Churros con Chocolate

Breakfast (El Desayuno) in Spain is usually a carbohydrate and caffeine affair but for those occasions when you are feeling a bit delicate after a long night out or just because you're feeing wicked there is churros and chocolate.

The Spanish were responsible for introducing chocolate to Europe from the Americas where it was used as a form of local currency. In Spain hot chocolate is taken very seriously. Made from real chocolate, sweetened separately with sugar, and sometimes, with a pinch of cinnamon, the end result is certainly the taste equivalent of liquid gold.

In addition to introducing us to one of our most pleasurable vices the Spanish have developed the perfect accompaniment to this delectable drink, the churros. They are traditionally sold on roadsides but most towns in Spain will have a Churreria. Churros are made from dough extruded into thin tubes, these have a star shaped cross section and are several inches long. Coated in sugar and cinnamon and dipped in a bowl of hot chocolate they make for a sublime start to the day that is hard to improve on.

The invention of the Churro has been attributed to Spanish shepherds who existing with little provisions developed them as a form of fried bread with a distinctive shape that gave them the perfect crispness. In Madrid churros take on a different appearance to the rest of Spain where they are smaller in size and shaped like a charity ribbon. Here the more familiar shaped "churros" are called Burros.

Spanish style hot Chocolate

For 2 People

400 ml full fat milk

100g chocolate with a high Cocoa solid component minimum 75-80%

1 teaspoon of sugar

Pinch of cinnamon

Place all the ingredients except the cinnamon in a saucepan over heat and whisk until simmering. Continue until the chocolate is melted and sugar dissolved. Pour into cups, sprinkle over the cinnamon and serve.