Brazil’s sweet Brigadier
In my last post I showed you a selection of the seriously sweet goodies that you see at Brazilian weddings and parties. One or two of you may have noticed that one particular delicacy was glaringly missing from the list. To those of you who aren’t familiar with it yet, this is Brigadeiro:
Another one of my photos from the sumptuous wedding of last weekend. This is the probably the most common form of Brigadeiro. To the untrained eye these may appear like everyday truffles, but as you pop one of these into your mouth you'll realise they're quite different.
These little balls of sweetness are one of the most beloved of Brazilian confectioneries. First created in the 1940s, they were named after this rather unprepossessing character:
Back in the 1940s, Eduardo Gomes was a Brigadier in the Brazilian Airforce. As far as I can tell, he just happened to be in the right place at the right time as far as having a sweet named after him. While he was (unsuccessfully) running for president, Nestlé were pushing their brands of chocolate powder and condensed milk. Thus Brigadeiro was born.
Not long after I arrived in Brazil, my then-girlfriend showed me how to make this treat. It’s not complicated – mix condensed milk with butter and chocolate powder and heat it in the microwave (or in a pan) until it is warm enough to mix properly.
That’s it.
OK, there are a few other steps that are semi-optional. You can roll this sweet mixture into balls (coat your hands with butter first to stop it sticking), then roll the balls in sugar or chocolate sprinkles.
Alternatively you can keep it at a slightly lighter consistency so it can be eaten with a spoon – Brigadeiro de Colher (‘colher’ meaning spoon). It is also a very popular filing/topping for cakes.
Brigadeiro de Colher actually served *in* a spoon. I managed one tiny mouthful before I was beaten. Luckily I had an enthusiastic co-eater willing to help out.
Now then, up until this point I’ve tried to stay impartial, to give you the facts without passing judgement. But that’s about to stop. This stuff is intensely sweet. You pick one up expecting a yummy, chocolatey, buttery truffle and what you get is sickly-sweet, chocolate flavoured ball of thickened syrup.
To be fair, I don’t hate brigadeiro with anything like the passion that most Brazilians hate Marmite – I just can’t take the sugar content. And having got that previous paragraph off my chest I should point out that pretty much every Brazilian loves this stuff. Quite a few non-Brazilians love it too. So apologies to the Brigadeirophiles out there – I guess you should just feel sorry for me (like I feel sorry for you for not liking Marmite!).
Brigadeiro and Marmite should date, develop feelings, and plan a future together. After some time one should have an affair, so to induce a crime of passion. This would result in the wronged sweet slaying the other, to then kill himself. And good riddance to both.
The End
Tom,
I am the exception, a Brazilian who can’t stand brigadeiro!!!!
I am with you brother!! By the way, I can’t stand Carnaval or Soccer either… ;)
Abracos
Ray
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE brigadiero!! Funny how it was one of the first things I was taught to make when I arrived in Brazil too. You’re right, it’s sweet, but not to sweet for this lady. I’ve tried to replicate it here in Canada with absolutely no luck. Not sure if the condensed milk sold in the 2 countries is slightly different (despite being ale to buy Nestle here as well)? At any rate, better for the waste that it hasn’t worked out for me :)
Bleurgh – not for me! :)
But I do sympathise – sometimes things just don’t taste as good out of context. I remember loving Pisco when I was in northern Chile. In fact I loved it so much I bought a bottle to drink on my travels. As soon as I crossed the border into Bolivia it tasted awful!
I also generally find them too sweet, though I like the coconut ones (beijos de coco?) alongside black coffee. BUT if you make brigadeiros at home and you use a good amount of unsweetened cocoa powder instead of Nescau they end up way less sweet (though obviously less traditional) and I like them tons better. Marmite on the other hand, sorry Tom there’s just no way….
Aha! Now that sounds like a way in Eva! Thanks for that suggestion. In fact this could work very well as I was given some raw cacao recently and that would be perfect I think! It will be classy gringo-style Brigadeiro ;)