PISTACHIO AND WHITE CHOCOLATE CHURROS

This pretty Spanish-style dessert is served with a delicious dark chocolate sauce for dipping. Makes 26 For the pistachio custard filling

250g shelled unsalted pistachios 60g (2¼oz) icing sugar, sifted 125ml (4fl oz) whole milk 5 medium egg yolks, at room temperature 30g (1oz) salted butter, at room temperature, diced 50g (1¾oz) white chocolate (30% cocoa solids), finely chopped A few drops of almond extract A few drops of edible green food colouring (paste or gel – optional)

For the churros

25g (1oz) granulated sugar 165g (5¾oz) salted butter 375ml (13fl oz) water ¼tsp fine sea salt 225g (8oz) plain flour, sifted 4 medium eggs, at room temperature 1tsp vanilla extract 100g (3½oz) vanilla caster sugar (available online, or use normal caster sugar) Sunflower oil, for deep frying 60g (2¼oz) white chocolate, chopped 2 piping bags, a large star nozzle and small round nozzle A deep-fat fryer or food thermometer

For the chocolate sauce

150g (5½oz) dark chocolate (about 70% cocoa solids), chopped 150ml (5fl oz) single cream 2tbsp amaretto liqueur, or to taste Make the custard filling first so it has time to firm up. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4. Place the pistachios in a medium pan, cover with cold water, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 seconds. Drain in a sieve, then tip on to kitchen paper. Rub the nuts with the paper to slip off the papery brown skins. Spread out the nuts in a baking dish and toast in the oven for 5 minutes to dry and add a little colour. Leave to cool.

Set aside 100g (3½oz) of the nuts for decoration and tip the remainder into a food processor. Add the icing sugar and blitz to a fine powder. Warm the milk in a medium pan. Add the egg yolks to the nuts in the food processor and blitz until combined. Then, with the processor running, pour in the warm milk. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then run for a few more seconds. Scrape the mixture back into the medium pan and set over a low heat. Stir with a wooden spoon until it thickens to a custard that will just coat the back of the spoon – don’t let it get too hot. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and the chopped chocolate. When both have melted, add almond extract to taste and a little green food colouring, if using. Sieve the custard into a heatproof bowl. Press a piece of clingfilm on to the surface to prevent a skin from forming, cool, then chill for 2-4 hours.

Line 3 baking trays with baking parchment. To make the churros dough, place the sugar, butter, water and salt in a pan and heat gently, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved and the butter has melted. Bring to the boil, then tip in the flour. Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon over low heat until it forms a smooth, glossy ball of dough. Remove from the heat and transfer to a heatproof bowl. Leave to cool until lukewarm, then add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Transfer to a piping bag with a star nozzle. On 2 of the baking trays, pipe straight fingers of dough exactly 10cm (4in) long (you may want to draw sets of parallel lines 10cm apart on the parchment, as a guide), cutting off the dough with scissors to give a neat end.

Dust the third baking tray with vanilla sugar or caster sugar. Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer or large, deep pan to 190°C/375°F. Carefully remove one piped finger from the baking sheet with a large palette knife and lower it into the hot oil. Fry, turning frequently, for 6 minutes until a rich golden brown and cooked through. Lift it out and drain on kitchen paper, then roll in the sugar. Leave to cool. Adjust the oil temperature as necessary, then continue to fry the rest of the churros in small batches, drain and roll in sugar.

When all the churros have been fried, make a small hole in one rounded end of each and push a bamboo skewer down the length to make a tunnel (remove the skewer). Spoon the custard into a piping bag fitted with the small round nozzle and pipe into the churros to fill the tunnel.

Finely chop the reserved pistachios and place in a dish. Melt the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Dip one end of each churro in the melted chocolate and then into the nuts. Arrange on a platter and leave to set.

To make the sauce, place the dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream in a pan until almost boiling, then pour over the chocolate and stir until smooth. Add amaretto to taste. Pour into a serving bowl and serve immediately with the churros.