CHURROS WITH CHOCOLATE DIPPING SAUCE (NIGELLA)

Steps:

• 1. Melt all the chocolate sauce ingredients in a heavy-based saucepan, really gently, and once the chocolate starts to melt, stir everything together, take off the heat and leave in a warm place. 2. To make the churros, put the flour into a bowl and stir in the baking powder, then beat in the olive oil and freshly boiled water from a kettle. Keep mixing until you have a warm, sticky dough, and leave to rest for about 10 minutes or for as long as it takes for the corn (or vegetable) oil to heat up. 3. Heat the oil in a small-ish saucepan; it should come about one-third of the way up the sides of the pan. When you think it's hot enough, toss in a cube of bread and if it sizzles and browns in about 30 seconds, the oil's hot enough; or if you're using an electric deep-fat fryer or otherwise have the means to check the temperature, it should be at 170C/325F. Keep a watchful eye on your hot oil pan at all times as hot oil can be dangerous. 4. When you are ready, load up a piping bag with a large star-shaped nozzle (8mm/½in) and fill with the churros dough. Squeeze short lengths (approx. 4-5cm/1½-2in) of dough into the hot oil, snipping them off with a pair of scissors as you go. I love the squidgy feel of this. 5. Cook 3/ 4 churros at a time and, once they turn a rich golden-brown, fish them out of the oil with a slotted spoon, spatula or tongs onto a baking sheet lined with some kitchen roll. To keep the cooked churros warm while you fry the remaining dough, blot with kitchen roll, transfer them to a parchment-lined baking sheet and place in a low oven (100C/220F/Gas ¼). Even if you want to eat them immediately, they do need 5-10 minutes to rest before you eat them, to allow them to set inside. 6. Just before serving, toss all the hot churros in the sugar and cinnamon mixture.