Gluten Free Churros and Caramel Rum Sauce

This fried dessert of gluten free churros is totally delicious and served with a rich caramel rum dipping sauce.

Churros – the deep-fried choux pastry snacks popular in many parts of the world – are pretty unfamiliar in my neck of the woods. So I’ve been keen to give them a try and see what all the fuss is about.

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And wow, I’m glad I did – they’re the bomb! I LOVE how they puff up in the oil to create a delicately crispy exterior, with a light as air interior. Dredged in cinnamon sugar they’re good enough to eat as is, but paired with a kick-ass coconut sugar/coconut cream caramel sauce spiked with dark rum (which actually tastes like Bailey’s Irish Creme, only better), they’re insanely good!

What I’m super-pumped about is that these babies are gluten-free. The original recipe thanks to Claire Aldous of New Zealand’s Dish magazine suggested a gluten-free flour blend. However, I opted for a blend of buckwheat, brown rice and corn flours which worked incredibly well – you’d never know these churros are gluten-free when you devour them.

I made the pastry dough several hours ahead of time, piled it into a large pastry bag, and refrigerated it until needed. I took it out of the fridge about half an hour before I needed it, to let it come to room temperature. I chose to pipe the batter directly into the hot oil, although if you’re concerned about doing that (there’s always a risk, especially if there’s any air bubbles in the pastry bag, that they’ll plop into the oil and splash you), you can pipe the churros onto oil-sprayed lined baking trays, refrigerate them for about 30 minutes to set firm, and then transfer them into the hot oil from there.

By the way, I kept some left-over batter in the fridge for about 24 hours and it was still perfectly good. And, as I discovered, the caramel sauce is WAAAY better the next day too – a lot thicker and far more flavoursome. So, I’d definitely suggest making it a day ahead.

If, like me, you’re a complete newbie to the world of churros, or if you’ve been looking for a gluten-free option, I can wholeheartedly recommend this recipe. As a sumptuous brunch, an afternoon treat, or a decadent dessert with ice cream on the side, you’re gonna love it!

Click here for the caramel sauce recipe.

Gluten Free Churros and Caramel Rum Sauce

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5 from 2 reviews

• Author: Susan Knaap
• Yield: 0 About 20 churros 1x

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Description

This fried dessert of gluten free churros is totally delicious and served with a rich caramel rum dipping sauce.

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Ingredients

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For the caramel sauce:

• Click the link above for the recipe.

For the churros:

• 1 cup milk
• 100 grams 3.5 oz butter, diced
• Pinch of sea salt
• 1 cup self-raising gluten-free flour (I used 1/2 cup brown rice flour, 1/4 cup buckwheat flour and 1/4 cup cornflour, plus 1 teaspoon baking powder)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs

To cook

• Vegetable oil (for deep frying)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 – 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

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Instructions

For the caramel sauce: (Make this a day ahead)

1. Click the link above for the recipe.

For the churros:

1. Put the milk, butter and salt in a medium saucepan and slowly bring to the boil to melt the butter. Turn the heat to low and tip in the flour (or flour mix) and cinnamon, beating vigorously with a wooden spoon until a thick dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the saucepan (this will happen quickly).
2. Tip the dough into the bowl of a standing mixer and let it cool for 5 minutes.
3. Add the eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly between each addition. The dough should be thick, shiny and smooth. (It may be necessary to add more egg yolk, or a dash of milk if the dough is too thick – the batter should fall very slowly from a spatula when lifted).

To cook:

1. Fit a large pastry bag with a large star nozzle and fill with some of the dough. Do this in batches if necessary.
2. Use a deep-fryer, or heat 3cm of vegetable oil in a deep medium-sized frypan or saucepan to 190°C (375°F) or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil turns golden in 30 seconds.
3. Pipe lengths of dough directly into the oil (use scissors to cut each length – it helps to have someone else cut while you pipe!) but don’t overcrowd the saucepan as the churros need room to puff up during cooking.
4. Cook for a few minutes, turning carefully from time to time, until golden and crisp. Lift out of the oil with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to soak up extra oil. Then roll in the cinnamon sugar.
5. Serve warm with the chilled caramel sauce for dipping. NB: These won’t keep well – they deflate and go limp after a while, so best to serve as soon as they’re made.

Notes

If you pipe the batter into the hot oil straight after making it, the batter is soft and will fall naturally into curvy shapes. However, if you pipe the batter cold from the fridge, the batter is much firmer and will create straighter lines.

• Category: Dessert