Recipes

Brigadeiro Sandwich

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Brigadeiros are popular in Brazil. That’s almost an understatement, but we are indeed always trying new recipes and ways to perfect this national passion. Recently I came up with this tinny “sandwich” ideas using ice cream wafers.

The wafers are ready made (sorry!), so the recipe is actually going to be for the brigadeiros themselves.

Recipe

Yield 20-30 brigadeiros balls • 20-30 min

Ingredients:

  • 60g (2 Oz) of bittersweet (60%+) of chocolate chips
  • 395g (14 Oz) of sweet condensed milk

Directions:

In a heavy bottom pan (and I really stress this, because it WILL make your brigadeiro better) mix the chocolate chips and condensed milk.

Mix it constantly in high heat until the mix come to a boil. Lower the heat for mid-high/mid and keep mixing it. You should take the mixture off the heat when it comes off the bottom of the pan, when you tilt it, easily. This is somewhat sensitive… but you’ll get it.

Pour your brigadeiro on a tempered glass container to chill.

Once chilled, you can scoop out some and roll on your hands (that should be coated with butter or oil). After rolling your brigadeiro balls put on your wafers (I used Crisps  34o) and voi lá! You have brigadeiro sandwiches! Perfect on their own or with ice cream!

Comments:

Silicone spatulas are the best to mix your brigadeiro. But make sure you have a full body spatula, not those that the head come off.

If you don’t have a heavy bottom pan, just be extra careful with your heat.

“Can I make it with milk chocolate chips? Or white chocolate? What about cocoa powder? What about hot cocoa mix?”

Yes to all, but the portions and ingredients will vary. Bitter chocolate chips (and the bitter the better) will make your brigadeiro less sweet and, for that reason, more enjoyable. Milk chocolate is slim on cocoa, so no ideal but… ok. White chocolate chips are basically only fat, so you should use 25% less. Only have cocoa powder, great! Add some heave cream (1/2cup to 1+1/2 tbs) to the mix to grant the fat needed. Hot cocoa mix, sure… same thing as for the cocoa powder. Cocoa mixes are full of sugar that can make your brigadeiro crack (from crystallization) in a short time.

 

Roll Inlay Cake

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Valentine's Cake

Recently Craftsy – an incredible platform for crafty people – posted a pattern roll cake idea for Valentine’s Day. Since my husband is a true roll cake lover, I decided to give it a try.

The original post from Craftsy teaches how to make the batter for the patterns/inlays and how to build the cake, but lacks on giving the cake recipe itself letting us, baking aficcionados, free to use our own.

Well, that said, you may know (or not… nothing wrong with that), that  roll cakes (and a numerous amount of “caky” desserts, including my happily ever afters) are constituted by a genoise cake with some sort of filling (buttercream, dulce de leche, brigadeiro, jam…).

There are a thousands of recipes available to be tried. I personally have tried a couple, some more successful… some less… until I decided on the one that I’d love to present to you today. I hope it works for you as well as it has been working for me.

What you will need:

  • 1 cup Flour
  • 3/4 cup Sugar
  • 3 tbsp softened Butter
  • 4 Eggs
  • Hot water (for the double boiler)

How 2 make:

Pre-heat the oven at 325ºF (160ºC) Heat the water in a pan. Pour the eggs and sugar on a thick-bottom bowl and double boil it, whisking all time. Stop double boiling  when the mixture reaches approximately 155ºF (68ºC), or when it is slightly thicker and lighter in color.

Beat the mixture in high speed (8-10x) for 8-10 minutes (or until completely cool). Stir in half of the flour and the softened butter. Stop the mixer and slowly mix (with a spatula) the rest of the flour.

Pour the mixture on the medium size (10 x 15  inches) baking sheet greased and covered with parchment paper (the parchment should already have the design for the inlays at this point, if in doubt, check here for this part).

Take it to the oven and bake it for 12-15 minutes (or until the edges start to become a really pretty gold brown). Roll it with the help of a towel and let it cool rolled. When completely cool, unroll, fill with your favorite filling, roll it back and TCHANHÃ, a beautiful, charming, nhamy, rolled cake!

I’m also using this post to introduce the Comic2Recipe. Every recipe, for now on, will be posted also as a comic book page! It is a simplified version of the recipe, but makes a statement. Tell me what you think about it!

RollCake - Comic2Recipe

Don’t forget to expand it to read the spirituous comments on the balloons!

