Brazilian carrot cake waffles with chocolate glaze

One of the childhood memories I most cherish is the image of my mom in the kitchen baking cakes – she was a hell of a cook but was also famous for her sweet treats.

The two cakes I remember the most are the chocolate cake and the carrot cake – the Brazilian carrot cake, with chocolate glaze: oh, so delicious (there is a recipe here for those of you not familiar with it).

One day I got myself thinking about mom’s carrot cake, but I would not have time to bake it. Since I wanted instant gratification I decided to tweak the recipe ever so slightly and turned the cake into waffles – they were really good!

I have been making these sometimes ever since, for they are super quick and fuss free to make – instant gratification with a touch of nostalgia.

Brazilian carrot cake waffles with chocolate glaze
own creation

Waffles:
2 small carrots (200g/7oz), peeled and chopped
2 large eggs
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (80ml) canola oil
1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt

Chocolate glaze:
1/3 cup (30g) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, room temperature
¼ cup (60ml) whole milk, room temperature

Waffles: place the carrots, eggs and oil in a blender and blitz until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl and whisk in the flour, baking powder and salt until a smooth batter forms.

Heat a waffle iron until very hot; lightly coat with nonstick spray – my waffle maker is nonstick, so I don’t coat it.
Working in batches, cook waffles until golden and cooked through. Transfer to a wire rack set inside a baking sheet and keep warm in oven until ready to serve.
Serve waffles with the chocolate glaze.

Chocolate glaze: place all the ingredients in a small saucepan and cook over high heat, whisking constantly, until mixture starts to boil. Cook, whisking constantly, for 2-3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and set aside for 5 minutes – glaze will thicken a bit more as it cools. Serve over waffles.

Serves about 6

Bolo de fubá (Brazilian corn flour cake) - the first recipe I made in life

Most of you already know that I started cooking at a very early age – it was purely out of necessity, but it became a true passion over the years. The first recipe I ever learned how to make was this corn flour cake, or “bolo de fubá”, and it was my great-aunt Angelica who taught me how to make it – she would then after that cake teach me how to cook all sorts of food, mostly by phone. <3

I hadn’t baked her cake for several years for I no longer had her recipe, but after searching all over my place, including very old notebooks I finally found it – it is really, really delicious and exactly how I remembered it: tasty and very light in texture.

I have made other cornmeal cakes over the past years, but this is the one that got me in the kitchen for the first time ever in my life, the recipe that showed me how magical and wonderful cooking and baking can be – if it wasn’t for this cake, this blog would probably not exist, and that makes this recipe even more special for me.

Bolo de fubá (Brazilian corn flour cake)
my great-aunt Angelica’s recipe

1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
1 cup (120g) corn flour (fine cornmeal - fubá) – not corn starch, the same corn flour used in these tartlets
1 tablespoon baking powder
pinch of salt
4 large eggs
1 cup + 2 tablespoons (224g) granulated sugar
¾ cup (180ml) canola oil
1 cup (240ml) very hot whole milk

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter and flour a 20x30cm (8x12in) rectangular baking pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, corn flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the eggs on medium speed until foamy. Gradually beat in the sugar, and then beat the mixture on high until thick, glossy and very light in color – scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally during the making of the recipe. Turn down the speed to medium and slowly pour in the oil down the sides of the bowl, then beat to combine. On low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients and mix only until incorporated – do not overmix to avoid losing the air previously incorporated in the batter. Gently stir in the milk with a rubber spatula. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for35-40 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack.

Cake can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Serves 20

Simple cornmeal cake, or "bolo de fubá"

The first cake I ever made was a cornmeal one, made with corn flour (not corn starch - the same corn flour used in these tartlets), which is a very common ingredient here in Brazil. “Bolo de fubá” is one of the most beloved cakes we have here, a favorite of many and it goes particularly well with coffee – I was always a tea kind of girl, coffee is something I have learned to enjoy in the past few months.

