Churros de Coatepec

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 4-quart pot or Dutch oven for frying
• •Deep-fry thermometer
• •Sturdy piping bag with large closed-star tip
• •Kitchen scissors
• •Wire rack set over a sheet pan
• •Clay cazuela or heavy saucepan for the chocolate

Instructions

1. 1

   Start the chocolate

   In a small clay cazuela or heavy saucepan, warm 3 cups whole milk with the chopped Mexican table chocolate, piloncillo, canela stick, masa harina, and a pinch of salt. Whisk over medium-low heat until the chocolate melts and the masa thickens the drink slightly, 8 to 10 minutes. Keep it warm at the back of the stove. It should pour slowly, not sit like pudding.

2. 2

   Cook the paste

   Combine the water, 1/2 cup milk, butter, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan. Bring it to a firm simmer. Add the sifted flour all at once and stir hard with a wooden spoon until the dough gathers into one mass and leaves a thin film on the bottom of the pot, about 2 minutes. That film tells you the flour has cooked enough.

3. 3

   Beat in eggs

   Move the dough to a mixing bowl and let it cool for 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing fully after each addition. The dough will look broken at first. Keep going. When it is ready, it will be glossy, thick, and slow to fall from the spoon. Beat in the Papantla vanilla at the end.

   If the dough is hot enough to cook the eggs on contact, you rushed. Wait. Scrambled egg in churro dough is not a regional variation.
4. 4

   Prepare the fryer

   Heat the oil in a heavy pot to 365F. Mix the coating sugar and ground canela in a shallow dish. Fit a sturdy piping bag with a large closed-star tip, at least 1/2 inch wide, and fill it halfway with dough. Do not overfill the bag. You need control, not bravado.

5. 5

   Pipe and fry

   Pipe 5- to 6-inch strips of dough directly into the oil, cutting each strip with scissors. Fry only 4 or 5 at a time so the oil stays lively. Turn them as they cook, 4 to 5 minutes total, until the ridges are deep golden and firm. The sound should be an even bubbling, not violent popping and not silence.

6. 6

   Drain and coat

   Lift the churros out with a spider or slotted spoon and drain on a wire rack for 30 seconds. While still hot, roll them in the canela sugar so it clings to the ridges. If you wait until they cool, the sugar falls off and you will blame the recipe. No me vengas con atajos.

7. 7

   Serve with chocolate

   Remove the canela stick from the chocolate and whisk once more. Serve the churros warm on a talavera plate with the thick chocolate in small cups for dipping. Add café lechero if you want the Coatepec table complete. Cada estado, su propia cocina.

Chef Tips

• •Use real Mexican canela, the brittle Ceylon-type cinnamon sold in Mexican markets. Hard cassia cinnamon tastes hotter and rougher. It will work in an emergency, but it is a compromise.
• •Papantla vanilla is not a perfume for tourists. It belongs to Veracruz. Use pure extract or a scraped vanilla pod if you have one. Artificial vanilla makes the chocolate taste flat.
• •Keep the oil between 350F and 365F. Below that, the churros absorb oil. Above that, the ridges brown before the inside sets. The thermometer is not weakness. It is discipline.
• •Churros do not hold their dignity for hours. Fry them close to serving time. A reheated churro is edible, yes, but the first one out of the oil is the one that tells the truth.

Advance Preparation

• •The chocolate can be made 1 day ahead and refrigerated. Reheat gently with a splash of milk and whisk until smooth.
• •The churro dough can rest at room temperature for up to 30 minutes before frying. Do not refrigerate it for hours or the texture tightens.
• •The canela sugar can be mixed several days ahead and kept in a covered jar.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 80g)