Churros with hot chocolate sauce

Method

• step 1

  To make the churros, tip the diced butter into a saucepan, add 200ml cold water and a pinch of salt. Put the pan over heat to melt the butter and bring to the boil. Sieve the flour and baking powder together. As soon as the water boils, remove it from the heat and quickly stir in the sifted flour and baking powder. Beat the mix with a wooden spoon until smooth and it comes away from the sides of the pan in a smooth mass.

• step 2

  Tip the mixture into a bowl and cool for a couple of minutes. Then gradually add the beaten eggs one at a time, beating well until the mixture is smooth, glossy and drops reluctantly from a spoon. Add the orange flower water (if using) and grated orange zest, and mix until combined. Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and leave the batter to one side to rest for 30 minutes.

• step 3

  Finely chop the dark chocolate and tip into a bowl. Pour the double cream into a small saucepan, add the cinnamon stick, dulce de leche, butter and vanilla extract, and bring to a simmer. Stir until smooth then pour over the chopped chocolate and stir again until the mixture is combined.

• step 4

  Fill a large saucepan no more than one third full with oil. Heat until it reaches 180-190C (or a cube of bread browns in a minute). Fit a large piping bag with a large star-shaped nozzle and fill with batter. Once the oil has come up to temperature you can start to cook the churros. Pipe 2 or 3 finger-length strips of batter directly into the pan cutting off each strip with a pair of scissors. Do not cook more than this in one go or the oil will cool down dramatically and your churros will be heavy and greasy, rather than crisp, golden and light.

• step 5

  Cook the churros for about 45 seconds to one minute on each side until golden and crisp. Remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon, drain quickly on kitchen paper and sprinkle liberally with caster sugar. serve with thick hot chocolate dipping sauce.