For this Monthly Mingle, I wanted to make something Brazilian – brigadeiro crossed my mind. But I decided to make something a little bit fancier and prettier.
Camafeus are bite-sized sweets served in parties here, especially weddings - it is a Portuguese candy that has become part of our cooking traditions.
I tried to find more info about the origin of camafeus but didn’t – I read many, many years ago somewhere that its name comes from cameo, but I’m not sure.
I used a recipe from a Brazilian website.
Happy Birthday, Meeta! And happy blog anniversary!
Walnut camafeus
250g ground walnuts
2 cans (395g each) sweetened condensed milk
½ tablespoon cocoa powder
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
Decoration:
walnuts cut in 4 pieces – for this recipe I used 180g walnuts
fondant*
edible golden glitter
clear spirit – I used cachaça
Place all the ground walnuts, condensed milk, cocoa powder, butter, eggs and egg yolks in a large saucepan. Mix well. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly – when the bottom of the pan starts to show and the mixture gets thick, remove from heat. Pour into a large greased plate and set aside to cool. Don’t use it unless it’s completely cool.
Grease your hands with a little butter and grab small portions of the mixture. Form into small “sausages”, about 3.5cm long and 2cm thick. Set aside.
Place the fondant in a glass bowl and set over gently simmering water and until it’s melted – keep it warm otherwise it will harden again. Very carefully, drop each “sausage” into the fondant and remove quickly, covering it completely. Place over waxed paper. Place a ¼ walnut over each candy – you need to be quick and do this while the fondant is still soft.
Place the camafeus in paper cases.
I painted each ¼ walnut before using them: place some edible golden glitter in a very small bowl and add a few drops of clear spirit to dissolve the powder. Mix until a thin paste forms. Using a small paintbrush, paint each ¼ walnut and place on waxed paper. Set aside to dry for at least 2 hours.
*too complicated to make at home. I used store-bought – it’s not expensive and will last for a long time
Makes 120 camafeus
40 comments:
Those are so elegant and beautiful Patricia. I am sure Meeta will love them for her cyber-birthday!
Patricia, your camafeus looks so elegant. Oh, and I also love Cachaça (caipirinha is one of my fav. cocktails), but it is impossible to find here.
Oh they are so beautiful, oh if only I could try one!
p/s: thanks for telling me about breakfasts in Brazil. I like learning about different cultures.
These are so cute! I'd love to taste it... Just a thought, I want to serve that camafeus in my wedding in the future. Lovely!
Beautiful! And I agree with you that fondant is too complicated to make at home.
So elegant! And I'll bet they're delicious too. What a nice Bday yummy for Meeta!
These totally put a smile on my face, because they are my favorite party candies. Great choice!
Fascinating and delightful! They do have a vague resemblance to cameos. Of course, I am completed intrigued and awed by these. First rate, Patricia.
Cute. Very festive!
great post...would love to taste!
Oi, Patricia...Once again you have outdone yourself. The next time I have a birthday, you're invited. You bring the sweets - OK? ;-)
Patricia, this looks so amazing. I really am honored that you made these for the mingle. Just gorgeous sweetie!
Patricia, These look absolutely perfect, simple and beautiful.
Amanda
These are so beautiful and elegant. I have never heard of them. I love learning about new things from my baking gals.
These look absolutely gorgeous!
wow, this is new to me!I have never seen anything like this before. I wish I could have 1 of your 120 camafeus. :)
Pure white goodness. Perfect! This is so wedding-like but of course, it's for Meeta's birthday, I know.
Oh my Patricia, those are gorgeous. Are you sure we can eat them. :) So elegant. They are bound to be a favourite at party.
Elegant, delicate & pretty...
I love them, I want them!
Those are so elegant... I can see why they are at weddings. Beautiful!
They look almost too beautiful to eat! But I guess this restraint wouldn't last too long...;-)
These are just gorgeous Patricia! With that golden walnut it looks like royalty :)
Hmm ... wedding candies. I have heard of them. A long time ago they were served at weddings in Scandinavia too.
However, I don´t know anything about the ingredients. It would be interesting to know how they were made. I am pretty sure they weren´t as elegant as yours.
OHHHHHH Patricia, I don't think i would be able to eat your camafeus. I would be afraid to destry this beauty. So elegant and so romantic. No wonder they serve it for weddings.
These are just stunning! Thank you so much for sharing this dish and recipe. One of the most beautiful sweet treats I've seen!
Patricia, I'm so impressed! These look so elegant. I can imagine they would be wonderful at a wedding.
Those are SO pretty. I've never seen anything like them before! I love it!
These are insanely beautiful, Patricia! With all the gorgeous, delicious concoctions you make, why don't you weigh 300 pounds?!?
These are so beautiful! The golden walnuts are just gorgeous! They look like the perfect wedding or party candy. :)
Pat, you chose the treat very well.they are so lovely and elegant. It is lovely to show that we as a nation are not only about violence and poverty. Fabulous !
Absolutely gorgeous! And I love the touch with the gold-painted walnuts, how elegant they make the whole thing appear!
Looks so fancy and sounds delicious!
Jenn, thank you! You're far too kind. :)
Nora, I love caipirinha, too! :) There's a version made with vodka that we call "caipiroska". Maybe you should try it. :)
Kelly-Jane, thank you, sweetie!
Nora, there's no need to thank me, dear - I learn so much from my favorite foodies, too. :)
Anh, I think it's an excellent choice! ;)
Mari, thank you, sweetie!
Claudia, thank you for stopping by!
Cris, they're delicious, indeed. :)
Susan, they're very appreciated here and I'm glad you like them too. Thank you.
Bea, thanks!
Nanditha, thank you for visiting!
Toni, I'll sure bring them! Obrigada, querida!
Meeta, I'm so glad you like them!
Amanda, they're not difficult to make, but it's really good to have an extra pair of hands to "glue" the nuts on top of them. :)
Cheryl, I love that too! I'm always learning new things from you, my favorite foodies, and I'm glad I can share something from here, too.
Angie, thank you!
Mandy, thank you for visiting - you have such a wonderful blog!
I halved the recipe because I knew I would end up eating the 120 myself. lol
Tigerfish, I wanted something more sophisticated then brigadeiros. :)
Cynthia, you can eat them, I promise! :D
Valentina, have some, sweetie!
Kristen, thank you so much!
Eva, people can't resist them too long. ;)
Joey, I love the golden walnut, too. :D
Karin, I'd love to know more about those, too. Maybe they're made of nuts, like these?
Rose, they're really delicious, so I guess you should "destroy" them and do not worry about it. ;)
Truffle, thank you! You are so sweet, my dear friend.
Lynn, they make quite a presentation at a beautifully decorated table.
Andrea, thank you, sweetie!
Terry, I had a big laugh with your comment - I give my sweets and baked goods away. I'll only have one (ok, sometimes two) to check if they're good and then I send them to my family, Joao's family or he takes them to his co-workers. That's my secret. :)
Amy, the nuts are my favorite part. :)
Tina, I agree with you - I feel the same way and I think we have so much to share. What makes me really happy is that people are interested in learning about our food!
Ellie, it's a very nice detail, indeed!
Veron, thank you!
Thank you all for your lovely comments!
These look exquisite Patricia I think I'd better have a cyber birthday too!
You really outdid yourself, Patricia. The gold exterior is striking--almost too beautiful to eat. Well, almost. ;)
Now these look devine!
One of the best things about foodblogging is seeing all the interesting food from countries around the world. These are beautiful.
Those walnuts look amazing. I have to find some edible gold to try this.
These look amazing, so decadent. Straight out of Marie-Antoniette.
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