I guess I was feeling a big nostalgic last week, for I felt a sudden urge to bake a bolo de fubá – so here it is. It is a very simple cake, prepared with the help of a blender, also something very common here in Brazil. It is also best served on the day it is made, and it tastes delicious still warm from the oven - I should know, because I ate several slices in a row – shame on me. :)

Simple cornmeal cake ("bolo de fubá")
slightly adapted from here

soft unsalted butter, to prep the pan
1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
1 ½ cups (210g) corn flour (fine cornmeal - fubá) – not corn starch, the same corn flour used in these tartlets
pinch of salt
4 large eggs
1 cup (240ml) canola oil
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
1 cup (240ml) plain yogurt
1 tablespoon baking powder

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter and flour a 25cm, 10-cup capacity (10in) Bundt or ring pan.

In a large bowl, sift together the all purpose flour, corn flour and salt. Set aside.
Place the eggs, oil, sugar and yogurt in a blender and mix until smooth, about 5 minutes. Pour over the dry ingredients in the bowl and whisk gently until smooth. Whisk in the baking powder.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden and risen and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 15 minutes, then carefully unmold onto the rack and cool completely (this cake tastes absolutely delicious warm).

This cake is best served on the same day it is made – I found it a bit on the dry side on the following day.

Serves 10-12

Moist coconut cake - a recipe straight from the 80s

I was a kid in the 80s and back then there was a time when every birthday cake was the same here in São Paulo (I’m not sure it happened in other parts of the country): it was a very moist coconut cake, drenched in sweetened condensed milk – Brazilian desserts tend to be very sweet and we are crazy about sweetened condensed milk – cut into squares and wrapped individually in a piece of foil; the pieces would then go into a large Styrofoam box, decorated accordingly to the theme of the party.

I know that might sound a bit weird for non-Brazilians, but that kind of cake was all the rage here for years. And if you think that is strange, wait till you hear how the cake is called: toalha felpuda, something that can be translated like “fluffy towel”.

:D

My sister-in-law was talking about this cake the other day, of how much she wanted to eat it and all, and since I’m more than willing to make sweets for people I like I told her I would make a toalha felpuda especially for her: it turned out moist and fluffy, just as I remembered from my childhood, but I ditched the foil wrapping and placed the cake squares in an airtight container – it can be served at room temperature or chilled, like in the good old days.

Moist coconut cake (toalha felpuda)
slightly adapted from Nestlé’s Brazilian website

Cake:
2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
150g unsalted butter, softened
1 ¾ cups (350g) granulated sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup (120ml) whole milk, room temperature
200ml coconut milk
pinch of salt

Topping:
1 cup (100g) desiccated unsweetened coconut
½ cup (120ml) whole milk, room temperature
1 can (395g) sweetened condensed milk

Cake: preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter and flour a 23x32cm (13x9in) metal pan*.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour and baking powder. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the vanilla. On low speed, beat in the sifted ingredients in three additions, alternating with the milk and coconut milk (one addition each). In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites with the salt until firm peaks form. Fold the egg whites gently into the cake batter. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for about 40 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, start making the topping: in a medium bowl, stir together the coconut and the milk and leave to hydrate. When the cake is baked, add the sweetened condensed milk to the coconut and milk mixture and stir to combine. As soon as the cake is out of the oven, prick it all over with a fork and pour over the topping, gradually, until the cake absorbs all of it. Cool completely, then cut into squares to serve.

* I made the exact recipe above using a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking pan and baked the cake for 55 minutes

Makes 24

Spiced brigadeiros

When I was little and heard people saying that “time flies”, I’d usually think “what are these people talking about?” – I guess it only started feeling that way to me after I turned 20. Now my baby sister is a year away from going to college... Well, you get the picture. :D

Holiday season is here again – even though sometimes it seems that Christmas was last month – and my tree is already decorated; time to start thinking about the food.
To me, spices are a synonym of holiday food and I thought that adding them to a Brazilian candy would make a wonderful combination – I was pretty glad with the result, especially after my last squashed brigadeiros. :)

I used Paula’s wonderful brigadeiro recipe as a guide and substituted the chocolate for cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.

