Golden, crisp churros tossed in cinnamon sugar and served with a rich salted caramel dipping sauce. Level them up with a silky white chocolate sauce and crunchy roasted peanuts.

Makes: 20–24 churros
Serves: 6–8
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: Moderate

Salted Caramel Sauce

1 C (250 ml) sugar
¼ C (60 ml) water
40 g butter
1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla essence
½ C (125 ml) fresh cream
1–2 tsp (5–10 ml) sea salt, to taste

White Chocolate Sauce (Optional Level-up)

150 g good-quality white chocolate, finely chopped
75 ml double cream
½ tsp (2.5 ml) vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Cinnamon Sugar

100 g castor sugar
2 tsp (10 ml) ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt

Churros

250 ml water
1 Tbsp (15 ml) castor sugar
½ tsp (2.5 ml) salt
60 g salted butter
150 g plain flour, sifted
2 large eggs, as needed
1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying

Roasted Peanuts (Optional Level-up)

½ C (125 ml) roasted peanuts, roughly crushed

Salted Caramel Sauce

Add the sugar and water to a saucepan. Cook over low-medium heat until the sugar has dissolved and begins to caramelise. Do not stir; swirl the pan occasionally instead. If sugar crystals form around the sides, brush them down with a pastry brush dipped in warm water.

When the caramel reaches a light amber colour, remove the saucepan from the heat to prevent it from burning. Carefully add the butter, vanilla and cream, whisking until the bubbling subsides and the sauce is smooth.

Stir in 1 teaspoon of the sea salt, then taste and add more to taste, if desired. Set aside and gently reheat before serving, if needed.

White Chocolate Sauce (Optional Level-up)

Place the white chocolate into a heatproof bowl.

Heat the cream in a small saucepan until just steaming, then pour it into the bowl containing the chocolate. Leave for 1–2 minutes, then whisk until smooth.

Stir in the vanilla and salt. If the sauce becomes too thick for dipping, gently warm it before serving.

Cinnamon Sugar

Combine the castor sugar, cinnamon and salt in a shallow dish. Set aside.

Churros

Place the water, castor sugar and salt into a medium saucepan and stir over medium heat until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Add the butter and bring to a gentle simmer.

Remove from the heat and add the sifted flour all at once. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until a smooth, thick dough forms and no dry flour remains.

Return the saucepan to low heat and cook the dough for about 1 minute, stirring continuously to remove some of the excess moisture.

Remove from the heat and leave to cool for 5–10 minutes. The dough should be warm rather than hot before adding the eggs.

In a separate bowl, lightly beat 1 egg with the vanilla. Gradually beat the egg mixture into the dough, adding a little at a time and mixing thoroughly after each addition.

If the dough is still too firm to pipe, lightly beat the second egg and gradually add only as much as needed. The finished dough should be smooth and glossy, soft enough to pipe, but firm enough to hold the ridges created by the nozzle. (Note: You may not need all of the second egg.)

Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a large closed-star nozzle. Pipe 5–7 cm lengths onto a sheet of baking paper. Alternatively, carefully pipe the dough directly over the hot oil, cutting each length with clean kitchen scissors.

Pour enough vegetable oil into a deep, heavy-based saucepan to reach a depth of about 5 cm and heat to 175–180 °C.

Fry the churros in batches for 3–4 minutes, turning occasionally, until evenly golden and crisp. Do not overcrowd the saucepan, as this will lower the temperature of the oil.

Remove with a slotted spoon and drain briefly on a wire rack.

While the churros are still warm, toss them in the cinnamon sugar until evenly coated.

To Serve

Serve the warm cinnamon sugar churros with the salted caramel sauce.

If using the optional level-ups, serve the white chocolate sauce alongside the salted caramel and scatter the roasted peanuts over the churros, or serve them in a small bowl for dipping.