10 Desserts to Savour in Brazil
In Brazil, you can enjoy several delicious traditional desserts and sweets. To make them, typical products from the region are used, such as coconut, fruit, and condensed milk. Here are some of the most famous Brazilian desserts that you should try:
1) Cocadas
Cocadas is a typical Brazilian dessert. Classic cocadas are made with coconut, eggs, butter, wheat flour, and sugar. There are recipes with banana, sweet potato, guava, cinnamon, vanilla, or condensed milk as variants.
2) Brigadeiros or Negrinhos
Let’s move on to a super greedy delicacy: one of Brazil’s most famous chocolate candies. A cocoa, butter, and condensed milk ball that will drive you crazy! Enemy of any diet, it’s a real calorie bomb. There is a coconut version, the beijinho de coco, creamy and just as good and tasty. Its appearance is similar to that of our chocolate truffles.
3) Quindim
Quindim is a traditional dessert of northeastern Brazilian gastronomy, whose main ingredients are egg yolk, sugar, and coconut. It has a cream to which a dye has traditionally been added to give it an intense yellow color. It looks very similar to flan because it is made in pudding or flan molds and served with syrup, cream, or chocolate sauce.
4) Bolo de Rolo
This dessert resembles a sandwich filled with guava sweet. The dough is made with wheat flour, eggs, butter, and sugar.
5) Pe de Moleque
This is a sweet, usually very hard and brittle nougat. It is made from peanuts, molasses, and sugar and usually contains nuts like almonds and peanuts.
6) Paçoca de Amendoim
Paçoca de Amendoim is a traditional candy made from peanuts, cassava flour, and sugar. It is generally prepared for the celebration of Holy Week and the traditional “Festa Junina” in Brazil.
7) Flan
In Brazil, it is known as pudim de leite, and it is a much-appreciated dessert. It is made with eggs, condensed milk, sugar, and homemade caramel. It usually has a creamy and jelly-like consistency. It has its origins in the Portuguese candies.
8) Beijinho
The coconut beijinho or coconut kiss is a dessert not to be missed when it comes to Brazil’s typical desserts. It is a kind of brigadeiro made from condensed milk, butter, and coconut. All this is cooked on moderate heat. The trick during cooking is to stir it without stopping it so that the mixture doesn’t burn and gets the typical texture of this dessert.
When the mixture is cooked for about 15 minutes, it should rest for another 15 minutes. Afterward, you will see how the mixture thickens, and it becomes easier to take it out of the pan or container. Then, you can make small balls with this dough and sprinkle grated coconut over them. Traditionally, the finishing touch is done with cloves.
9) Munguzá
This dessert is very similar to the traditional rice pudding, except that sweet corn is also added to the munguzá and that it is made with coconut milk. According to the traditional recipe, the rice grains need to be crushed a little before serving.
10) Canjica
This delicacy is originally from northeastern Brazil, where it is eaten all year round, unlike other rice-based desserts, which are usually more typical during the Junina festivities. In the southeast of the country, for example, it is called canjica.
Its basic ingredients are white or green corn, milk (normal or condensed), grated coconut, and peanuts.
A typical canjica recipe has 200 grams of corn, a can of condensed milk, 50 grams of grated coconut, and about 100 grams of peanuts. Canjicas are served very cold with sprinkled ground cinnamon.
Have you ever tried any other traditional Brazilian desserts? Share your experiences with us in the comments below!