Spiced brigadeiros

1 can (395g) sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup (80ml) heavy (whipping) cream
½ heaping tablespoon all purpose flour
1 tablespoon unsalted butter + a bit extra for buttering the plate
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
granulated sugar, for rolling the candy

Butter a large plate and set aside.
Mix the condensed milk, cream, flour, 1 tablespoon butter, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon in a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 15 minutes – when the bottom of the pan starts to show and the mixture is a bit thicker, remove from heat and immediately pour into the prepared plate. Set aside to cool completely, then refrigerate to make rolling easier.
Roll small portions of candy into balls (lightly butter your palms to do it), roll through the granulated sugar and place into fluted paper cups.

Makes 32

Lavender brigadeiro

Something’s happened to me and I might be scarred for life... I can’t make brigadeiros! :(

The last couple of times I made the recipe it never firmed up enough to be rolled into balls. And this time was no different – I had this mad idea of replacing chocolate for lavender buds and it actually tasted good, but the minute I placed the candy balls into the paper cups they started to spread... Not pretty. :(

I tried saving the recipe by placing the brigadeiro dough into tiny cups, like I did for my sister’s birthday party – except that I meant to do so that day.

But I still have hope – after watching these four adorable kids making the traditional brigadeiros I’m ready to try again. :)

Lavender brigadeiro
own creation

1 can (395g) sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons edible dried lavender buds
1 tablespoon unsalted butter + a bit extra for buttering the plate

Butter a large plate and set aside.
Place the lavender buds in a mortar and crush using a pestle.
Mix the condensed milk, ground lavender and 1 tablespoon butter 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 into the prepared plate. Set aside to cool completely.
To serve, place 2.5cm (1 inch) portions into individual small cups or tiny bowls, or roll into balls (lightly butter your palms to do it), roll through granulated sugar and place into fluted paper cups.

Serves 10

Sweet corn ice cream

Food bloggers love sharing recipes and I am no exception – I have made tons of recipes from other blogs and it’s a huge pleasure for me when people try the recipes I post here. It’s a great exchange and I feel lucky to be part of it.

What makes me even happier is being able to show my foreign readers a bit about the food we eat here in Brazil, or at least in the region I live. I once got an email from Marta - a lady from New Zealand - asking about my butternut squash compote. And a few months ago the compote was featured on Apartment Therapy – The Kitchn. Faith prepared the recipe, adding her own twist, and liked it!

I give you now a very Brazilian ice cream flavor – it’s common to use corn in sweet recipes here (remember my corn fudge?). I slightly adapted a recipe from Nestlé’s Brazilian website – a touch of cinnamon and the ice cream reminded me of curau.

Sweet corn ice cream

1 can (200g) corn kernels, drained and rinsed
1 ¼ cups (300ml) whole milk
1 can (395g) sweetened condensed milk
1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of salt

Place the kernels and milk in a blender and blend until smooth. Push mixture through a sieve and put it back in the blender. Add the sweetened condensed milk, heavy cream, cinnamon and salt and blend.
Pour into a metal/glass bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in the freezer until firm, at least 4 hours, before serving.

Serves 8-10

Fluffy candy

A Brazilian blogger published a text about what’s worth posting and what’s not. A friend of mine, who also has a blog, read it and wrote about it, too.

My turn: I’ll tell you something about my family and some may think it’s blogging material and some may think it’s not. I lost a very dear uncle in a car crash in 2006. He was very close – also my brother’s godfather – and for a couple of days I kept wondering if that had really happened; it was really hard for me to deal with the fact that I would no longer see him.

His girlfriend was pregnant and this week we celebrated my cousin’s first birthday. The party was held at my grandmother’s house and I was in charge of making the candy. I prepared beijinho, brigadeiro and bicho-de-pé – things the sweet Linda is an expert in making – and also this chocolate powdered milk candy.
I tried filling each ball with a piece of glacé cherries, but the moisture in them ruined the candy texture; I had to drop the idea.

It was pure joy to know my baby cousin and also to notice that she looks just like my uncle – the resemblance is amazing. One cycle is over but another has begun; life goes on and that fills me with hope.

Fluffy candy
from Nestlé’s Brazilian website

200g instant chocolate powder*
400g whole powdered milk
1 can (395g) sweetened condensed milk
½ cup (120ml) whole milk, room temperature
granulated sugar, for dusting**

In a very large bowl, place the chocolate powder, powdered milk, sweetened condensed milk and milk and mix well – you’ll need some elbow grease, since it’s a very thick and firm mixture.

