This Heart Churros with Chocolate dulce de leche sauce recipe teaches you how to make golden, crispy churros shaped like hearts, coated in cinnamon sugar, and served with a luscious chocolate or dulce de leche sauce. Perfect for parties, holidays, or a homemade bakery-style treat.
Why you will love this recipe?
These homemade churro hearts are guaranteed to impress while still being surprisingly simple to make. A beautifully textured dough is created using an easy stovetop method, resulting in churros that are crisp on the outside and tender inside. Paired with a rich chocolate dulce de leche sauce, this recipe delivers a bakery style experience right at home.
Expert Tips for Best Results!
- Cook the Heart Churros Dough Properly – After adding the flour, make sure the dough is cooked for a full 2–3 minutes on low heat. This step removes excess moisture and ensures your churros fry up crisp instead of greasy.
- Fry while the oil is hot – The ideal temperature for frying churro hearts is 180°C. If you do not have a thermometer, maintain medium to medium-high to achieve a golden, crisp exterior.
- Freeze for Clean Shapes – If your piped hearts feel soft or sticky, freeze them for 20–30 minutes before frying. This helps them hold their shape and makes transferring to oil much easier.
- Coat While Warm – Always toss churros in cinnamon sugar while they are still warm. This helps the coating stick evenly and creates that classic churro finish.
How to make Heart Churros with Chocolate Dulche de leche sauce?
Step 1: Heat the Butter Mixture
In a saucepan, combine butter, water, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring gently until the butter fully melts.
Step 2: Add the Flour
Once boiling, add the flour all at once. Reduce the heat to low and stir continuously until the mixture forms a thick dough.
Step 3: Cook the Heart Churros Dough
Keep stirring for 2–3 minutes until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pan and forms a smooth ball. This step ensures properly cooked choux dough.
Step 4: Cool Slightly
Transfer the dough to a bowl and let it cool for about 5 minutes so the eggs do not scramble when added.
Step 5: Incorporate the Eggs
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Continue mixing until the dough becomes smooth, glossy, and pipeable.
Step 6: Pipe the Hearts Churros
Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe heart shapes onto parchment paper. Freeze briefly if needed for easier handling.
Step 7: Heat the Oil
Heat the oil to 180°C (350°F) and maintain this temperature throughout frying. If you don’t have a thermometer, keep the heat at medium to medium-high to achieve golden, crisp churros without excess oil absorption.
Step 8: Fry Until Golden
Carefully transfer the piped churros into the hot oil. Fry in batches until golden brown and crisp on all sides. Remove and drain briefly.
Step 9: Coat in Cinnamon Sugar
While still warm, toss the churros in cinnamon sugar until evenly coated.
Step 10: Prepare the Chocolate Dulce de Leche Sauce
Heat the cream until just simmering, then pour it over the chopped chocolate. Let it sit for 2–3 minutes before stirring until smooth and glossy. Whisk in dulce de leche until fully combined. If you prefer a more classic dip without dulce de leche, you can make a simple chocolate sauce or try my Brown Butter Churros for a deeper, nuttier flavour and traditional chocolate pairing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I skip the dulce de leche sauce in this Churro Hearts Recipe?
Yes, absolutely! If you prefer a more traditional chocolate dip, skip the dulce de leche and make a simple chocolate sauce. You can also try my Brown Butter Churros recipe, which includes a classic chocolate sauce and a deeper nutty flavour from browned butter.
Why are my churros raw inside?
This usually happens when the oil is too hot. To avoid this, try frying one churro first as a test to check the doneness before adding the rest. Maintaining the correct temperature ensures golden, crisp churros with a tender interior.
Why is my heart churros dough too runny?
Too much egg or undercooked flour mixture can cause runny dough. Make sure the dough is properly cooked before adding eggs, and add eggs gradually.
Can I make the dulce de leche sauce at home?
Yes! While I used Nestlé caramelized condensed milk for convenience, you can easily make your own homemade dulce de leche by slowly caramelizing regular condensed milk. This ensures the same rich, creamy flavour even if the store-bought version isn’t available.
Why didn’t my churros puff up?
This can happen if the eggs weren’t incorporated properly or if the dough was too dry. Proper mixing is key for that light interior.
Watch How to Make it!
Recipe Card
Heart Churros with Dulche de leche sauce
This easy churro dough recipe creates golden, crunchy churros with a light and tender centre. Finished with cinnamon sugar and served with a dulce de leche sauce, these homemade churros are a simple yet impressive sweet treat.
Ingredients
- 170g all-purpose flour (≈ 1 1/3 cups)
- 35g butter (≈ 2 1/2 tablespoons)
- 200ml water (≈ 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
- Pinch of salt
- 2 large eggs
- Oil (for deep frying)
For Cinnamon Sugar Coating:
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (Cinnamon can be increased to 2 teaspoons if you prefer a stronger flavour)
For Chocolate Dulce de Leche Sauce:
- 60g chopped semi-sweet chocolate (≈ 1/3 cup )
- 80g heavy cream (≈ 1/3 cup)
- 120g dulce de leche / caramelized condensed milk (≈ ⅓ cup)
Instructions
- In a saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, water, sugar, and salt. Bring to a gentle boil until the butter is fully melted.
- Add the flour all at once, reduce heat to low, and stir continuously until a thick dough forms.
- Continue cooking for 2–3 minutes, stirring, until the dough pulls away from the sides and forms a smooth ball.
- Transfer the dough to a bowl and let it cool for 5 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition until the dough becomes smooth, glossy, and pipeable.
- Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a star tip and pipe heart shapes onto parchment paper. Freeze briefly if needed for easier handling.
- Heat the oil to 180°C (350°F). Carefully transfer the churros into the hot oil and fry in batches until golden brown and crisp. If you don’t have a thermometer, maintain medium to medium-high heat. Remove the churros and drain briefly before coating. Toss the warm churros in cinnamon sugar until evenly coated.
- For the chocolate dulce de leche sauce, heat cream until just simmering and pour over chopped chocolate. Let sit for 2–3 minutes, then stir until smooth. Whisk in dulce de leche until glossy.
- If preferred, skip the dulce de leche and make a simple chocolate ganache, or try the Brown Butter Churros with Simple Chocolate Sauce variation for a richer, nuttier flavour pairing.
Notes
- For the dulce de leche sauce, I used Nestlé caramelized condensed milk. If it is not readily available in your area, you can easily prepare homemade dulce de leche by caramelizing condensed milk at home.
- I recommend double lining the piping bag so it does not burst while piping the churros.
Porqué la mezcla me queda aguada cuando le pongo los huevos?? No tiene consistencia
Si la mezcla está aguada, significa que no se cocinó bien la masa después de agregar el agua. También hay que medir bien los ingredientes. Si se agrega demasiada agua o líquido, la masa no mantendrá su forma.