Air Fryer Churros with Bournville Sauce: Crisp Outside, Melt Inside
Written by Bhavana Verma | September 28, 2025
Ever thought of using your air fryer to its full potential but ran out of ideas? This article brings you how you can prepare crispy and crunchy churros in your air fryer so you can make yet another delicious treat without the need for deep frying.
Churros are traditionally made by piping dough into hot oil and then frying until golden brown. Once fried, churros are rolled in cinnamon sugar and served alongside chocolate dipping sauce. Just by the description of it, churros sound utterly delicious. Any treat where you can enjoy a crunch with sweetness certainly makes it feel like a heavenly treat. Many fried sweet delights are often coated with sugar syrup after frying, after which the treats lose their crunchy texture. But churros are different. It is among those treats where you can enjoy the pleasure of a crispy crust with a soft core, all of it coated in the warming cinnamon sugar. The pleasure becomes immense when you get a rich dark chocolate dip along with it. As you dip the churros stick in the chocolate dip, you immediately get reminded of the childhood memories, even if you haven’t tried churros before. The sweet joy with crunchy pleasure makes you feel excited like a child again.
However, if you are practicing a healthy lifestyle, the idea of eating fried treats may make you repel. No matter how bad you want to try it, you will still be willing to say no to the pleasure for the sake of health. But what if you get to know that your most favorite treats can be healthier with the use of air fryer? That’s right! You can fry almost anything using an air fryer when you want the treat to be oil free. Just with a little spray of cooking oil, you can fry the treats more perfectly in an air fryer than in a deep frying pan. The same goes with churros. This easy recipe for air fryer churros with Bournville sauce will teach you how you can make crispy churros with a melty center without the use of oil. Follow the recipe below and transform churros into a guilt-free treat.
Easy Step-By-Step Recipe For Air Fryer Churros With Bournville Sauce
Ingredients:
For the Churros:
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp butter (or neutral oil for dairy-free)
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (maida)
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp cinnamon powder (optional)
- Oil spray (for air fryer)
For Cinnamon Sugar Coating:
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
For Bournville Chocolate Sauce:
- 100g Cadbury Bournville dark chocolate (roughly chopped)
- ¼ cup heavy cream (or coconut cream for vegan version)
- 1 tsp butter
Method:
Step 1: Make the Churro Dough
Combine water, butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Once it starts boiling, reduce the heat and add the flour. Stir well continuously with a wooden spoon until the mixture becomes a dough ball and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Once done, turn off the heat.
Step 2: Cool & Add Vanilla
Let it cool at room temperature for 5 minutes and then mix in vanilla extract and cinnamon powder.
Step 3: Pipe the Churros
Transfer the soft dough into a piping bag with a star nozzle. Pipe it in 4 to 5 inch rods on a parchment lined baking sheet. Chill for about 10 to 15 minutes. Chilling will help churros to firm up so that they retain their shape when being air fried and the crust will turn crispy while the core will remain soft.
Step 4: Air Fry the Churros
Set the air fryer to 190°C. Spray churros with a little oil and place it in the air fryer. Place only 2 to 3 churros at a time so they get some room to expand. For a small air fryer, you can make smaller churros. Air fry each batch for 10 to 12 minutes until golden brown.
Step 5: Coat in Cinnamon Sugar
Take out churros and immediately roll in a mixture of cinnamon and granulated sugar. Roll until evenly coated. The heat from churros will help sugar to stick.
Step 6: Make Bournville Chocolate Sauce
Heat cream in a saucepan over medium until its just warm. Put chopped Bournville chocolate in a bowl and pour the cream over it. Stir it until it turns smooth and evenly melted. Add some butter for glossiness.
Step 7: Serve Warm
Serve the hot churros with the rich Bournville chocolate sauce on the side or drizzled over top.