Make balls using ½ tablespoon of the mixture and roll them into the granulated sugar; transfer the candy to small fluted paper cups.

* I believe that one could use 100g of cocoa powder instead; I haven’t tried it with this particular recipe, but I have tried that substitution in a number of other recipes with great results

**you can dip the balls in tempered semisweet chocolate, instead of rolling them in sugar; 500g chocolate would be enough

Makes 90

Caipirinha truffles

The sweet and lovely Emiline is hosting her first food event: St. Paddy's Day Pub Crawl!!
I’m not Irish like her, but I do have my share of Italian/German/Portuguese blood and I like some alcohol sometimes. :)



It took me a while to decide what to prepare for the event (today is the deadline to take part in it) because I wanted something with a Brazilian feel. Finally, I went for these caipirinha truffles (the ones I had previously in mind when I made these).

I think the truffles are OK, but not as good as I expected. The cachaça flavor was strong and I think some lime juice would have worked well to replace part of the liquor.

Emiline, I hope you like my Brazilian booze recipe!

Caipirinha truffles
loosely adapted from here

400g white chocolate, finely chopped
grated zest of 1 lime
¼ heaping cup (70ml) cream*
3 tablespoons cachaça
cocoa powder, enough to cover the truffles

Combine chocolate, zest and cream in a heatproof bowl; place it over a saucepan of gently simmering water.

Stir until chocolate is melted. Remove from heat, add the cachaça and mix vigorously until mixture is silky and smooth. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for 2-3 hours or until firm enough to form balls.

Scoop out rounded teaspoons of the mixture (while it’s still cold and firm) and form balls – you don’t want your truffles to be perfectly rounded. Roll the truffles in cocoa powder and place in small fluted paper cases or on a plate. Keep refrigerated.

* Once again, I used a type of cream we have here that is packaged in small Tetra Pak boxes; it contains 25% fat. I did it to avoid wasting an almost full jar of heavy cream.

Makes 35 truffles

Butternut squash compote – doce de abóbora (updated post)

One more recipe I cooked especially for Joao - one of his crazy out of the blue requests. :)

I had never made butternut squash compote before – we call it doce de abóbora and it’s such a traditional dessert here (not to mention easy to find) I guess I just took it for granted.
Luckily Google was there for me. I found many, many different recipes online but the minute I saw one of my dear friend Clarice’s post among the other links I knew my search was over.
After reading it, I found out she had gotten the recipe from another talented blogger friend of ours, Silvia – one more reason for me to try it. What a wonderful surprise it was: the compote was absolutely delicious!

While I was in the kitchen cooking the butternut squash, Joao kept telling me from the living room “wow, it already smells like doce de abóbora!”.
I hadn’t eaten this sweet in many, many years and honestly I can’t remember eating one as good as the one I made – I just hope my grandmother doesn’t read this! :)



This is my entry for the Weekend Herb Blogging, this time hosted by its own creator, the adorable Kalyn, from Kalyn’s Kitchen.

UPDATE: during these quarantine days I have been making this recipe quite often. It goes great with cheese and also for dessert. We like to have cheese and wine dinner on Friday nights, and this compote is a great addition to the chese board.

Butternut squash compote – doce de abóbora

500g butternut squash – peel it and remove the seeds before measuring – cut in 2cm cubes
250g sugar
5-6 cloves
½ cup unsweetened desiccated coconut

Place the butternut squash, sugar and cloves in heavy-bottom saucepan and mix well; cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the squash is soft.
After it is cooked and tender, mash it with a potato masher until you get an even looking paste – there will be a bit of liquid still.
Keep cooking until the liquid is gone – make sure you stir occasionally so the compote won’t stick to the pan. It takes a while for this to happen, but it is worth it, I promise. :)
Remove from heat, mix in the coconut and set aside to cool. Keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Serve it on its own – it also goes really well with soft flavored cheeses.

