Friday, August 24, 2007

Brazilian candy in tiny cups: brigadeiro, beijinho and bicho-de-pé

Brazilian candy in tiny cups: brigadeiro, beijinho and bicho-de-pé

Brigadeiro and beijinho are very popular types of candy served in parties here in Brazil - bicho-de-pé is a bit less usual, but equally adored.

They all start with a can of sweetened condensed milk - something we love around here. Many of our dessert/candy recipes call for it.

The difference is in the flavors: beijinho is made with coconut, brigadeiro is chocolatey and bicho-de-pé is (artificially) strawberry flavored.

After the candy is cooked and left to cool down, it is shaped into balls and rolled on some sort of coating (granulated sugar, desiccated coconut, chocolate sprinkles) and then placed into very small fluted paper cups (don’t mind the horrible photo, I made these for her birthday last year):
Since I was making all the candy without any help - my sister/birthday girl/sous chef had another birthday party to go to that afternoon - I decided to spare some time and use an idea I'd seen in a couple of websites - to serve the candy inside small cups. I bought tiny plastic cups (15ml each), poured the candy while still hot inside them (before the mixture starts to firm up) and served with small wooden spoons.

The candy was a huge hit at the party – a lot more than the cake! :)

Brazilian candy in tiny cups: brigadeiro, beijinho and bicho-de-pé

Beijinho

1 can sweetened condensed milk (395g)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
5 tablespoons unsweetened desiccated coconut

Mix the condensed milk, butter and coconut in a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly – when the bottom of the pan starts to show and the mixture is a bit thicker, remove from heat and immediately pour the candy into the cups.
After it’s completely cool, sprinkle with unsweetened desiccated coconut and decorate with a clove.
If you want to shape the candy into balls, pour the mixture onto a greased plate and let it cool completely before using. Lightly coat your hands with butter, grab small portions of candy and roll into balls. Roll them in unsweetened desiccated coconut or granulated sugar and place in small fluted paper cups. Decorate each ball with a clove.

Makes 25 tiny cups (15ml) or 40 balls (approx. 2cm each)

Brazilian candy in tiny cups: brigadeiro, beijinho and bicho-de-pé

Brigadeiro

1 can sweetened condensed milk (395g)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons cocoa powder

Mix the condensed milk, butter and cocoa powder in a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly – when the bottom of the pan starts to show and the mixture is a bit thicker, remove from heat and immediately pour the candy into the cups.
After it’s completely cool, sprinkle with chocolate sprinkles.
If you want to shape the candy into balls, pour the mixture onto a greased plate and let it cool completely before using. Lightly coat your hands with butter, grab small portions of candy and roll into balls. Roll them in chocolate sprinkles and place in small fluted paper cups.


Makes 25 tiny cups (15ml) or 40 balls (approx. 2cm each)

Brazilian candy in tiny cups: brigadeiro, beijinho and bicho-de-pé

Bicho-de-pé

1 can sweetened condensed milk (395g)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
½ package (40g) strawberry flavored gelatin powder

Mix the condensed milk, butter and gelatin in a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly – when the bottom of the pan starts to show and the mixture is a bit thicker, remove from heat and immediately pour the candy into the cups.
After it’s completely cool, sprinkle with granulated sugar – I preferred to use a tiny piece of strawberry.
If you want to shape the candy into balls, pour the mixture onto a greased plate and let it cool completely before using. Lightly coat your hands with butter, grab small portions of candy and roll into balls. Roll them in granulated sugar and place in small fluted paper cups.

Makes 25 tiny cups (15ml) or 40 balls (approx. 2cm each)

47 comments:

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

Wow -- these are all completely new to me! I'm excited to try them, especially the way you've served them in the small cups. Thanks!

KJ said...

These are really interesting. I love reading your blog because I always learn about new things.

Cynthia said...

It must be a Caribbean thing - we do love condensed milk too :) The sweet treats are very intersting and sounds really easy to make. Have bookmarked to page to reference when I need to make a quick but fancy looking dessert.

Brilynn said...

My Mom was just telling me about a dessert made with sweetened condensed milk, she said it was whipped with lemon. I wasn't sure that it would work, but your recipes don't contain many ingredients either, so maybe it would work after all.

Taste Buddies said...

