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe five-inch straight lines onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, using shears to cleanly snip the dough at the tip, and freeze for at least one hour until solid.
- 05
Fry from frozen.
Mix the remaining half cup of sugar and the cinnamon in a shallow dish. Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven to exactly 375°F. Working in small batches, drop the frozen churros directly into the hot oil, frying for two minutes per side until deeply golden. Drain for ten seconds, then immediately toss in the cinnamon sugar.
- 06
Hollow and stuff.
While the churros are still warm, gently insert a wooden skewer straight through the center of each baton to hollow out the soft crumb. Using a piping bag or culinary syringe, pump the warm chocolate ganache into the hole until the churro feels heavy and the chocolate just begins to peek out.
Notes
Frying in Spanish olive oil is not optional.
The use of mild, low-acidity Extra Virgin Olive Oil is what imparts the unmistakable, subtly fruity flavor of a true Spanish churrería. If entirely cost-prohibitive, cut it 50/50 with a high-oleic neutral oil, but do not omit it.
The skewer trick is non-negotiable.
The enriched choux dough creates an airy interior during frying, but you still must crush the delicate inner crumb with a wooden skewer to form a perfect, continuous hollow tube. Skipping this will result in the churro bursting when you inject the chocolate.