A Taste of Brazil: Brigadeiro

A favorite dessert with the kids is brigadeiro, which is a creamy chocolate fudge candy. These fudgy candies are eaten for many special occasions like birthdays or New Years. Brigadeiro was named after a famous politician during the 1920s, Brigadeiro Eduardo Gomez, that some say was for his handsome looks. Desserts have always been popular in Brazil even since the Portuguese colonists arrived. Portuguese settlers found that the soil was fertile for growing many sugarcane crops, resulting in many rich dessert recipes. Most Brazilian desserts have milk, eggs, sugar, coconut, avocado, and corn. There also has been many African influences such as olho de sogra (sweet coconut stuffed prunes), which is another popular kids dessert. Here is a simple recipe to make brigadeiro:

Ingredients

1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon of margarine
3 tablespoons cocoa powder

Cook over medium-low heat, stir vigorously the sweetened condensed milk, margarine and cocoa powder.

Cook the mixture until it thickens enough to show the pan bottom during stirring.

Pour the mixture in a greased dish and let it cool to room temperature. Take small amounts of the mixture with a teaspoon and make 1 ½ inch balls.

Roll the balls over chocolate jimmies to decorate.

Hint: Grease your hands with margarine to make the balls easily.

If the balls don't hold the shape and flat down like coins, it means that you did not cook enough. Cook additional five minutes, take a small sample and dip it in a glass with cold water. If you cooked enough, this sample should hold the shape after cooling down in the water.

The cheapest , low grade sweetened condensed milk is the best to make the brigadeiro because they have more starch on them, which helps the candy to hold the shape.
Enjoy these sweet fudgy candies!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mayra/31394483/



sources: http://www.cookbrazil.com/brigadeiro.htm,
http://books.google.com/books?id=RJz8oLBI18oC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0