How beautifully simple, sweet and stylish!

Stella said...

How pretty! I want one of each please! When condensed milk is involved, I'm always in;)

Susan said...

Adorable, festive sweets, Patricia. A great follow-up to camafeus, and you already know how I love sweetened condensed milk!

Anonymous said...

Oooo! How cute! And now I think I know what I will make for my end-of-semester party!

Karin W. said...

I´m going to look for sweet condensed milk. Can I make my own? I´m not sure I can find it at my local store.

I saw a Swedish recipe, you know:
Whip 1 ½ dl cream and 120 g powder milk in a saucepan. Heat it up, add 3 ½ dl sugar and heat until sugar is completely dissolved. What do you think about this recipe? Will that "sweetened condensed milk" work as well?

Deborah said...

I have never heard of these before, but I am saving this recipe as I am going to attempt to make candy this holiday season. These sound wonderful!

Kelly-Jane said...

These sound so good, and in minature guests can have one of each :)

Anonymous said...

Bummer, i can´t believe i missed these after visiting Brazil thrice!!! But i did enjoy some sweetened condensed milk poured over fruit salad on a pineapple on the beach with a straw...oh yes! So not everything is lost, i´ll just have to arrange a new trip soon ;)

Peabody said...

Now I bet those are sweet...and we all know how I love the sugar! They look cute too.

Anh said...

Oh, these are real beauties. The Vietnamese also use condensed milk from time to time for dessert. very nice!

Abby said...

Everybody loves little food - it's almost magical, don't you think? That is such a cute presentation, too!

Lia said...

those are looks fantastic,i love combination chocolate and coconut ;)

Anonymous said...

oooh, these are really cute - just the thing for a party! I haven't made anything with condensed milk for ages (I always try to eat most of it before it gets into the recipe!)

Truffle said...

I absolutely love these! So cute and party perfect. They look really yummy too. What a fabulous idea for a little sweet spoonful of something to serve to your guests.

Janet said...

These look great, and so cute!

Do you put sweetened condensed milk in your coffee too? We spend time every winter in Belize, and they always serve sweetened condensed milk with coffee... I just can't get used to it.

Anne said...

We love condensed milk in the Philippines as well :) those would definitely be a hit to my kids and to me too ;)

Anonymous said...

Those are so dainty and adorable! Any party would be better with these sweet treats.

Anonymous said...

oh...those look so delicious! Nothing beats condensed milk. If the hubby wasn't so against it (he is against anything out of a can) I would use it all the time. It makes the best pastry cream too.

Anonymous said...

Oh I have a friend who was a missionary in Brazil for awhile. She makes delicious Brigadeiro (even though I can never remember the name).

I may just have to try my hand at it now!

Graeme said...

Fantastic. You even got little wooden spoons!

Nothing says "Brazilian sweets" more for me, than these kind of concentrated flavour shots that always look so fun. I love that you used chocolate sprinkles too.

Patricia Scarpin said...

Lydia, they were a huge success at Jessica's birthday party, people loved them!

KJ, I feel the same way about your blog, sweetie.

Cynthia, what's not to love? It's good even pure, out of the can. Fattening as hell, but so delicious! :)

Bri, I made one lime meringue pie once and the filling was just lime juice, zest, sweetened condensed milk and cream. It tasted so wonderful that my sister and I almost ate it all before pouring into the crust!

Nic, thank you!

Valentina, it's delicious, isn't it?

Susan, I do know! You like all the wonderful food and delicious sweets. :)

Ellie, I'd love to see your take on them!

Karin, I'll search for a good recipe and translate it for you, ok?

Deb, how lovely! I'm gonna be curious now, I want to make candy for Xmas, too!

Kelly-Jane, I had one of each and must confess I wanted more. :)

Marce, really? We do add sweetened condensed milk to so many things. Next time you are here, let me know!

Pea, they are really, really sweet - like most Brazilian desserts!

Anh, I did not know that - they know good things, I can tell! :)

Abby, I absolutely adore mini food!

Lia, tks! You should try the strawberry one, it's heavenly too!

Sophie, tks for visiting! And I totally relate to what you are saying - I really enjoy "cleaning" up the can after pouring the condensed milk into the recipe. :)

Truffle, Brazilians are crazy for brigadeiro. :)

Janet, there's one type of coffee served here that is sweetened with condensed milk - I don't drink coffee, but I can tell it's waaaaay too sweet just by looking at it.

