Brazilian Condensed Milk and Chocolate Truffles • Brigadeiros

It’s worth noting that today is actually Valentines or Lovers’ Day (Dia dos Namorados) in Brazil, its their version of Valentine’s Day! Unlike the February 14th celebration in most of the world, the Brazilians celebrate love on June 12th for two special reasons, first it honours Saint Anthony, known throughout Brazil as the “Saint Matchmaker,” and it conveniently avoids overlapping with the Carnival festivities. These sweet brigadeiros make the perfect homemade gift for your sweetheart, combining the rich tradition of Brazilian confectionery with a gesture of sickly sweet love that’s both personal and delicious. What better way to say “I love you” than with these irresistible chocolate treasures hehehe?

The brigadeiro was created in the 1940s by a confectioner from Rio de Janeiro named Heloísa Nabuco de Oliveira to promote the presidential candidacy of Eduardo Gomes, a military brigadier. And the sweet treats became so popular that they were named after his military rank, and they’ve been a cherished part of Brazilian culture ever since.

While the traditional brigadeiro recipe is wonderfully simple, just condensed milk, cocoa powder, and butter cooked until its a caramelised paste, what makes these treats truly special is their versatility. You can experiment with different chocolate types, adjust the cocoa amount for varying intensity, or get creative with the outer coatings and sprinkles beyond the classic chocolate sprinkles. And that’s not even mentioning the countless variations that don’t use chocolate at all, like the coconut brigadeiros! Lets check the recipe!

Brazilian Condensed Milk and Chocolate Truffles • Brigadeiros

Servings: 10
Time: 1hr
Difficulty: Normal
Rating: ★★★★★
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There is nothing more sweetly delicious than some Brazilian brigadeiros, these fudgy, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate balls are a staple at virtually every Brazilian celebration and are so beloved they're practically considered a national dessert.

Ingredients

Chocolate – 3 Tablespoons (Powdered)
Condensed Milk – 1 Can (+/- 400gr)
Butter – 1 Tablespoon
Salt – A Pinch
Sunflower Oil – For Greasing
Chocolate Granules – As Needed
Cocoa – As Needed (Powdered)
Culinary Chocolate – As Needed (Grated)
Chocolate Kisses – As Needed
Almonds – As Needed (Crushed)
Coconut – As Needed (Dried)

Directions

For the brigadeiros dough you start in a large saucepan where you add the condensed milk, chocolate and butter, cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon
Stir for about 10 minutes until the mixture turns into a paste and starts to bubble and boil.
Now simmer for another 10 to 20 minutes while the dough gets stiffer and more caramelised, you want a paste, when the dough literally starts to peel off the pan you know it’s ready.
Remove the dough to a greased with sunflower oil plastic bag (so it’s easy to take the dough out later) and leave to cool, then refrigerate for at least a couple of hours to set.
When it’s time to make the brigadeiro balls, put the toppings together in bowls and arrange paper or silicone molds, you’ll use a spoon to scoop out balls of dough and roll with your hand to create perfect balls (if it sticks too much to your hands, oil them a bit with sunflower oil), then pour the topping and roll the ball over so its completly covered finally put it in a mold, repeat until you have no more brigadeiro dough!

And thats it, these hold well a couple of days outside or up to a week in a air tight container in the fridge, also you can make the dough in advance, keep it in the fridge and make the brigadeiros later on, enjoy!

Notes: The nutritional data is only for the brigadeiro dough, it’s hard for me to say how much I spent on the toppings, so bear that in mind, these are really rich and caloric sweets either way!

Also note I’ve given you just a glimpse of different toppings, here are some other popular suggestions: Chocolate sprinkles, rainbow sprinkles, shredded coconut, crushed Oreos, cocoa powder, crushed nuts, crushed pistachios, toasted almonds, chopped hazelnuts, crushed peanuts, toffee bits, crushed freeze-dried strawberries, crushed freeze-dried raspberries, cocoa nibs, crushed pretzels, mini chocolate chips, crushed peppermint candies, crushed graham crackers, sesame seeds, matcha powder, mini m&m’s, pine nuts, white chocolate.

This recipe for Brazilian Condensed Milk and Chocolate Truffles • Brigadeiros was originally created on BakeAfter.com. Esta receita de Coberturas para Brigadeiros foi publicada em português no Iguaria.com.