Brazil: Brigadeiros Part 2

So the inevitable happened this week in our challenge – Tom and I both cooked the same dish. We had decided from the outset that this would be ok because we were sure that there would be differences – either in the recipe or in the outcome. And this is exactly what happened.

Tom’s recipe for Brazilian Brigadeiros can be found on a website called ‘From Brazil to You.’ Here they describe Brigadeiros as “Brazilian Chocolate Fudge Balls” which I think is a fantastically accurate description, and very similar to how I explained them to my friends. This website also explains that Brigadeiros are often also consumed unrolled, with a spoon, out of the bowl, mainly by Brazilian pregnant women (and apparently non-pregnant South African women too as per my experience).

The only difference in the ingredients between mine and Tom’s recipe is that his called for Vanilla essence as well. It would have been ideal to have been able to taste both to make a comparison and see the effect of the vanilla essence, but unfortunately that wasn’t possible. In terms of the method, Tom’s recipe didn’t require a whisk at the beginning like mine did, and also didn’t call for an extra 2 minutes of cooking after separating the mixture with a wooden spoon into a ‘parted sea’ of sorts.

Tom explained that his first attempt was unsuccessful in that the mixture was too runny. He put it down to the above – the fact that it perhaps needed a few more minutes of cooking after parting it with a spoon. He tried it again the following night and sent me the following picture with just one word: “success”. He was even more successful in that he managed to use proper vermicelli (chocolate sprinkles) and some bright coloured candy pieces which I thought gave a great touch. The Brigadeiros were described by our Mom as ‘more-ish’ (i.e. wanting more of them) and by our Dad as “delicious. Must be taken in small doses.” (He, like me, also has a very sweet tooth). Tom and I both agreed that the Brigadeiros were exceptionally delicious, but “really not easy” to make. (And I speak for myself, but I’m sure for him, when I say that I’ll likely not choose to make them again – even though they were like little pieces of heaven mixed with a diabetic nightmare).

Also, we’ve got a Pinterest board dedicated to our Cook the World recipes. Some of the pins will be potential recipes while others will be the actual recipes we have cooked.
Follow Cook the World 2016 on Pinterest here.