Sweetened condensed milk cocada

Going through one of my cookbooks in search of a salad recipe, I “accidentally” opened it in the sweet chapter. :)

In one of his twice a year sudden urges for sweets, João saw a photo of cocada (a very traditional candy made of coconut) and asked me to make it.
As I would not be able to find freshly grated coconut to make that specific recipe, I remembered something I had seen on a dear friend’s blog – a fantastic cocada recipe that called for sweetened condensed milk.

The cocadas were simply wonderful! I had only 1 – the horror, the horror – but João ate several.
While mixing the ingredients in the pan, I thought the dough was a bit dry and decided to add a little milk. On the following day, I wrote to my friend and she told me that after you start cooking the mixture it comes together correctly.

Anyway, the recipe worked perfectly and has already become one of this blog’s favorites.

Sweetened condensed milk cocada

1 can sweetened condensed milk (395g)
2 cans granulated sugar – use the empty condensed milk can to measure it
200g unsweetened desiccated coconut
1 teaspoon unsalted butter, room temperature
6 tablespoons milk – I used 1% fat, the one I had at home

Grease a 30x20 cm baking pan with butter. Set aside.
Mix the condensed milk, sugar, coconut, butter and milk in a heavy-bottom saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly – when the bottom of the pan starts to show and the mixture is a bit thicker (20-25 minutes), remove from heat and immediately pour the mixture into the prepared pan.
Set aside to cool and then cut into squares.

Makes 38 pieces

Almost Greek salad

Yep, almost Greek. Because I used a different type of cheese to replace feta – queijo Minas frescal. And I used lime juice in the dressing, instead of red wine vinegar.

The verdict? I had a huge bowl of this salad. HUGE. I mean it – it was all I had for lunch, with a glass of wine. Ok, 2 glasses of wine. :)

I still want to try it with feta, but my Brazilian twist worked so well I’m submitting this salad to this Weekend Herb Blogging, this time hosted by its creator, the lovely Kalyn, of Kalyn’s Kitchen.



Almost Greek salad
adapted from Kitchen: The Best of the Best

4 ripe tomatoes
2 Lebanese (short) cucumbers
1 red onion
175g (1 cup) Kalamata olives
½ teaspoon dried oregano
200g queijo fresco or creamy feta

Dressing:
juice of 1 small lime
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Cut the tomatoes into chunks and arrange on a serving platter.
Thickly cut the cucumbers; cut the onion in paper thin slices. Add to the tomatoes and scatter the olives over the plate. Cut the cheese in thick slices and arrange over the vegetables. Sprinkle the salad with the oregano.
Make the dressing: mix well the ingredients. Drizzle over the salad and serve.

You can present the salad as I did, inspired by one episode of Take Home Chef: mix the vegetables in a bowl, sprinkle with oregano and drizzle with the dressing.
Place amounts of salad on serving plates and top with the slices of cheese. Drizzle once more with the dressing.

Serves: 4 (as a side dish)

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! :)

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)

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)

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)

Brazilian anthill cake

This cake is called “anthill cake” because when you slice it, it looks like there are a thousand ants inside it:

Don’t be scared! These are chocolate sprinkles. :)

I think I had not eaten this cake in 8 years or so – I’m not kidding!
It’s a very traditional cake here and delicious even without any icing. Some recipes call for desiccated coconut, but the one I grew up baking doesn’t.
I used to bake this cake all the time when I was a teenage baker. It would be the perfect afternoon snack for me, my brother and Julio (my stepmother’s son) after we finished our homework.
The first time I made this cake was bit tragic, though: I poured too much batter in the pan and then it started to overflow… The batter on the oven got burnt and the kitchen was full of smoke. As I was a silly girl, I gave up the cake and went to my room to cry.

That day, we had company at home: my cousin Daniel and a friend of the boys’ were there, too.
Half an hour or so after the disaster, the 4 boys came to talk to me. They told me they had cleaned the oven and also washed the cake pan; they asked me to bake the cake again – of course I couldn’t say no to such a sweet request!

