Churros

Instructions

1- step 1 Boil the kettle, then measure 300ml boiling water into a jug and add the melted butter and vanilla extract.

2- Sift the flour and baking powder into a big mixing bowl with a big pinch of salt.

3- Make a well in the centre, then pour in the contents of the jug and very quickly beat into the flour with a wooden spoon until lump-free.

4- Rest for 10-15 mins while you make the sauce.

5- step 2 Put all the sauce ingredients into a pan and gently melt together, stirring occasionally until you have a smooth shiny sauce.

6- Keep warm on a low heat.

7- step 3 Fill a large deep saucepan one-third full of oil.

8- Cooking with hot oil can be dangerous – before you start, read up on how to deep-fry safely to avoid accidents in the kitchen.

9- Heat until a cube of bread browns in 45 seconds to 1 min.

10- Cover a tray with kitchen paper and mix the caster sugar and cinnamon together.

11- step 4 Fit a star nozzle to a piping bag – 1.

12- 5-2cm wide is a good size.

13- Fill with the rested dough, then pipe 2-3 strips directly into the pan, snipping off each dough strip with a pair of kitchen scissors.

14- Fry until golden brown and crisp.

15- Be very careful here – if air bubbles form in the churros they can explode, especially if the oil overheats or you use old flour.

16- Cooking with hot oil can be dangerous – before you start, read up on how to deep-fry safely to avoid accidents in the kitchen.

17- Keep children out of the kitchen and protect yourself by wearing long sleeves and eye protection, and keeping your face away from the pan.

18- step 5 Once the churros are crisp and golden brown, remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on the kitchen paper-lined tray.

19- Carry on cooking the rest of the dough in batches, sprinkling the cooked churros with some cinnamon sugar as you go.

20- When you’ve cooked all the churros, toss with any remaining cinnamon sugar and serve with the chocolate sauce, for dipping.

21- To see a video of how to prepare churros, take a look at our churros ice cream sandwich recipe.