Brazilian desert recipe?

December 3, 2006 5:39 PM

Do you know any good Brazilian desert recipes? Cookies or something similiar would be ideal-- I want something to take to Poruguese class on our last day. If you know what part of Brazil it's from, even better.
posted by bookish to Food & Drink (7 answers total)

oh my goodness can I help you with the delicious. Not so much on the cookies, specifically, but with several other easy recipes that taste so so good. I miss Brazil! These are things I've had all over Brazil, including RJ, SP, and the boonies.

Requiring no skill, as long as you can wield a little knife: Romeu e Julieta
Queijo branco (white cheese, firm, very mild flavor) is always served with goiabada (guava paste). In Brazil the two are considered so inseparable that the dish is called Romeu e Julieta. The white cheese can also be served with sweet potato paste or dulce de leche (doce de leite).

Pizza de Brigadeiro
A dessert pizza with a common sweet on top. You can also make brigadeiro by itself and roll it in cocoa to serve in little paper candy cups.
DOUGH: A conventional pizza crust or bread dough (to taste) can be used. The recipe below is approximate. Mix 1 package yeast with about 1/4 cup water, let sit for 5 minutes. Add 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup oil, and about 2 tbsp. water. Adjust as necessary to get a dough that holds together but is neither too sticky nor too dry. Let rise for 20-30 minutes. Roll flat to about 1/4" thickness and bake on a baking sheet until firm and starting to brown on edges at around 350F.
BRIGADEIRO: Combine 1 can sweetened condensed milk, 2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa, and 1 Tbsp butter in a pan. Over medium heat, move it around the pan with a spatula to prevent a crust forming on the edges. The brigadeiro is done when it starts to pull itself away from the edges of the pan, instead of wetting the sides.

Spread brigadeiro over pizza and top with thinly sliced apples or bananas. Bake together for another 5 minutes or so. Sprinkle with cinnamon or chocolate sprinkles.


caky: Bolo diferente
1 stick of butter/margarine
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 can coconut milk
2 1/2 cups manioc flour (farinha de mandioca)
1 tsp salt
1 package yeast

Mix the butter/margarine with the sugar and egg yolks to form a cream. Combine the coconut milk, farinha de mandioca, egg whites, salt, and yeast in another bowl. Grease and flour a pan (for class I made 2 9" round cakes, this would probably also fit a 9x13" cake pan). Stir together the butter-sugar-egg cream and the coconut milk-arinha-etc until well blended. Bake at around 350F for about 30 minutes, until top is firm and knife comes out clean when inserted in the center.

fruity, maybe a little messy: Passion Fruit Mousse
200 g passion fruit pulp (maracujá)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 pints whipping cream

Blend frozen pulp and whipping cream, increase mixer speed until cream is, well, whipped. Add sweetened condensed milk. Let set overnight in refrigerator. Should work with other fruits, too, but why bother?

Not dessert, but too delicious to omit: Pão de Queijo
Little cheese bread rolls. You can make them from scratch or buy them frozen in a Brazilian supermarket.
posted by whatzit at 6:03 PM on December 3, 2006

Portuguese custards? I've always assumed these are both Portuguese AND Brazilian, but I'm not certain of the Brazilian connection. They are irresistibly delicious, though; you would be everyone's favorite person.

Recipe with story and picture (this one makes them sound hard to make and explains how to do it well)
Simpler recipe
posted by LobsterMitten at 6:08 PM on December 3, 2006

Mmmmm...pão de queijo. Que saudades do Brasil!

All the fruit ice creams like açaí, cajá and cupuaçu are amazing, but they're hard to find elsewhere.

What about baba de moça? It's a coconut custard with sweetened condensed milk. The name-that-loses-something-in-translation (girl's drool?!) alone may spark interest from your class.
posted by umbú at 6:28 PM on December 3, 2006

umbú: actually, you can get frozen pulp from these fruits in a lot of Hispanic or even conventional groceries, mostly under the Goya brand. And açaí is picking up into some major drink/ice cream brands in the states...

bookish: Are you in Boston by any chance? There's an awesome Brazilian supermarket, O Supermercado Gol, at 630 Somerville Ave, a few minutes from Porter square.
posted by whatzit at 7:27 PM on December 3, 2006

I vote for Pavê. A wonderful layered dessert, usually made with a combination of chocolate, cookies or biscuits and different creams. I've had many variations in Brazil. It takes some skill and patience to make, but well worth it. I am in Hawaii at the moment and would KILL for some Pavê.

Check this site out for Pavê and other recipes:

http://www.maria-brazil.org/brazilian_recipes.htm
posted by toucano at 7:33 PM on December 3, 2006

Echoing the suggestions for Acai. It's great and i'm addicted to the stuff.
posted by the cuban at 1:07 AM on December 4, 2006

Yum...now I'm hungry...any of the above would be very tasty and very authentic. Most Brazilian desserts are to be eaten with a fork or a spoon. If you're wanting something easy to serve and pick up, brigadeiros are probably the most common doce. They're a bit of a mess to make and a little time-consuming, but the advantage is that they don't require plates to serve.

If serving isn't an issue, then I would second mousse de maracuja or even throw in another divine suggestion: creme de papaia com cassis!
posted by wallaby at 3:07 AM on December 4, 2006