Mexican Churros con Chocolate with Cinnamon Sugar, Thick Drinking Chocolate Sauce and Cajeta Caramel

Make the cajeta first (it takes longest): combine goat's milk, sugar, and corn syrup in a heavy medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add the dissolved baking soda — the mixture will foam up dramatically, then subside. Continue cooking at a moderate simmer, stirring occasionally, for 45-60 minutes. The cajeta will slowly deepen in color from pale gold to amber to deep toffee-brown. As it thickens, stir more frequently to prevent scorching the bottom. The finished cajeta should coat a spoon thickly and drip in a slow, heavy ribbon. Add vanilla. Pour into a jar and cool — it will thicken further as it cools.

Ingredients

• For the churro dough (choux-like):
• 240ml (1 cup) water
• 60g (4 tbsp) unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp fine salt
• 150g (1 cup + 2 tbsp) all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• For frying:
• 1 liter neutral oil (sunflower or vegetable) for deep-frying
• For the cinnamon sugar coating:
• 100g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon (Mexican cinnamon — canela — is softer and more floral than Ceylon or Cassia; if unavailable, use Ceylon)
• For the Mexican drinking chocolate sauce (champurrado-style):
• 200g (7 oz) Mexican chocolate (Ibarra or Abuelita brand — the traditional disk chocolate pre-mixed with sugar, cinnamon, and almonds; substitute with 70% dark chocolate + 1/2 tsp cinnamon + 1 tbsp sugar)
• 300ml (1.25 cups) whole milk
• 1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 tbsp cold milk
• Pinch of ground cinnamon and pinch of cayenne (the heat is traditional)
• For the cajeta (Mexican goat's milk caramel):
• 400ml (1.75 cups) goat's milk (the distinctive tang makes cajeta different from regular caramel)
• 200g (1 cup) caster sugar
• 1/4 tsp baking soda dissolved in 1 tsp water (the baking soda causes a controlled Maillard reaction at lower temperatures)
• 1 tbsp corn syrup (prevents crystallization)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Instructions

1. Make the cajeta first (it takes longest): combine goat's milk, sugar, and corn syrup in a heavy medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add the dissolved baking soda — the mixture will foam up dramatically, then subside. Continue cooking at a moderate simmer, stirring occasionally, for 45-60 minutes. The cajeta will slowly deepen in color from pale gold to amber to deep toffee-brown. As it thickens, stir more frequently to prevent scorching the bottom. The finished cajeta should coat a spoon thickly and drip in a slow, heavy ribbon. Add vanilla. Pour into a jar and cool — it will thicken further as it cools.
2. Make the chocolate dipping sauce: chop Mexican chocolate finely. Heat milk in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped chocolate and stir until completely melted and smooth. Add the cornstarch slurry. Cook, stirring constantly, for 3-4 minutes until the sauce thickens to a pourable but coating consistency — like a thin custard. Add a pinch of cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne. Keep warm. Mexican drinking chocolate is not ganache — it is thinner, milkier, lightly spiced, and drunk alongside churros as a dipping vessel.
3. Make the churro dough: combine water, butter, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a vigorous boil. Remove from heat and add all the flour at once. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until a smooth ball of dough forms and pulls away from the sides — this is identical to choux pastry. Return to low heat and stir for 1-2 minutes to dry the dough slightly.
4. Add eggs: transfer dough to a stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or continue by hand). Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. The dough will look broken and greasy after each egg — keep beating until it comes back together before adding the next. Add vanilla. The finished dough should be smooth, glossy, and hold a firm peak when the paddle is lifted. Fill a piping bag fitted with a large star tip (1.5cm / 1/2 inch — the star ridges are what makes a churro a churro, creating more surface area for cinnamon sugar to cling).
5. Fry the churros: heat oil to 180°C (355°F) in a deep, wide pot. Pipe churros directly into the oil in 15-18cm (6-7 inch) lengths, cutting cleanly with scissors. Fry in batches of 3-4 for 3-4 minutes, turning once, until deeply golden-brown all around. They must be fully golden — underdone churros are doughy inside.
6. Coat immediately: while still hot, toss freshly fried churros in the cinnamon sugar mixture. The sugar adheres because of the oil on the hot surface. This coating step must happen within 30 seconds of coming out of the oil — once cool, the sugar will not stick properly.
7. Serve: arrange churros on a plate or in a paper cone (the Mexican street vendor presentation). Serve the warm chocolate sauce in a small cup for dipping, with cajeta in another small dish. The tradition is to alternate dips — one end in chocolate, the other in cajeta. Churros — from the Spanish churro shepherd who used simple fried dough to sustain long nights in the mountains — became Mexico's most beloved street food, sold from wheeled carts (churrerías) outside churches, markets, and soccer stadiums. The combination of crispy-exterior, custardy-interior dough, cinnamon sugar, and thick Mexican chocolate represents the comfort food of an entire nation.