Churros with Chocolate Dipping Sauce

Ever get those days when you're too lazy to roll out of bed? And so you just stay in there for the next hour either reading a book or contemplating the meaning of life and your purpose in it? And then suddenly you get that sweet tooth calling out to you, pleading that you satisfy it with a nectarous breakfast? Yeah, I get those mornings more often than I'd like to admit. Sometimes I feel a tad more creative and flip through my cook books to find something different, but easy, to make.

This is where the churros come in...

The first time I ever tried churros was when I had my first Taste of Dubai experience. I fell in love with what I'd like to call a Spanish doughnut; they had a crispy shell and were so light and airy inside. Little did I know, they are really simple to make! Apart from the chocolate dipping sauce that comes along with this recipe, the churros themselves have 7 ingredients that you need. And the best part is that all these ingredients can be found in any kitchen where lots of cooking is being done. Yay for convenience! And another yay for laziness!

The sound of the light crackling & popping of the oil when deep frying the churros is like music to my ears. (I promise I don't deep fry as much as the previous statement makes me sound like I do..) It reminds me so much of my childhood: when my mom used to make chicken nuggets and french fries for me and my brother on a lazy day in. Deep-frying seems to be synonymous with being a couch potato, huh? Ah well, everyone deserves a break from time to time. But yes, the churros. Once they touch the hot oil, they almost immediately poof up into little pillows and float on the surface. Just be careful not to burn yourself with oil popping everywhere and you're set.

The perfect lazy sweet snack for the ultimate lazy day in.

P.S. Am I a glutton for thinking these would be absolutely delicious with dulce de leche? WOW! Need to make some more to try that out.

Churros with Chocolate Dipping Sauce adapted from Nigella Lawson's Kitchen

For the churros:

50g caster sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

125g plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1x15ml tablespoon olive oil

250ml freshly boiled water

approx. 500ml corn or vegetable oil, for deep frying

- Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a wide, shallow dish: this is for shaking the cooked churros in to coat them later.

- Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl then beat in the olive oil and the boiled water.

- Keep mixing until you have a warm, sticky dough.

- Leave it to rest for about 10 minutes.

- Heat up the oil in a small saucepan, the oil should come up about a third of the way up the sides of the pan. It should be about 170°C. 

- Load up a piping bag with a large star-shaped tip and fill it with the churros dough.

- Squeeze short lengths (4-5cm) of dough into the hot oil, snipping them off with a pair of scissors as you go.

- Cook about 4-5 at a time and, once they turn a rich golden brown, fish them out of the oil with a slotted spoon or spatula or with tongs onto a baking sheet lined with some kitchen roll.

- To keep the cooked churros warm while you fry the remaining dough, transfer them to a parchment-lined baking sheet and hold in a low heat oven.

- Once you're done cooking all the churros, allow them to rest for a few minutes.

- While they're still warm, toss them in the sugar and cinnamon mixture and shake them about till they all get a good covering.

For the chocolate dipping sauce:

100g good-quality dark chocolate

25g chocolate milk

1x15ml tablespoon golden syrup

150ml double cream

- Melt all the ingredients in a heavy-based saucepan over low heat.Once the chocolate starts to melt, stir everything together and take it off the heat.
- Leave it in a warm place.
- Serve in individual pots/bowls.

- Enjoy!

Happy Baking!

Taste of Dubai 2011

My my my.. The minute I set foot onto the green grass and laid my eyes on the overwhelming crowds of people, I thought to myself, "Why is this my first time at Taste of Dubai?!" I instantly decided I'm going to love it. Talk about being really optimistic, huh?

I took my mom along with me because I knew that even though she was feeling a little reluctant to come along (she had a long week and wanted nothing more than to just relax on the sofa) she was going to enjoy the festival. I decided that we should waste no time standing around and begin with the eating!

First up came the Peking Duck from The China Club - Traditional Chinese. I'm a big fan of duck and particularly enjoy eating it this way especially because of the Hoisin Sauce that Chinese restaurants use. To my disappointment the pancake was undercooked, the duck not as tender as I would have hoped and the hoisin sauce almost non-existent.

Moving on to something slightly less disappointing and more on the sweet side of life is Al Hambra's churros with a side of chocolate ice cream and a light drizzling of chocolate sauce. Can you spell d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s? Seriously, I have nothing better to say about the doughnut-y goodness complimented by the cold, creamy and ever-so-chocolate-y ice cream. Mmmm-mmmm!

We continued to walk around and see all the many cool stalls/stands that were set up. A pretty cool stand-mixer like stall caught my eye. I thought it was a creative way for Kenwood to display themselves. Nothing fancy, just right to the point :)

And then I caught a glimpse of a stand with poles wrapped in hot pink tissue paper. It looked like a giant gift box, I couldn't resist not taking a closer look. To my delight, it was from a company called La Maison Du Macaron. Now, thanks to my friend Noreen, I have a new found love for macarons. Ever since she took me to Ladurée, they have sneaked into a little corner of my heart and stayed there. La Maison Du Macaron's macarons were.. A bit disappointing as well. My mom wanted to buy a box of six simply because she loved the box so much. The box was probably worth the money more than the macarons themselves; they had the almond powder after-taste which showed that they were neither ground all the way nor baked right. Not very pleasant, in my humble opinion. Nevertheless, they were pretty to look at. Plus, we get to keep the box! :)

We then sampled some of Gourmet Point's beautifully fragrant and pungent oils. My mom and I had fallen in love with the White Truffle Oil. Might order some for her soon, mother's day is coming up after all!

The highlight of my day was when I got to meet and greet with Suzanne Husseini. She had a post for book signing but since I still haven't bought her book, I decided to just speak to her AND get my picture taken with her. Wohoo!

She was wonderfully down-to-earth and super friendly. I noticed that she was wearing whisk earrings, which I've been looking for for a very long time. She said that she got her jewelry custom-made from a silver shop in Canada. Look at these rings that she was wearing which are actually a fork and a spoon that were bent to fit her size. Brilliant!

We continued walking around and taking in all the activity and excitement for food. Which is probably what I loved most about this event: we're all gathering, mingling, experimenting and enjoying simply because of our love for food. It doesn't get any better than that.

Taste of Dubai, an event which I'm now going to be attending every year. It's definitely worth your time and money. Don't miss it next year!