Destination
Arequipa
The story
Peruvian churros are the country's fried-dough favourite: long ridged tubes of choux-style dough piped through a star tip into hot oil, fried until deep golden and crisp, then rolled in cinnamon sugar and — the Peruvian twist — injected at one end with a filling of manjar blanco (Peruvian dulce de leche) or a rich chocolate ganache. Sold at every Lima fair, every Cusco square and every Arequipa street cart, Peruvian churros are the country's most-shared afternoon-snack sweet. Eaten straight from paper cones or on small plates with a small dish of hot chocolate for dipping, they're the Peruvian counterpart to Spanish churros con chocolate.
Method
Combine water, butter, sugar, salt and vanilla in a saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil. Off the heat, dump in all the flour at once. Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until the dough forms a smooth ball that pulls from the sides of the pan. Cool 5 minutes.
Crack the egg into the slightly cooled dough. Beat in with the wooden spoon until fully incorporated. The dough should be smooth, glossy and thick enough to hold shape but soft enough to pipe.
Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip (about 1.2cm across the star opening).
Warm cream in a small saucepan until steaming. Off the heat, pour over the chopped chocolate. Wait 30 seconds, then stir until glossy and smooth. Stir in butter and salt. Cool until spreadable but still pourable.
Whisk cinnamon and sugar on a wide plate. Set beside the fryer.
Warm oil in a deep heavy pot to 175C.
Pipe 15cm strips of dough directly into the hot oil, cutting each strip free with kitchen scissors. Fry 4 to 5 at a time for 90 seconds per side, turning once, until deep golden and crisp. Lift onto a wire rack.
While each churro is still hot, roll in the cinnamon sugar to coat all sides. Fit a piping tip (or use a piping bag with a small tip) with manjar blanco or the chocolate ganache. Insert the tip into one end of each churro and pipe filling into the middle — you'll feel the churro slightly swell. Serve in paper cones or on plates immediately with a small dish of hot chocolate for dipping.
Tips
- 175C oil is the target. Cooler and the churros absorb oil and turn greasy; hotter and they burn before cooking through.
- Star tip is essential. The ridged shape isn't decorative — the grooves catch cinnamon sugar and give the churro its classical texture. A round tip gives you a plain fried tube.
- Roll in sugar while hot. The sugar sticks best while the churros are still glistening from the fryer. Cool ones don't hold the coating.
- Fill at the end, not throughout. Injecting filling at one end (rather than trying to fill the whole tube) is easier and gives eaters a filling-then-plain sequence that works better than a fully-stuffed churro.
- Serve immediately. Peruvian churros hold no better than Spanish ones. Fry and fill to order.
More recipes
View all
Ring-shaped doughnuts made from squash and sweet potato purée, fried crisp and drizzled with fig-and-cinnamon syrup (chancaca). Lima's afternoon fair-food classic.
Frozen cinnamon-coconut milk with a heavy dust of cinnamon on top, hand-churned in a copper drum. Arequipa's iconic street ice cream — no cheese despite the name.
Cassava batons parboiled then deep-fried until crackly golden, served with a spicy huancaína dipping sauce. Peru's Amazonian answer to French fries.
Mashed potato shaped around a spiced beef, olive and egg filling, then fried until crisp. Lima's afternoon-snack answer to Colombian arepa de huevo.
Large layered pastry cake stuffed with dulce de leche, pineapple jam and manjar blanco, sliced like a brick. The signature sweet of Lambayeque.
Silky evaporated-milk caramel custard scented with vanilla and cinnamon, baked in a bain-marie. Peru's Sunday-lunch finish.