Tips and Advice:

  • Genoise cakes are known for theirs flexibility and elasticity, as well as its fluffiness. Not such an wonderful choice for an stacked cake, but pretty perfect for rolling and molding.
  • You don’t want to end up with a sweet omelet so, be careful with your double boiler! A thick-bottom bowl is essential for the success of this process.
  • If your oven won’t reach such a low temperature, you may crack it open a bit. The escaping heat will work as a temperature counter.
  • Folding the flour on your mixture is a delicate process. You don’t want to loose all the air.
  • After pouring the mixture on the sheet, don’t forget to bash it against a counter top (or other hard surface) to release the air bubbles that might get stuck between the batter and the sheet. These naughty bubbles can make your cake brake when trying to roll it.

 

Espresso Mousse [Recipe]

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Me and my husband are absolutely fascinated with coffee. Not that we are deep connoisseurs of kinds, and specificities, we just enjoy having coffee throughout the day. In the morning to catch up, after lunch to settle and in the afternoon to increase productivity… we have a small coffee bar next to our turntable… we just enjoy it. Pure, black, creamy…

So, when I found this recipe, it turn out to be a must-do. It turn out to be a really simple yet delightful experience and another great way to enjoy coffee! So, it’s time to share if you my new family tradition.

What you will need:

Espresso Mousse7

Mousse

  • 3/4 cup cold heavy cream
  • 3 egg whites
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1/3 cup castor/granulated sugar
  • 6 ouces (170g) dark chocolate, shraded
  • 1/4 cup espresso coffee
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Chantilly:

  • 1/2 cup cold heavy cream
  • 1 tbsp confectioners sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • Chocolate shrads for decoration

What 2 do:

Espresso Mousse6

Beat the cold heavy cream until getting soft peaks and let it rest on the fridge.  In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites with the salt until you get soft peks, slowly add the sugar and beat untill you get stiff peaks. Set aside.

Espresso Mousse5Double boil the chocolate until it is completely melted. Stir the espresso and the vanilla extract until smoth and take it out of the heat.

Slowly incorporate, with a whisk, the egg whites to the mixture. Do not beat, just incorporate. After completely incorporated, with a spatula, start folding the cold whiped cream into the mixture.

Put on your serving glasses and let it rest on the refrigerator from 1 hour to overnight.

For the chantilly, beat the heavy cream until obtaining soft peaks, incorporate the sugar and extract and keep beating untill it stiffens.

About & Tips:

  • I own a Nespresso machine – not the KitchenAid one, unfortunately 😦 – and I have tried this recipe with one mild intensity (Dulsão) capsule and a stronger one (Ristretto). If you are a coffee lover, the stronger the coffee you use for this recipe, the best it will taste, but if you only want that “unf” of coffee flavor, pick a not-so-strong espresso.
  • You don’t need a Nespresso machine to make the recipe work though. I’m positive that it will work just fine with a strong (dense/creamy) instant espresso coffee or brewed coffee – as long as it is strong (I need to really stress this, because if you use a mild or runny pot coffee, you won’t get the flavor or the right consistency for the mousse).Almond extract will work just fine on this as well… and it will give an exotic punch.
  • You can substitute the double boil to the microwave to melt the chocolate (30 secs intervals in med – 50% – power), but you will need the double boiler to incorporate the espresso, and the vanilla extract, so… mind as well make everything in the double boiler…
  • Why whisk the eggs and use a spatula for the cream? This is a really interesting question and it is related to what outcome you are looking for. The whisk is a tool that incorporate air to the mixture giving lightness to it. When you incorporate the eggs whites, you don’t want to brake them, but to keep “airing” them into the mixture and that’s why you use a whisk. The cream is meant to provide stability to this recipe and not to lighten it. That’s why you don’t whisk it.
  • The longer your mousse stays on the fridge – covered with a plastic wrap, of course -, the better it will taste!
  • You can make the chantilly in advance and store it on the fridge or make it just before serving it (the best way).

Especial thanks to KitchenAid Blog, from where I originaly got this delight!

[Leia essa receita em português]

♪ Everything is Awesome!!! ♫

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Go2Cake_CelebratePride

The US Supreme Court took a huge step for mankind today, by passing the law that turns same-sex marriage a reality.

Congratulations to everyone that is working hard to reduce, and eliminate, prejudice not only here but worldwide!

Love – in any of its expression – should always be celebrated and supported.

