Chocolate Churros with Salted Caramel Sauce

From the kitchen of Carly

Spanish-style churros with cocoa folded into the dough, fried until crackly, rolled in cinnamon sugar, and dipped in a chocolate-and-salted-caramel sauce that's worth the entire effort. Dessert as event. Get the oil to exactly 340°F. Hotter and the outside burns; cooler and the dough drinks oil. A candy thermometer is the right tool here.

Chocolate Churros with Salted Caramel Sauce

Chocolate churros are crispy on the outside, tender inside, and built to dunk. The trick here is keeping the oil temperature steady at 340°F, which gives you a dark exterior and a fluffy crumb, then a salted caramel sauce with melted chocolate that pulls everything together. Cocoa powder in the batter means you're not just coating these with cinnamon sugar, you're building chocolate flavor from the start.

Prep
20 min
Cook
25 min
Total
45 min
Servings
4
Difficulty
medium

Ingredients

4 servings

  • 4 oz(120 g)muscovado or dark brown sugar (for sauce)
  • 2 oz(60 g)unsalted butter (for sauce)
  • 1 cup(250 ml)heavy cream
  • 3 1/2 oz(100 g)dark chocolate, chopped
  • 1 good pinchflaky sea salt
  • 3 1/2 oz(100 g)golden caster or granulated sugar (for coating)
  • 2 tspground cinnamon
  • 7 oz(200 g)all-purpose flour
  • 2 oz(50 g)cocoa powder
  • 1 tspbaking powder
  • 1 tspvanilla extract
  • 2 oz(50 g)unsalted butter, melted (for batter)
  • 4 cupssunflower or vegetable oil, for frying
  • 1 pintvanilla ice cream, to serve (optional)

Instructions

  1. Make the sauce first; it can sit warm while you fry the churros.

  2. Combine the muscovado sugar and 60g butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer until the sugar has melted, about 3 minutes.

  3. Stir in the heavy cream. Simmer 2 to 3 minutes until smooth.

  4. Pull off the heat. Stir in a pinch of flaky sea salt and the chopped chocolate. Keep stirring 2 to 3 minutes until the chocolate fully melts. Cover and keep warm.

  5. Make the cinnamon coating. Mix the caster sugar, cinnamon, and a small pinch of fine sea salt on a wide plate. Set aside.

  6. Make the churro batter. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and a generous pinch of salt.

  7. Stir in the vanilla extract and 50g melted butter.

  8. Carefully pour in 250 to 300 ml of just-boiled water from a kettle. Whisk vigorously to make a smooth, very thick batter (it should hold a piped shape).

  9. Let the batter cool 5 minutes. Scoop into a piping bag fitted with a medium star nozzle (or a zip-top bag with a star tip).

  10. Heat the oil in a deep heavy pot to 340°F (170°C). Use a thermometer; oil too hot burns the outside before the inside cooks.

  11. Pipe 5- to 6-inch lengths directly into the oil, snipping each off with kitchen scissors as you go. Fry 4 to 5 churros at a time so you don't crowd the pot.

  12. Cook 3 to 4 minutes total, turning with a slotted spoon, until the churros are deeply colored and crisp. Lift onto a wire rack.

  13. While still hot, roll each churro in the cinnamon sugar.

  14. Serve immediately on a warm plate with the chocolate-caramel sauce alongside for dipping. Vanilla ice cream optional but recommended.

Tips from the kitchen

  • Oil temperature is everything. A thermometer is not optional. Too hot and the churro burns before it cooks through; too cool and you get greasy, dense results. Aim for exactly 340°F and hold it there.
  • Make the caramel sauce while the batter cools so it's silky and warm when the churros come out. You can leave it on the stove covered for up to 30 minutes without it breaking.
  • Snip each churro off the piping bag with kitchen scissors as you go instead of trying to squeeze a whole length into the oil at once. It's faster, cleaner, and gives you better control.

Variations

  • Espresso Churros: Add 1 tablespoon of instant espresso powder to the flour mix for a deeper chocolate note that pairs perfectly with vanilla ice cream.
  • Brown Butter and Sea Salt: Skip the cinnamon coating and brush the hot churros lightly with browned butter instead, then dust with flaky sea salt. Serve with the caramel for a savory-sweet play.
  • Mini Churros: Pipe 3-inch lengths instead of 5 to 6 inches and reduce frying time to 2 to 3 minutes. Great for a crowd or a smaller appetite.
  • Chocolate-filled Churros: Pipe a layer of batter into the oil, add a small spoon of melted dark chocolate on top, then pipe another layer of batter over it before snipping. More work, but the payoff is molten chocolate inside.

Make ahead and storage

Keep fried churros in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one day. Reheat in a 300°F oven for 5 minutes to restore crispness. The caramel sauce keeps in the fridge for up to one week and reheats gently on the stove.

Substitutions
  • deep-frying to air-fryer at 380°F for 6-8 minutes per batch. Lighter, less indulgent. Brush with melted butter before air-frying for crisp exterior.
  • cocoa powder to skip and add 50g extra flour. Plain churros (no chocolate) are equally classic. Keep the cinnamon-sugar coating; pair with chocolate sauce.
  • muscovado sugar to dark brown sugar. Muscovado is more molasses-y but most US groceries don't stock it. Dark brown sugar is the close substitute.

Pairs well with: Vanilla bean ice cream alongside, A small espresso or hot chocolate, Fresh strawberries or raspberries on the side