Brazilian Chocolate Truffles (Brigadeiros)
These irresistible chocolate truffles from Brazil combine cocoa and condensed milk to make sheer morsels of magic.
Brigadeiros strike sheer lust into the heart of any Brazilian just at the mention of their name. They’re a much-beloved chocolate truffle made with just condensed milk, cocoa and butter. Condensed milk has a long history in South American cuisine and is the key to getting the famously fudgy texture fast. The thing that sets apart regular brigadeiros from the outstanding ones is good cocoa powder. Because there are so few ingredients in these truffles, there aren’t many places for a bland cocoa to hide. Saying that, you could make the white brigadeiros (brigadeiro de leche) which replaces the cocoa powder with the same quantity of milk powder. They’re equally as adored in Brazil. Keep your finished truffles in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and do as the Brazilians do, serve them chilled with coffee after a meal. Utterly decadent. Let’s go!
INGREDIENTS (makes approximately 12-18x truffles)
400g condensed milk (1 standard can)
3 tablespoons good quality cocoa powder
1/4 tsp fine salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
25g butter (plus extra for greasing)
approx. 80g chocolate sprinkles, for decoration (or 3 tablespoons cocoa powder instead)
WALKTHROUGH
Add the 400g condensed milk, 3 tablespoons cocoa, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and 25g butter to a saucepan. Place onto a medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to medium. Simmer the mixture, stirring slowly but constantly, until it thickens. The mixture will need to be thick enough that you can draw a clear path across the bottom of the pan with your spatula and it will stay apart for a few seconds. This will take about 10-12 minutes of boiling.
Pour the brigadeiro mixture out on to a lightly buttered/greased plate. Spread it thinly across the plate and allow the mixture to cool until you can handle it. This will take roughly 1 hour.
After cooling, prepare a tray with small cupcake liners or a box in which to store your brigadeiros. In a small bowl, add the 80g of chocolate sprinkles to coat the truffles.
Grease your hand slightly with butter and roll teaspoon-sized amounts of the truffle mixture in your hands to make a smooth ball. You can make these any size you wish really. Once rolled, transfer them to their paper liner/box. Once finished, place them the fridge quickly as they can melt very easily at a warm room temperature. The brigadeiros can be stored for up to 1 week, ideally in the fridge, until serving.
Before serving, remove the brigadeiros from the fridge and allow to temper for 10 minutes if possible. Enjoy with a hot coffee or a Portuguese-style galão coffee for an after-dinner sweet treat - very nice! Enjoy!
