churros with warm chocolate sauce

For centuries shepherds in the grasslands of Spain tended their flocks. They watched over a breed of sheep that provided high quality wool. They prepared their bread out in the field, with a bare minimum of tools available and their best method of preparation was to fry their bread.
Over the ensuing years the shepherds fried bread became star shaped. This allowed the bread to become fully cooked on the inside while giving crispness to the outside.They rolled the finished bread in cinnamon sugar and named it after their breed of sheep called the Churra.

The churra sheep have horns in a shape similar to that of the current day churros. They created what today is known as the Churro.

Churros are Alexia's (my daughters) absolute favourite and i'm asked to make them almost as much as i am pizzas for her and her friends. they must be one of the simplist desserts to make yet so pleasing.

what you need
Vegetable or olive oil
1 cup water
1/2 cup margarine or butter
zezt of one orange
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

what to do
start by heating oil in a pan (1&1/2 inches deep) to 360 degrees F. (180 celcius)
To make churro dough, heat water, orange zest, margarine and salt to rolling boil in saucepan; stir in flour. Stir vigorously over low heat until mixture forms a ball, about 1 minute; remove from heat. Beat eggs all at once; continue beating until smooth and then add to saucepan while stirring mixture. mix to form a smooth dough.
Spoon mixture into a pipping bag fitted with a medium star nozzle. Squeeze 6-inch strips of dough into hot oil. Fry 3 or 4 strips at a time until golden brown, turning once, about 2 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels. (Mix Sugar and the optional cinnamon); roll churros in the sugar mix while still warm.

Chocolate for Dunking

what you need
4oz good dark chocolate chopped
2 cups milk
1 tbsp cornflour
4 tbsp sugar

what to do
Place the chocolate and half the milk in a pan and heat, stirring, until the chocolate has melted. Dissolve the cornflour in the remaining milk and whisk into the chocolate with the sugar. Cook on low heat, whisking constantly, until the chocolate is thickened, about five minutes. Add extra cornstarch if it doesn't start to thicken after 5 minutes. Remove and whisk smooth.

Pour and server in cups or bowls for dunking churros.

Do not pour over churros, but use the mix for dunking churros after every bite (yes it is okay to double dip with churros).

Churros must be served warm