One of the dishes I fell in love with when I studied abroad in Sevilla, Spain was churros and chocolate. The Spanish dunk the warm, fried dough of a churro into thick, almost pudding-like warm chocolate for dessert. I was feeling inspired to add a healthier spin to this dessert by pairing little bite-size churro balls with fresh fruit. The sweetness of the strawberries, creaminess of the bananas and decadent chocolate make for a perfect contrast against the sweet, crispy churro bites. In Spain, you traditionally won’t find churros rolled in cinnamon sugar, but I opted for the American way to add to the presentation value.
Churros and chocolate from Valor in Sevilla, Spain. I ate these for the first time in October 2012 while studying abroad.
Over on Food Network Snapchat Discover you can watch me make this dessert right now! While this dessert is something that takes a little more assembly, it really has an incredible presentation value. I mean, look at those pretty colors of the fruit and the chocolate drizzle! You could certainly make the churro bites by themselves and serve with a chocolate dipping sauce, or even make smaller versions of the kabobs without the fruit. Totally up to you, but I loved bringing a little piece of Spain into my kitchen with these churro and fruit kabobs.
- [b]Chocolate-Covered Fruit
- [/b]1/2 carton strawberries
- 1-2 bananas, depending on size
- 1/4 cup milk chocolate chips
- [b]Churros[/b]
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 stick butter
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- Vegetable oil
- [b]Chocolate-Covered Fruit[/b][br]
- Slice fruit into 1/2 inch thick rounds. Place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper.
- Melt milk chocolate in microwave for about 20 seconds and stir to smooth.
- Open a sandwich bag and line a drinking glass or mug with it. Pour chocolate into a sandwich bag and seal. Push the chocolate to one corner of the bag and twist the excess bag to create a piping bag. Cut a very small hole at the corner.
- Drizzle a little chocolate over each piece of strawberry and banana. Set to the side so chocolate hardens.
- [b]Churros[/b][br]
- Fill a large pot with at least 2 inches of vegetable oil (amount depends on your pot). Use a candy thermometer to bring oil up to 350 degrees. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees to keep churro bites warm.
- Mix cinnamon sugar in a bowl or plate. Have another plate ready with a paper towel for drying grease.
- Over medium high heat, bring water, butter and sugar to a boil so the butter melts.
- Add the flour to the pan and stir for a minute over heat while the dough clings together to form a ball.
- Let cool for two minutes, add the egg. Really use your arm muscles to stir like crazy with a wooden spoon! Roll dough into about 20 teaspoon size bites.
- Once oil has reached 350 degrees, cook one churro to test. Let fry for about 6 minutes or until the churro has floated up to the top of the oil, is golden brown and the bubbles have settled down around the edges. Once it’s ready, remove from oil, immediately dry slightly on plate with paper towel and then toss in cinnamon sugar mixture. Move to a baking dish and keep warm in 200 degree oven.
- Repeat process and cook 5-6 churro bites at a time until all are done. Dry on paper towel, roll in cinnamon sugar and then keep warm in 200 degree oven.
- Assemble the kabobs by alternating churro, banana, churro, strawberry on to bamboo skewer. Serve immediately so the churros are still warm!
These churros would be the perfect dessert for your next dinner party. Prep the chocolate-covered fruit ahead of time and keep in the refrigerator. Then, you can get friends involved by making the dough on the spot and having them help you roll the bite size churro balls. If you want to do it all ahead of time, you can prep the dough the day before and pull out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you want to fry the churros. Bringing the dough to room temperature will help it cook faster while frying.
I’m dreaming of Spain while staring at the photos of these churros and think I either need to make another batch for dessert ASAP or book a ticket back to Sevilla. Maybe I’ll just do both!
Love food. Love self. Love life.
Gabriela
comments