Homemade Churros with Chocolate Ganache
Crunchy churros tossed in cinnamon sugar are paired with a silky chocolate ganache—the perfect way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo!
What better way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo than with light, freshly made churros with a warm dipping sauce? This is actually the first time I’ve made (or tried) churros, and they were so good!
What are churros?
Originating in the Spanish or Mexican region, churros are a sweet treat made from choux pastry dough that is piped into hot oil, fried, then tossed in sugar (this recipe uses a hint of cinnamon).
They’re unlike any other dessert I’ve had; light and airy, they have a crisp, golden outside that’s crunchy, with a soft inside. Traditionally, they’re served with hot chocolate, coffee, or dulce de leche!
Ingredients for Churros
The choux dough for churros is made with only 7 ingredients (not including the oil for frying), and most of them you’ll already have in the pantry. For the churro dough, you’ll need.
-
- Water
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Flour
- Salt
- Vanilla
- Vegetable oil
- Cinnamon
Making a homemade chocolate ganache is optional, as you could always serve the churros with hot chocolate, caramel sauce, or something else.
A traditional ganache is made from heated heavy cream and chocolate, but I decided to add spices for more flavor (feel free to omit them, though)!
The ingredients for the chocolate ganache are:
-
- Heavy cream
- Semi-sweet or milk chocolate
- Espresso powder (optional)
- Cinnamon (optional)
- Ancho chile powder (optional)
- Vanilla
- Salt
How to Make Churros and Chocolate Ganache
Churros are pretty simple to make; the hardest part is frying them, so I definitely recommend using a thermometer to accurately heat the oil. This way, you’ll have perfectly cooked churros with a crunchy, golden exterior and an airy inside.
- Make the churro dough. Boil the water, butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla in a pot, then add all the flour at once, stirring to create a dough. After cooling the mixture, eggs will be added to make the dough looser and pipeable.
- Cook the churros. After heating oil to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, pipe lines of dough into the pot and cook them until golden brown.
- Coat the churros. Once fried, toss the churros into cinnamon sugar.
- Make the ganache. Pour hot cream mixed with spices over chopped chocolate. After a minute, stir until a smooth and silky texture is formed, and serve warm with the churros!
Hope you guys like this recipe as much as I did—happy churro making, and an even happier Cinco de Mayo!
Homemade Churros with Chocolate Ganache
Ingredients
For the churros
- 1 cup water
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- Canola or vegetable oil (for frying)
For the cinnamon sugar
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
For the chocolate ganache
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 8 ounces good-quality semisweet chocolate*
- ½ teaspoon espresso powder optional
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon optional
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon ancho chile powder optional, depending how much spice you like in your sauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Make the churro dough. Heat the water, butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla in a pot on medium-high heat until boiling. Reduce the heat and add all of the flour at once, stirring vigorously until a thick and smooth dough is created and forms a ball.
- Transfer the dough to a separate bowl to cool for 5-10 minutes. In the meantime, heat around 1½ inches of oil in a large pot on the stove, until it reaches 350℉. Line a cooling rack with paper towels, then mix together ¾ cup of granulated sugar and 1½ teaspoons cinnamon in a bowl and set aside.
- Add one egg to the choux dough and mix until incorporated (alternatively, you can do this step in a food processor). Add the last egg and mix until well combined, then transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a star tip.
- Once the oil is hot enough, pipe around 6 inches of dough into the oil, cutting it with a pair of kitchen scissors when it reaches the correct length. Fry for 3 minutes, turning halfway through, until the churros are medium-golden brown.
- Transfer the cooked churros to the paper towels to drain, then toss them in the cinnamon sugar. Repeat with the remaining churro dough.
- Make the chocolate ganache. Stir together the heavy cream, salt, vanilla, espresso powder, cinnamon, and chile powder (if using) in a medium saucepan. Heat the mixture on the stove on medium-high heat (do not burn).
- In the meantime, chop the chocolate and place it into a separate bowl. Once the cream is gently simmering, pour it through a sieve over the chocolate. Let the mixture stand for at least one minute to let the chocolate melt, then stir until a smooth and glossy ganache is formed.
- Serve the churros warm with the chocolate sauce and enjoy!
