Baked Churros

Yummy! (photo by Ashley)

Last week, after a lengthy trawl on Pinterest, I saw this recipe for baked churros. They’re not churros in the strictest sense of the word – as they’re made from pastry instead of dough, and they’re baked instead of fried – but they looked pretty darn scrummy, so I definitely wanted to give them a go. The recipe calls for pre-made puff pastry and since I’d been hoping to learn to make puff for a while, it seemed like a pretty good opportunity to get Amy (of She Cooks, She Eats and Kitchen Bitching) to come and teach me the art of puff. Amy’s an amazing cook (just looking through the food porn on SCSE is testament to that!) and she has an absolutely top notch recipe including lots on the art of puff. So when it comes to the actual pastry, do hop over to SCSE and look at her step by step puff guide.

You will need:

  • 200g plain flour
  • 170g unsalted butter (cold)
  • 150ml cold water
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3-4 tbsp cinnamon
  • 75g butter (for melting)
  1. Start by making your pastry. To do this, pop your sieved flour in a bowl with the salt and rub in 30g of the butter. When you have a fine mixture, add the cold water and lemon juice and stir until you get a dough. If it’s a bit wet, add a little more flour until you get a dough that is easy to handle. Knead it for about 5 mins until it becomes supple and the dough springs back slowly when poked. Leave your butter out for the next bit so it softens a bit.
  2. Wrap the ball in cling film and pop in the fridge for at least half an hour. Go have a cup of tea (or a cheeky G&T).
  3. When it’s chilled, whip it out and knead it for a few mins on a floured surface. Then roll it out with a rolling pin (or a bottle of wine, but a rolling pin is better!) into a long oblong of medium thickness.
  4. Lightly score the pastry into three equal sections. Take about a quarter of the butter and cut into little pats. Arrange them in the middle panel of the pastry. Fold one side over the middle, followed by the other and gently roll out into another oblong. Repeat this step three more times until you have used up all the butter.
  5. Once the butter is safely encased in all the layers of pastry, scored and fold one more time, then wrap in cling and put back in the fridge. Leave it there for at least 40 mins. Now’s your chance for a couple of crumpets and another cuppa.
  6. When it’s all chilled out, head back to the kitchen and turn the oven on to 230°c (yep, it sounds very high).
  7. Take your pastry out and roll out gently into an oblong. It’s important to make it the right thickness (about 50-75 mm) without squishing all the layers into nothingness. Cut into your desired shape/size (I went with long fingers) and arrange on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Prick lightly with a sharp knife and pop in the oven when it’s warm. Bake for 8-12 mins or until they are lightly golden brown.
  8. While they’re baking, melt your butter and mix the sugar and cinnamon on a large, flat plate. When the churros come out, paint them in the melted butter immediately and place individually on the sugar plate. I used my fingers to liberally sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on each one, ensuring every churro is well covered in the mixture.
  9. They’re now ready for scoffing! :D They’re best when warm, so if you don’t eat them all immediately (who would blame you!) then I do recommend popping them back in the oven for 5 mins before serving. They’re absolutely delicious with ice cream.
Layers! (proud face) (photo by Ashley)

Enjoy!

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