Raspberry Mini Churros with White Chocolate

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.