Anne, kids love these!

Lynn, they are mandatory in parties here!

Veron, you are so right - it goes well in pretty much everything. :)

Courtney, you should definitely try it! And tks for stopping by!

Graeme, I did! :)
My sister loved the spoons.
Our desserts are really, really sweet. :)

Nora B. said...

Patricia, these look both cute and elegant at the same time. What a terrific idea, no wonder it was such a hit.

Everything4sweets said...

Wow, the candies looks so cute and beautiful, yumm.....

Aimée said...

I just love how I can be sitting at home, yet learning about interesting cultural foods at another place in the world. These candies fascinate me and I can certainly see their appeal!

Valentina said...

Great idea to make it in cups.As the girls are 'growing up'they might feel that it is a bit more grown up to have the sweets this way. I just love the way we present our lovely party cakes in Brazil. Presentation is such an important thing.

Amy said...

These are so cute! The little ones in the paper cups remind me of mochi. :)

Barbara said...

Patricia these look wonderful.

eatme_delicious said...

Excellent time saving idea with the tiny cups! I would love to try the coconut one! Yum.

Baking Fiend said...

These looks so good! and I believe tooth-achingly sweet too (but i won't mind 'coz i love sweet condensed milk too!)

Anonymous said...

All three sound delicious! And I love how your version with the cups :) Very clever!

I am a big condensed milk fan too! :)

Anonymous said...

What a great idea Patricia. Those look tasty!

Anita said...

Thanks for sharing these with us Patricia! I learn so much from visiting your blog!

Anonymous said...

Candy making is something I've never tried but definitely want to explore someday. I love candies with coconut anything, so these sound like they're right up my alley!

Ari (Baking and Books)

Anonymous said...

I really like how you've topped all of these. Is the candy hard or soft or chewy? This is so interesting; I can't figure it out exactly. I like the combination of the 3 flavors - looks pretty!

JB said...

Patricia - I have to make these, they look so good. What is the consistency of them, is it like pudding, or harder?

Patricia Scarpin said...

Nora, even the adults loved the candy in cups. :)

Everything 4 Sweets, thank you!

Aimée, thank you, dear. It means a lot to me that you feel this way!

Tina, they were cute and both adults and kids like them.

Amy, thank you! I don't know mochi, I'll google it!

Barbara, thank you, dear.

Ashley, I think you are gonna like it a lot. :)

Hey, sweetie, so you would love the sweets we have here!

Joey, sweetened condensed milk is good even pure, out of the can. :)

Kristen, thank you, sweetie!

Anita, and I learn from you, my friend!

Ari, the coconut ones are really delicious!

Hillary, it's soft and chewy, but not too much - it's possible to roll it into balls when they are completely cold.

My dear friend, I'm so glad you like them! It's almost like fudge, a tiny bit softer.

christine said...

Oh wow, I want some! Candy made with condensed milk? That's like a dream. I could eat condensed milk straight from the can, with or without boiling it into toffee. I've never had anything like this though, but the addition of cocoa powder and dessicated coconut sounds perfect.

Anonymous said...

I love recipes with sweetened condensed milk. I have had the coconut candy recipe bookmarked for quite some time, good reminder! They look very cute served in those mini cups!

Mallow said...

I want those!!! It seems like Brazilians make much better use of sweetened condensed milk than Americans do... I have to try these!

Christina said...

I'm so glad to have found your blog. My fiance, an Argentine, was born and raised in Brazil, and between the two cultures, he's fanatically in love with anything built upon a base of sweetened condensed milk. I can tell I'll be returning often to get ideas of treats I can make for him.

bb said...

wow this is a great find! i'm just wondering: if i made this, how should i store it and how long does it last?
thinking about making them for a weekend gathering but in advance if possible.

Patricia Scarpin said...

Hey, BB! I hope you like them.
You should store it in the fridge, they will taste good for 1-2 days.

Tatiana Landim said...

Patrícia, obrigada por disponibilizar estas receitas em inglês. Acabei de colocar o link no meu novo post, para os leitores estrangeiros. Espero que não tenha problemas. Bjos

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