This time I used a recipe from a friend for the cake and chose the same chocolate icing I used for my Brazilian carrot cake. And apparently I haven’t learned my lesson – again, cake pan was a bit too small:
Brazilian anthill cake

3 eggs
pinch of salt
240g sugar
200g unsalted butter, room temperature
200ml milk
300g all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
6 tablespoons chocolate sprinkles

Chocolate icing:
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
4 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons milk

For the cake: Preheat the oven to 180ºC/355ºF. Grease and flour a 24cm ring pan.
Separate the egg whites from yolks being careful to not contaminate the whites with the yolks. Beat the egg whites with the salt until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
Using a mixer, beat yolks, sugar and butter until light and creamy. Start adding the flour, alternating with the milk and beat well.
Add the baking powder and the chocolate sprinkles and mix well with a spoon. Fold in the egg whites – the batter is very thick. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes then invert the cake onto a serving plate.
Make the icing: mix all the ingredients in a small saucepan and cook over high heat until it boils.
Remove from heat and pour it over the cake.

Serves 10-12.

My dad's favorite dessert: Sweetened Condensed Milk Custard

Although we still are counting calories at home, I’ll take a break from the healthy/low fat posts and show you my dad’s favorite dessert: sweetened condensed milk custard.

Last Saturday we celebrated his 59th birthday and I cooked and baked for the party. Unfortunately, I didn’t get good photos of the food – not even of the cake. I think everything was OK, because there was nothing left. :)

This custard is extremely popular here in Brazil and loved by many of us. As fattening as it looks (and is), you should give it a try – I just ask you not to put the blame on me once you get hooked.

Sweetened Condensed Milk Custard

Caramel:
160g caster sugar
100ml boiling water

Custard:
1 can sweetened condensed milk (395g)
2 cans of whole milk – use the condensed milk can to measure the milk amount
3 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC/390ºF.

For the caramel: place the sugar in a saucepan over medium heat and cook until it begins to melt. Using a wooden spoon, stir it from time to time to make sure the melting process is even.
When the sugar turns into a dark brown syrup, add the water – carefully not to get burned – and cook it until there are no more sugar lumps.
Remove from heat and pour this caramel inside a 19cm ring pan, coating the sides well.
Set aside.

For the custard: place all the ingredients in a blender and blend for a couple of minutes. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Cover it with foil.
Place the prepared pan inside another pan and pour hot water until it comes half way the ring pan. Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until a skewer/small knife inserted comes out clean
Leave it to cool then refrigerate for at least 6 hours.
Unmold and serve.

Serves 10.

Giant stuffed steak

I was looking for something on my other blog archives when I saw a stuffed pork loin I made last year. Then I decided to make something similar, using beef instead.
There’s a dish here called “bife à rolê” that my husband likes a lot – steaks are filled with chopped carrots, bacon and green olives, secured with toothpicks and cooked in a simple broth (most people here use a pressure cooker for that). It’s similar to bracciola, except for the tomato sauce.
I created a giant “bife à rolê”, stuffed with farofa and served it with fresh homemade tomato sauce – click here and here if you’re interested in my other recipes with farofa.
Although I thought the farofa had disappeared at the end, João loved this dish.

Giant stuffed steak

450g rump/top sirloin, cut as a very large steak
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
½ small onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped bacon
2 tablespoons pitted and chopped green olives
1/3 cup breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
salt
freshly ground black pepper
boiling water, enough to cover the beef – you may use beef stock if you like, but be careful with the amount of salt
your favorite tomato sauce

Make the farofa: heat olive oil in a small saucepan, over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until golden. Add the onion and cook until golden as well. Add the breadcrumbs, olives and parsley, season with salt and pepper, mix well and remove from heat. Set aside to cool. Place the steak open on a chopping board and season with salt and pepper. Spread the farofa on the center and roll the steak, closing all the sides so the stuffing won’t fall out. Secure with cooking string:

In a large saucepan, heat butter over high heat until it’s melted. Add the stuffed steak and cook until all the sides are evenly and nicely browned.
Add the boiling water (or stock, if using), season with a bit of salt, close the lid and cook until the beef is tender – I used a pressure cooker (in a hurry!).
Remove from the pan, cut the string and remove it.
Heat the tomato sauce and spread it over the steak.
Slice it when serving.

Serves 2 very well, with rice, potatoes or a nice salad.

