Archive | January, 2012

Another photo-heavy post as I’ve been reviewing the FujiFilm X10 and of course, I had to get snap happy with everything I did. So much so, that I miss having a camera more than ever.

Christmas tends to be the only time of year I cook, not because I can’t, but because I feel too lazy the rest of the year. I tend to live off ramen and yoghurt/cereal combos. But Christmas I go all out because, well, why not. It’s usually cold, and having the oven blazing most of the day warms me right up. Also I didn’t have a kitchen for two-thirds of a year and it was tres difficile.

Near the end of last year I had a penchant for churros and I started eating them about three times a week (for about a week). I looked up the recipe, and saw it was hella simple, and thought why not make my own?

I used an amended version of these two recipes from New York Times and From Argentina with Love

1 cup water
1/2 stick (4 oz.) unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup flour
2 eggs (at room temperature)
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

I actually have US measuring cups which is why I tend to use American recipes, but if you need to convert you can find lots of converters on Google. I like to use The Metric Kitchen.

I looked up that it’s good to use eggs at room temperature, so I stuck my eggs in a glass of warm water (there’s a joke here). My laptop is old and heavy, a bit like me. 

This was my first foray with using the camera, and since my friend Bay had borrowed it, killed the battery, and also forgot to return the charger to me, I was snapping quickly in a somewhat panicky fashion before the battery ran out. Grrr. I used the Auto setting at first (because I am a camera n00b) with no flash (and I have a bright kitchen).

Dumped the water, boiled it then added the butter, sugar and turned it down and melted it ‘gently’. (Gentle-ish) until it makes a ball.

Baller Baby.

I then cracked the eggs and beat them separately and added them a little bit at a time AFTER turning off the dough on the cooker and letting it cool for a bit because
otherwise you get scrambled eggs with your churro dough. And mix it fast. I don’t have a paddle beater because I’m not middle class, so I beat it like a beggar boy in a foreign country.

 I’m looking at you, street rat.

I was going to try fill them with dulce de leche and my older sister brought some over, which turned out to be mouldy. Moron. Never fear, being a brown person means I have (my mother has) a plethora of spices in the cupboards.

1 part cinamon (a tablespoon) to 3 parts sugar (3 tablespoons – I used light brown soft sugar)

I have a concertina bottle with a star tip (seen in first photo) which I use for icing, but the thought of forcing the churro dough into it just to force it out made me feel a bit ill. So I cut off the corner of a freezer bag and stuck the tip through to pipe the dough into a pan. I thought I was so snazzy. I didn’t bother using a thermometer to check the temp of the oil, that’s for fassies. Just warm it up on a medium heat for a couple of minutes.

Don’t they look nice and churro like? Then the bag burst and this happened.

They turned into churro blobs

Don’t get me wrong, they tasted great and were very crunchy and sweet. I couldn’t be arsed to faff around with another freezer bag, so I decided in the style The Amateur Gourmet to just fuck it and make balls. Except I used my hands instead of spoons, because of the butter content, it was so smooth and greasy. It slipped right off the hands. Into the pan. Where it fried nicely.

Since the balls are more doughy than the strips as such, they take a little longer to cook. If you need me to tell you how long they’ll take, I despair. About 3 minutes on each side on a medium-low heat (I have a violent cooker). Just don’t burn them. They should be a nice bronze shade.

I waited for them to cool for a bit, and then tossed them all in the other freezer bag containing my cinnamon sugar mix and shook them with vim and vigour. Don’t bother rolling them around on a plate in your sugar mix. It takes ages, you’re more likely to burn your fingers and it’s wasteful. Just do what I say.

There ya go. Homemade churros. Simple fatty goodness you can whip up easily.

Photos taken on a FujiFilm X10 courtesy of BEAM PR