Spanish Churros with Thick Dark Hot Chocolate

Ingredients

For 4 portions

• 🌾 150g flour
• 🥤 250ml tap water
• 🧂 0.5 Tsp salt
• 🏺 90ml sunflower oil
• 🍚 75g sugar
• 🌿 1 Tsp cinnamon
• 🍫 120g dark chocolate, 70-85% cacao solids
• 🥛 300ml oat drink
• 🌾 1 Tbsp corn flour, white

Method

1. You need a piping bag with a large open star nozzle, plus extra oil for deep frying (only about the amount listed is absorbed). Check the chocolate is dairy-free.
2. Hot chocolate: whisk the cornflour with 3 tablespoons of the oat drink until smooth. Heat the rest of the oat drink in a pan until steaming, add the chopped chocolate and 1 tablespoon of the sugar and whisk until melted. Whisk in the cornflour mix and simmer gently, whisking, for 2–3 minutes until thick enough to coat a spoon. Keep warm on the lowest heat.
3. Dough: bring the water, salt and 1 tablespoon of the oil to the boil. Take off the heat, tip in the flour all at once and beat hard with a wooden spoon for 1 minute until it forms a smooth, thick ball with no dry flour. Leave to cool for 5 minutes.
4. Mix the remaining sugar with the cinnamon on a plate.
5. Heat 4–5 cm of oil in a deep pan to 180 °C (a small piece of dough should sizzle immediately and rise).
6. Spoon the warm dough into the piping bag. Pipe 12 cm lengths straight into the oil, snipping them off with scissors. Fry 4–5 at a time for 3–4 minutes, turning, until deep golden and crisp.
7. Drain on kitchen paper for 30 seconds, then roll in the cinnamon sugar while hot.
8. Serve straight away with cups of the thick chocolate for dunking.