Churritos with Chocolate and Hazelnut Sauce

If you live in Southeast London, you have probably been to Greenwich Market, and have most likely seen the Brazilian churro stand in there.

I went for dinner with my friends yesterday and passed by the market, in the corner of my eye I could see the empty stand, and that’s when it hit me, the big urge of having their chocolate filled churro…

Apparently, my willpower is weak, and the path of bikini bod is not the smoothest.

Some of you might know that I already have a churro recipe on here, but I have found an easier and quicker way to make them. Heads up, I have tried it before just hand rolling the dough, but it is not the same. Therefore, for the best result possible, I would recommend using the piping bag.

For the Churros:

• 175ml boiling water
• 25g melted unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 125g plain flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1l sunflower oil for frying

 

For the chocolate and hazelnut sauce:

• 50ml condensed milk
• 50ml milk
• 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
• 10 hazelnuts, crunched

 

For the cinnamon sugar:

• 50g white caster sugar
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

 

In a measuring jug, add the water, melted butter and vanilla extract. Sift the flour and baking powder in a bowl and make a little well in the centre. Pour in the liquid and very quickly beat into the flour with a wooden spoon until it’s combined. Let it cool for about 10 minutes.

In the meantime, start making the chocolate sauce by combining all ingredients in a pan and gently melting everything together. Keep it warm on a low heat stirring it occasionally.

As some of you might know, I have a deep fryer, which makes it handy when making this kind of recipes. If you do not have one, simply use a large deep saucepan to fry your churritos in.

Put the churro dough in a piping bag with a star nozzle fitted. Start by piping finger length churros into a greaseproof parchment paper. Make sure you have a pair of scissors nearby, as you will need to cut the dough. Unless your aim is to have the Guinness world record for the largest churro.

Fry 4 or 5 at the time until golden brown and crisp. Once they are ready, remove them from the fryer or the pan – I like using wooden chopsticks for this job. You will need to kitchen towel, to drain any excess oil. Don’t forget to toss them in the cinnamon sugar. For that, you just need to mix the sugar and the cinnamon in a plate or bowl.

Serve the chocolate and hazelnut sauce in a small ramekin to dip the churritos in.

 

Coconut and Key Lime Pie

Hello lovelies! Sorry I haven’t been posting much lately! I have been busy loving life! 

Jokes! I haven’t had much time to cook beautiful meals unfortunately! I have had the day off today and have craved for key lime pie for weeks, so I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to make it! 

  

The ingredients you will need: 

• 200g digestive biscuits
•  20g desiccated coconut
•  100g butter, melted
• 397g can condensed milk
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lime zest 
• 125ml lime juice
• 4 egg yolks
• 150ml coconut cream
• 3 tablespoons icing sugar

 For the meringue: 

• 4 egg white at room temperature
• 100g icing sugar
• 100g caster sugar 

Place the can of coconut cream in the fridge overnight to settle.

Preheat oven to 160C. Grease a tart pan with removable base. Place the biscuits in a food processor and process until finely crushed. Add the dissecated coconut and butter and mix until combined. Spoon into prepared pan and use the back of a spoon to press the mixture evenly over the base and side of the pan. Fine crust or thick crust is up to you! Place in the fridge for at least 30min to chill and harden. 

Whisk the condensed milk, lime zest, lime juice and egg yolks together in a large bowl. Pour over the chilled crust base. Place on a baking tray. Bake for 30 mins or until just set. Once it’s done, set a side to cool down and put it in the fridge. 

To make the coconut cream, open the can of coconut cream and scoop the hard cream at the top into a bowl. You won’t be needing the coconut water/liquid. Add thickened cream and icing sugar. Use an electric mixer to beat until it’s soft then spoon the coconut cream over the pie. 

  
For the meringues, reheat the oven to 100C . Put the egg whites on a non plastic bowl and beat them on medium speed with an electric whisk until the mixture resembles a fluffy clouds and stands up in stiff peaks when you lift the whisk. 

Now turn the speed up and start to add the caster sugar, spoonful at a time. Continue beating while you add the sugar slowly. However, don’t over-beat. When ready, the mixture should be thick and glossy. Sift icing sugar over the mixture and gently fold it in. Continue to sift and fold in the rest of the icing sugar bit by bit. Again, don’t over-mix. The mixture should look smooth! 

I’ve used silicone muffin trays to keep them the same size, once spooned you can sprinkle with lime zest or thinly sliced lemon zest like I did. Bake for an hour and a half in the oven, until the meringues look crisp. Leave to cool on the tray and put them on top of the coconut cream to decorate. 

Churros with Ginger and Cinnamon Sugar

Hello lovely people.

Today I was inspired to make churros, since I don’t have a lot of desserts on my blog! To be honest, I was watching Come Dine With Me, and a couple on the show were making churros but with chocolate to dip in.

All you will need for this recipe is:

For the churros:

• 200ml water
• 2 tablespoons of white sugar
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used coconut oil)
• 200ml plain flour
• Extra oil for frying

For the ginger and cinnamon sugar:

• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon white sugar

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine water, sugar and the 2 tablespoons oil – I used coconut oil because it’s the only oil I really use other than sesame oil or olive oil. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Stir in flour until mixture forms a ball.

Heat oil for frying in a frying pan, or if you have a deep fryer you can use that too, but don’t ask me how because I have never used one before! If you have a piping bag,please use it to pipe the mixture into strips. I have a problem with piping bags and can’t seem to pipe anything right! For the strips, I rolled them into thin strips! Fry until golden and drain on paper towels.

For the sugar, combine all ingredients and roll each churro to make sure they are covered. If there’s any sugar left off, sprinkle some more on top!

You can serve this with ice cream or with melted chocolate!

I believe (according to Wikipedia!) that the Portuguese brought churros to Europe when they returned from China (the grand Portuguese discoveries). Since I am half Portuguese half Chinese, I thought this dessert would represent my heritage the best.

I hope you try this at home and love it!

Ana xx