Gummy Lego-Guys

I have been waiting for a while to post this recipe and today sounded like a good opportunity.

You will need:

  • 1/4 cup of corn syrup
  • 1/3 cup of water
  • 1 envelope of unflavored gelatin
  • 1 box of flavoured gelatin (Cherry, Orange, Pineapple, Lime, Blueberry, Grapes – or any other 😉 )
  • Lego-guys molds

What to do:

  • Completely dissolve the corn syrup on the water.
  • Add the unflavored gelatin and the flavoured gelatin and stir thoroughly, letting it rest for 2 minutes.
  • Cook it in medium-low heat for approx. 10 minutes (the time may vary depending on the flavour… I really don’t know why), keep stirring it. Don’t let it come to boil!
  • After getting a slightly creamy consistency, pour into molds and let it cool in the fridge.

Tips:

  • The deeper your mold the longer it will take to chill (but overall it is really fast)
  • If the heat is too high, the mixture will burn (trust me… :/ ).
  •  The gummies are a bit sticky… if you want them “unsticky” coat them with powdered sugar, castor sugar or pearl dust. But they will lose the awesome vitral glare.
  • This recipe will work in virtually every silicone mold which can be a really nice way to put that extra wow on your cakes/cupcakes.
  • This recipe give you 1 1/2 cup of liquid gummy syrup.

Cheesecake [Recipe]

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In order to have a strong start for my recipe* area, I am betting on a champ: cheesecake.

This creamy and juicy delight is definitely a great summer choice. At home it is always a guaranteed success. The funny fact it that I never cared about cheesecake before coming to the US. Always thought it was too salty or too umami for my sweet tooth taste. On my first visit to the US, my husband (boyfriend back then) insisted that I should give it another chance and it completely blew my mind. I felt in love immediately… nhom nhom nhom.

Well without any further delay, here goes the goods:

Cheesecake1

Crust

  • 2 cups of Graham cracker crumbs
  • 2 tbsp of sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Process the graham crackers with the sugar and salt. In a bowl, slowly incorporate (with your hands) the melted butter. You will get a slightly crumbly mixture. Coat the base of a springform with the mixture, gently pressing so it can cover the whole surface. Put in a preheated (350°F; 180°C) oven for 10 minutes to seal. Let it cool.

Cheesecake2

Filling

  • 1 pound of cream cheese (2 packages; 450g)
  • 2/3 cups of sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/3 cup sour cream
  • 1/3 cup whipping cream/heavy cream

In your mixer beat at medium speed the cream cheese for about 4 minutes or untill it gets softened. Add the sugar and beat for another 4 minutes. Add the pinch of salt and the vanilla extract, once at a time beating for 1 minute after each addition. Add the eggs one at a time beating for one minute between each addition.  Add the sourcream and beat until incorporated. Add the heavy cream and beat until incorporated.

Pour your mixture onto the cooled graham crackers layer. You will cook your cheesecake on water bath in a preheated oven (325°F; 160°C) for 50 minutes and turn off the heat leaving the cake inside the oven untill it cools. Check the oven frequently to see if the top of your filling is browning. You don’t want to form a brown crust, you just want it to cook and form a nice pillow-like surface. Turn off the heat if you see that your cheesecake is starting to brown.

Take it off the oven, cover it with plastic wrap and foil and put it on the freezer for 4 hours (or overnight).

About and Tips:

  • 8in springform
  • Blueberry topping made with home made blueberry thin jam
  • The crust is 0.5in thick in a 8in form and 0.25in thick in a 10in form. I don’t change the amounts on the recipe for the crust in these two cases.
  • If you are like me and want to get the top slightly incorporated in the cream, before you put it in the freezer, coat the whole surface with your topping. If you want it to be well separated, wait to pour your topping when you take the cheesecake out of the freezer.
  • Some people even like to put a cream coat of sourcream and sugar on the top of the cheesecake before putting the filling. This completely prevents the filling to soak into the cheesecake but, in my opinion, give some acidity to the dessert that I don’t care for.
  • DO NOT, under any circumstances, put your springform direct on the water. You ARE going to soak your crust and make a mess. Cover the entire bottom of the form with foil and test it for leaking before even placing the crackers.
  • This is a really fragile dessert (cream cheese, sour cream, heavy cream…) I really  don’t advise you to do it with too much advance of the occasion. One day before tops. It should last around 4 days on the fridge.

*This recipe was tested by me for exclusive home consumption.

[Confira Receita em Português]