Sunday, January 23, 2011

Raspberry Mini Churros with White Chocolate

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These look like very, very burnt churros. They're not. I swear!

They are actually churros that have been tinged a dark pink colour with the addition of raspberry puree. In my head these Spanish doughnuts were going to turn out beautifully golden with a hint of pink. Instead they turned out kinda brown and burnt looking. The raspberry just made them so DARK. But they taste delicious.
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I'm not going to lie, I HATE deep-frying. That's why you hardly ever see it on this blog. I have an old electric cooktop which makes it impossible to hold the oil at a constant temperature. I have a useless exhaust so my entire house stinks of oil for a few days. And I am so uncoordinated I usually end up with some wicked blisters from oil spatter. But I've always wanted to try making churros. I LOVE churros. I fell in love with them for the first time at the Queen Victoria Markets in Melbourne. They were piping hot, golden and crunchy with a dusting of icing sugar. But most places where I've had churros since then have been pretty disappointing, very heavy and stodgy. So I finally decided to try making my own.
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I tried to make it easier on myself by using a narrow piping tip to make mini churros. After a few tests, I realised that the colour of the batter was going to make any straight-shaped churros look like skinny poos. Not appetising. So I came up with a rather cute idea, I cut out some small squares of baking paper and piped heart-shapes with the batter. Then these were carefully slid into the hot oil and voilà! Heart-shaped churros! Perfect for Valentine's Day. And even though the raspberry puree might make the colour of the churros a bit ugly, you can really taste that lovely raspberry flavour in these doughnuts. And it's perfect paired with a big bowl of melted white chocolate.

If you are weirded out by the flavour/colour, feel free to adapt it to plain churros (replace the puree with 1 cup of water) with melted dark chocolate. Dark chocolate is so sexy after all. I'm not sure if I would ever make this recipe again, though I found it intriguing that it was essentially a recipe for choux pastry, which is then deep fried. My issues were more with getting the oil temperature right, and I'm sure someone out there can make these better than me.
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Raspberry Mini-Churros with White Chocolate
(adapted from this recipe, serves 8-10)
1 punnet (150g) raspberries, fresh or frozen (and thawed)
1/4 cup icing sugar
100g unsalted butter
150g (1 cup) plain flour
1/4 tsp salt
3 eggs, lightly whisked
Vegetable oil, to deep-fry
80g (1/2 cup) icing sugar mixture, sifted
200g good-quality white chocolate, coarsely chopped
250ml (1 cup) milk

Blend raspberries and icing sugar in a food processor or blender until smooth. Strain mixture to remove seeds. Top up puree with water so that there is 1 cup of liquid. Combine liquid and butter in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil over high heat. Cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes or until butter melts. Remove from heat.

Add the flour and salt and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined and the dough comes away from the side of the saucepan. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 15 minutes or until cool. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, until well combined. Spoon dough into a piping bag fitted with a 0.5cm-diameter fluted nozzle.
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Add enough oil to a large saucepan to reach a depth of 6cm. Heat to 180°C over medium heat (when oil is ready a cube of bread will turn golden brown in 15 seconds). Cut small squares of baking paper, around 5cm x 5cm. Pipe heart shapes of batter on these small squares. Carefully peel back the baking paper while holding it over the oil so that the piped batter gently drops into the hot oil. Take care to not drop it from too high a height and to pull hands back quickly to avoid splashing hot oil on yourself. Deep-fry for 1-2 minutes or until golden brown, four at a time. Use a slotted spoon to transfer churros to a plate lined with paper towel. Dust with icing sugar. Repeat with the remaining dough, reheating oil between batches.

Meanwhile, combine the chocolate and milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth. Arrange churros on a platter and serve while still warm, with chocolate dipping sauce.
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35 comments:

  1. Valentine's day here we come :)

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  2. These look sweet - literally and figuratively!