Walnut camafeus

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

Corn fudge

I had to make a recipe with corn to take part in one event for blogs written in Portuguese. You guys might think “Corn? So easy!” – but that’s the whole point: I wanted to make something different, unusual. Something new.

It took me forever to choose something but I finally did: this corn fudge, which I found at the Brazilian Nestlé website.

It’s similar to brigadeiro, but flavored with corn instead of chocolate. A pinch of cinnamon reminds us of curau – a sort of corn pudding I’ll be making soon to share with you here.

Different and new, indeed, and also delicious.

Corn fudge

1 can (200g) corn kernels, drained and rinsed
1 can (395g) sweetened condensed milk
1 ½ tablespoons milk – I used low fat
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
butter, for greasing
granulated sugar, to coat the fudge balls

Place the corn kernels and the milk in a blender or food processor and purée them. Push the purée through a sieve and place it in a medium saucepan. Add the condensed milk, cinnamon and butter and mix well.
Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the bottom of the pan starts to show – it will be thicker and bubbly (20 minutes). Remove from heat, pour in a greased plate and set aside to cool completely.
Grease your hands with a bit of butter and roll portions of fudge into balls – this will be easier if you refrigerate the fudge.
Roll them in the granulated sugar and place in small fluted paper cups.
Decorate them as you wish – I had some extra kernels so I used them (an idea I saw at the website, too) and I also used cloves.

Makes 40-45

Hearts of palm empadinhas and Limeade with raspberries

I loved this Blog Party theme, hosted by The Happy Sorcerer: picnic food!!! Yay!!!

My parents, my brother and I used to have great picnics when I was a kid. We spent great days in a park in São Paulo. My brother and I would play and run around and after all that “work out” we’d have the wonderful snacks prepared by my mom. That was great!

To take part I decided to make a very Brazilian recipe: empadinhas. These are my first empadinhas so I still need to get the hang of it – some of them almost opened up while in the oven.
Besides that, they are wonderful – the crust is flaky without being too crumbly and the filling completes it perfectly.

I got the dough recipe from a very talented Brazilian foodie and the filling was adapted from a Brazilian website.

Step-by-step photos by João.

Hearts of palm empadinhas

Dough:
450g (3 ¼ cups) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
120g unsalted butter, cold and diced
100g shortening, cold and diced
1 large egg, lightly beaten
70ml ice water

Filling:
4 tablespoons vegetable oil – canola would be great 2 medium onions, chopped2 tomatoes, seeds removed, finely diced580g (4 cups) hears of palm, finely chopped60g (½ cup) olives, chopped4 tablespoons cornstarch 240ml (1 cup) milk salt

Egg wash:
1 egg yolk – I wasn’t paying attention and used the whole egg :S
1 tablespoon water

Place the flour, salt, butter and shortening in a food processor and pulse until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg and water and process until a soft and smooth dough forms. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Since my food processor is tiny, I made the dough by hand: place the flour, salt, butter and shortening in a bowl and rub with the tip of your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg and water, mix well and knead until a soft and smooth dough forms. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

For the filling: in a large pan over high heat, heat the oil and add the onions. Cook until golden. Add the hearts of palm, tomatoes and olives and cook for 8-10 minutes.
In a cup, place the cornstarch and milk and mix well using a fork. Add this mixture to the hearts of palm and stir constantly until creamy. Season to taste, remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Preheat the oven to 180ºC/355 ºF.
Grab a small amount of dough and flatten it. Place it inside an empadinha pan - or use a muffin pan - and line the bottom and the sides with the dough. Repeat the process with other pans.

Place tablespoons of filling inside the prepared pans.

Roll portions of dough and cut circles. Place the circles on top of empadinhas and seal well.
Brush with the egg wash and bake for 30 minutes or until golden – in the last 5 minutes I raised the oven temperature to 200ºC.

Remove from the oven and set aside it cool for 5 minutes. Unmold the empadinhas and serve.

Makes about 45 empadinhas, about 5cm each

Limeade with raspberries

1 large lime
200ml water
1 ½ tablespoons frozen raspberries
sugar
ice

Squeeze the lime, add the water and sugar to taste. Pour in a nice glass and add the raspberries and ice.
Serve immediately.

Makes 1 glass.