In continuing with our second week of Hispanic Heritage Month recipes, today we're talking about Brazil. Now, Brazil's Independence Day just passed and I fell in love with their pão de queijo, feijoada and moqueca (find the recipes here).
Today, though, I decided to indulge my sweet tooth just a little bit with one of my all-time favorite Latin desserts: Brazilian brigadeiros, also known as chocolate fudge truffles. They're absolutely delicious and the best part is that they're such a small portion that just one is a perfect bite size of happiness. I mean, doesn't chocolate make you happy? I know it does for me! And what's better than a chocolate truffle? Check out the recipe!
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Brigadeiros, a.k.a. Brazilian Chocolate Fudge Truffles (recipe courtesy of Leite's Culinaria)
Ingredients:
2 cans (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup chocolate sprinkles, preferably Guittard
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Directions:
1. In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, bring the condensed milk, butter, heavy cream, and corn syrup to a gentle boil.
2. When the mixture starts to bubble, add the chocolate and the cocoa powder. Whisk well to prevent any pockets of cocoa powder.
3. Reduce the heat to low and cook the chocolate mixture, whisking constantly, until it is the consistency of a dense, fudgy batter, 8 to 10 minutes. You want it to bubble only toward the end of cooking, so it's important to use low heat otherwise the chocolate will scorch. It's done when you swirl the pan and the mixture slides as one soft piece, leaving a thick burnt residue on the bottom–that's as it should be. If you undercook the chocolate mixture, the brigadeiros will be too soft; if you overcook them, they'll be too chewy.
4. Slide the chocolate mixture into a bowl (without scraping the bottom of the pan) and let cool to room temperature. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the chocolate mixture for at least 4 hours.
5. Scoop the chocolate mixture by the teaspoonful and, using your hands, roll it into a little ball about 3/4 inch in diameter (roughly the size of a chocolate truffle). Repeat with the remaining chocolate mixture.
6. Place the sprinkles in a bowl. Roll 4 to 6 brigadeiros in the sprinkles, making sure to cover the entire surface. Store them in an airtight plastic container for up to 2 days at room temperature or up to 1 month in the refrigerator.
Image via maych/flickr