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  3. these look great. so friggin cute.
    deep frying always scares me. not just the flammable aspect but also disposing of all the oil too.
    . . . but i've always wanted to make donuts

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  4. OMG! OMyG! Those churros are brilliant Steph! I still have to brave my first batch of Churros, I love eating them though :-)

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  5. OMG - what a post!!!! (Lol just saw that Sneh started with OMG too hehehehehe). I love churros, I've only ever had it in Barcelona though and never attempted it at home. But with raspberry ... OMG! And WHITE CHOCOLATE ... what are you doing to me girl! Goign to have to keep this in mind and pluck up the courage to deep fry!

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  6. Nawww...cute and sweet! And the batter is so gloriously pink =D But, like you, I avoid deep-frying at all costs as well - hot oil scares me!

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  7. I love deep frying - everything seems to taste so good covered in oil! But my arteries must hate me =D These looks so cute - what a lovely idea to avoid skinny poos haha. Havn't made churros in ages!

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  8. Your churros are so cute!
    I love them, too. Just made them my first time in autumn and they were delicious, although I fall for the original ones.
    Yours are looking delicious, no matter they're brown. They don't look burned. I first thought you put cocoa in them ;).
    I have the same cup ;).

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  9. that is the most cutest idea ever! and valentines day just around the corner i forsee cuteness in many a household!

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  10. These are the sweetest churros I've ever seen!! My kids would go bonkers for them I'm sure!

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  11. I do also hate frying, but according to your yummy pictures, let me say it was worth it!! kisses

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  12. These look amazing! And so cute!! I love churros. Never tried raspberry flavor though...

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  13. Beautiful and delicious. Great combination of flavors.

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  14. These are an adorable valentines treat! I'm also not a fan of deep frying, it's so much work!

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  15. Hhaha skinny little poos! The heart shape is so adorable! And your pics are gorgeous! Aww.. I love churros. I'm sure the oil splatter was worth it ;)

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  16. Your heart shaped churros are gorgeous!! I have to admit I thought that they were chocolate at first because of the colour. I love the idea of raspberry churros though. Mmmmm

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  17. oh my they look positively delicious! am gonna make these for valentine's together with some other ideas i've been toying with ;)

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  18. Oh, my! I need to try this! They look so yummy and graceful; and cute, super cute! :P

    Hope you have a nice week!

    Miki.

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  19. Wow, those churros are the best I've ever seen. You're so creative and that raspberry flavor sounds awesome. I have a new linky on my blog called "Sweets for a Saturday" and I'd like to invite you to stop by and link this up. http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com/2011/01/sweets-for-saturday-1_21.html

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  20. I'll be making these for my partner on valentines day, thank you so much for the recipe!!!!

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  21. There is nothing ugly or weid about these adorable churros. So creative and I love the flavors.

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  22. What a lovely idea, and your photos are fabulous, especially the foodgawker one.

    :)
    ButterYum

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  23. These are such a cute idea! I've never thought of flavored churros, but they look delicious. I love your photos!

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  24. These are too cute! Great photos, too. We'd love for you to post your stuff at dishfolio.com!

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  25. I love the color of these! Especially in the heart shape. What a smart idea to pipe them first and then slide them into the oil. I'll have to remember that the next time I make churros!

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  26. Ooooh, I really want to try these! Such a cute idea. Thanks for sharing!

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  27. Wow these look amazing. I am featuring this recipe on a V-day post later today. Thanks for the recipe! :)

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  28. Cuteness personified and stunning photography! Well done

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  29. These are so cute. What a great idea! I wanted to let you know that I linked to this post on my blog post "21 Delicious Desserts for Your Valentine".
    Thanks for sharing your recipe!
    Stacey

    http://iwanttomakethis.com/2012/02/21-delicious-desserts-for-your.html

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  30. I made a chocolate fondue. My hubby said i wanna churros with this.... i love your idea i'll cook fior valentine's day thank's!

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  31. wow thanks for sharing this yummy recipe!!

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