Brigadeiro – Mouthwatering Chocolate Balls that You will Fall For
I love desserts and especially chocolates are next to my heart. So far, I have seen so many mouthwatering forms of chocolates; but the one which I saw just recently made me flabbergasted and I thought that you too should know about it if you are not a Brazilian. This is Brigadeiro (a Portuguese word for Brigadier) and you can see its pictures in this article from which you can guess how delicious it can be! They are chocolate balls sprinkled with a variety of sprinkles including chocolate vermicelli and chocolate sprinkles as well as nuts, crushed coconut, candies and sugar. But they can even be eaten in their liquid state with a spoon, relishing small chocolate and white chocolate balls with them! Wow, what a combination!
Brigadeiro is made of condensed milk, butter and cocoa powder. It was made in the 1940s and named after Brigadier Eduardo Gomes who once ran for the Brazil’s President.
The sumptuous fella (candy) is usually served at birthday parties, but can also occur in any type of party. They are rolled into balls covered with granulated chocolate. However, brigadeiro can also be enjoyed unrolled, with a spoon or is used as a filling or topping for cupcakes, cakes, pastries and brownies.
Instead of chocolate granules, you can also use other substances like almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts, etc. and can also be served in cups, small pots, jars, spoons, tubes and small boxes resembling small jewelry boxes. The brigadeiro is a national passion and has grown to achieve the status of a gourmet dish.
Actually, any Brazilian party is incomplete without these delicious fudge balls. They are incredibly easy to make and extremely addictive.
If your mouth is watering to taste this delicacy and don’t know how to cook, calm down, there are a lot of brazilians around the world sharing this beloved candy in other countries. One of these Brazilians is Cristiane Lell who lives nearby Philadelphia.
Like any other Brazilian, she grew up eating brigadeiros. One of her memories about childhood is at parties, how as soon as the birthday song was sung, toasts were made and cake was cut, every kid and adult in the party knew that the brigadeiro time started and how they used to vanish within a blink of an eye.
In Brazil, Brigadeiro is more than just a candy; it brings people together. These succulent little balls are completely handcrafted and when someone plans to make it on a big amount, it’s common to call family and friends to help. All come together around the table helping to make brigadeiros and other types of candies. That practice developed and strengthened the passion for cooking in Cristiane.
Today Cristiane lives in the US with the love of her life; but she has found the opportunity to share her passion for these gourmet chocolate balls in America in the form of Crissy’s Crafty Candies which brings all the traditional Brazilian flavors of candies, sometimes mixing them with popular American flavors. You can see some of her creations in this article and a lot more on her website.
Here is an easy recipe for brigadeiro.
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup of baking cocoa powder
- A 14-oz can of sweetened condensed milk
- 2 tablespoons of unsalted softened butter along with some extra to grease hands and plate
- Chocolate vermicelli or chocolate sprinkles
- 1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract
Method:
Whisk cocoa powder and condensed milk together in a medium non-stick sauce pan till all cocoa powder lumps break and it obtains a homogenous texture. Add butter and stir.
Cook the mixture on a medium-low to medium flame. Stir continuously till the mixture becomes thick and begins to peel away or the bottom of the pan is starts showing while you scrape the mixture with your wooden spoon (around 5 to 8 minutes). The fudge mixture should be so thick that it should show you the pan’s bottom for a few seconds before leveling out again.
Now pour the mixture in a deep microwave bowl and cook on full power for around 6 minutes. Keep removing the bowl and stirring the mixture after every 2 minutes or till it thickens enough to be rolled. After it’s ready, add vanilla extract and spread the mixture on a greased plate.
After it comes to room temperature, roll them into balls with greased hands and then roll over gently in chocolate vermicelli to cover totally. Place in paper bonbon cups and serve.
