Brigadeiro
Fudgy chocolate truffles of condensed milk and cocoa, rolled in chocolate sprinkles (plus 1 hour cooling)
Brigadeiro is Brazil's favourite sweet: no birthday party anywhere in the country is complete without trays of them in little paper cases. Condensed milk, cocoa and butter are stirred in a pan until thick, then rolled into soft, fudgy balls and coated in chocolate sprinkles. It's said to be named after Brigadeiro Eduardo Gomes, an air force officer who ran for president in 1945. Chef's tip: learn the ponto (the doneness point). Tilt the pan and drag your spatula through the mixture: when it slides as one mass and you can see the pan base for 2–3 seconds before it closes up, it's ready. Undercooked brigadeiros won't hold a shape; overcooked ones turn chewy.
- Total time
- 32 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk1 tin
- 1 oz cocoa powdersifted
- ⅔ oz unsalted butterplus a little for your hands
- 1 pinch salt
- 3 ½ oz chocolate sprinklescheck they're gluten free
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (2)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Put the 14 oz sweetened condensed milk, 1 oz cocoa powder, ⅔ oz unsalted butter and 1 pinch salt in a heavy, non-stick pan. Stir off the heat until the cocoa disappears, so it doesn't form lumps.
Step 2: Cook over a medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a silicone spatula and scraping the base and corners, for 10–12 minutes. It will bubble, then thicken and turn glossy.
12 minStep 3: Check the ponto: tilt the pan and drag the spatula across the bottom. When the mixture slides away in one mass and the pan base stays visible for 2–3 seconds, take it off the heat.
Step 4: Scrape into a buttered plate, cover the surface with cling film and leave to cool completely, about 1 hour at room temperature (or 30 minutes in the fridge). It firms up as it cools.
60 minStep 5: Rub a little butter on your hands, take teaspoons of the mixture (about 15 g) and roll into about 24 smooth balls. Roll each in the 3 ½ oz chocolate sprinkles until well coated and set in small paper cases. They keep for 3 days at room temperature in a closed box.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 170 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbs
- 26 g
- Fat
- 6 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does brigadeiro take?
- About 32 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 12 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of sweetened condensed milk?
- Oat, soy or almond milk, same amount (use unsweetened for savoury dishes).
- What can I use instead of cocoa powder?
- Drinking chocolate, same amount (sweeter, so cut the sugar).
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Baklava
The famous layered pastry: crisp sheets of buttered fillo sandwich a filling of almonds, pistachios and cashews spiced with cinnamon, cardamom and saffron. After baking, the hot baklava is soaked in a syrup of sugar, honey, lemon, rose and cardamom and decorated with almond and pistachio flakes. Cut into 40 diamonds; serve with fresh cream or ice cream.
Marquesitas
Evening in Mérida's Plaza Grande means the smell of marquesitas: thin batter pressed in hot hinged irons until crisp, then rolled like a cigar around grated Edam cheese and a sweet filling such as cajeta, chocolate-hazelnut spread or jam. Edam came to the Yucatán through the port trade with the Netherlands and became part of the local cooking, and the salty-sweet combination is the whole point. At home you can cook them in a thin, wide frying pan. Edam is usually made with animal rennet, so check the label or use a vegetarian Gouda-style cheese. Chef's tip: roll while the crêpe is still in the pan and hot; within seconds it hardens and will crack.
Mexican
Puff puff
Puff puff is the snack of Nigerian parties, school gates and roadside stalls: a sweet yeast batter scooped by hand into hot oil, where it swells into soft, chewy, golden balls. Across the border in Ghana the same treat is called bofrot (or 'boflot'), often a little larger and spiced with more nutmeg, and sold in clear bags on Accra's streets; we treat them as one dish here. Eat them warm on their own, or with a dusting of sugar. Chef's tip: the batter is ready only when it has doubled and is full of bubbles; under-proved batter gives heavy, greasy balls.
Nigerian