DIY Churros & Chocolate

First, make the chocolate sauce. Break the chocolate up into small chunks and put it – together with all the other sauce ingredients - into a medium pan. Place the pan on a low heat and let everything gently melt together, stirring occasionally. When you have a smooth, glossy and well combined sauce, turn the heat down as low as it will go, and keep the sauce warm until you’re ready for it.

To make the churros, put 250ml water into a non-stick pan, add the butter and place over a medium-high heat and bring up to the boil. Scrunch in the salt and sift in the flour, then – keeping the pan on the heat - use a wooden spoon to beat the mixture for two minutes, or until it thickens and comes together. Now take the pan off the heat and break in the eggs one at a time, beating them in until you have a smooth batter.

Take a large, deep pan and pour about 6cm of the sunflower oil into the bottom. Place the pan over a medium-high heat and let the oil get up to temperature; if you’re using a cooking thermometer, the oil needs to be at 180°C (if not, you can test it by dropping in a small piece of bread – the bread will fry to a golden colour in 15 seconds when the oil is at the correct temperature). While you are waiting for the oil to heat, sieve the sugar and cinnamon together and tip on to a large plate. Line a second large plate with a couple of pieces of kitchen paper.

When the oil is ready, carefully spoon the batter into a piping bag fitted with a large, star-shaped nozzle. Pipe 12cm lengths of the batter straight into the pan, using a sharp knife to cut them off at the nozzle. Cook the churros for two minutes on each side, until golden, then use a slotted spoon to lift them out and place them on the kitchen paper-lined plate to drain. As soon as you have cooked and drained all the churros, roll them in the cinnamon sugar and put them on a warmed serving plate. Pour the chocolate sauce into a serving bowl and sit it amid the churros, then serve straight away.