RECIPE - Brigadeiro Cake (Bolo Brigadeiro)

Give the depth and intensity of the Brazilian obsession with the small fudge-like ball of chocolate called brigadeiro, it's no surprise that the essential ingredients of a brigadeiro - chocolate, sweetened condenses milk, chocolate sprinkles - show up in other dessert treatments. Think of them as tributes to the glories of the original brigadeiro. Some of these treatments are relatively straightforward reimaginings while others are high-concept flights of fancy.

One popular way to recreate the brigadeiro is to turn it into a rich, moist chocolate cake. The cake part is usually some sort of standard chocolate cake, the brigadeiro part being found in the frosting. The recipe below, which was created by Brazilian chef Raphael Despirite and is featured on the website of Brazilian food and wine magazine Prazeres da Mesa, is just such a creation - a chocolate sponge-cake with a brigadeiro topping. The resulting dessert is rich and moist, and since a small slice goes a long way is perfect for a fairly large crowd.

NB. This recipe calls for creme de leite, a thickened, unsweetened cream that is a staple in all Brazilian kitchens. You can find creme de leite, UHT-treated or canned, in Brazilian groceries in cities that have a Brazilian immigrant community. Alternatively it is sold in almost all Latin American markets under the Spanish name media crema and the English name table cream, most often manufactured by Nestlé. It is also available online from numerous sources, including Amazon.com.
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RECIPE - Brigadeiro Cake (Bolo Brigadeiro)
Makes 1 8-inch cake

For the sponge cake:
6 large whole eggs, free-range preferred
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated white sugar
6 Tbsp unsweetened dry cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla essence
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled

For the topping:
1 1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
4 Tbsp unsweetened dry cocoa powder
2/3 cup creme de leite (see note above)
chocolate sprinkles
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Make the sponge cake:
 Preheat the oven to 400F (200C). Beat the eggs, vanilla and sugar together with a cake-mixer for 10 minutes, or until the mixture is light and fluffy. Fold in the flour and cocoa powder, taking care not to overmix. Pour the batter into an 8-inch springform cake pan, ungreased, and bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely.

Make the topping:
Combine the sweetened condensed milk, the butter and cocoa powder in a double-boiler and heat, stirring constantly, until you have a thickened, consistent mixture. Remove from the heat, then stir in the creme de leite. Let cool.

Frost and decorate the cake:
When the cake and the frosting are cool, spread the frosting on the top of the cake, then cover the frosting with chocolate sprinkles. Remove the sides of the springform pan to expose the sponge cake. Leave the cake resting on the bottom of the pan and place it on a decorative serving platter for cutting into slices and serving.

RECIPE - Cupuaçu "Hot Chocolate" (Leite Queimado com Cupuaçu)

Creative Brazilian chefs, paying attention to the botanical relationship between cacau (the source of chocolate) and cupuaçu, an Amazonian fruit that is a close relative of cacau, are beginning to explore the possibilities of substituting cupuaçu for chocolate in recipes - seeing when and where this substitution might result in an interesting "it's-chocolate-but-it's-not" moment.

In a recent series of articles in the Estado de S. Paulo newspaper on the culinary uses of cupuaçu seeds, Brazilian food writer and blogger Neide Rigo posted some reinterpretations of standard chocolate recipes, substituting cupuaçu. Things like a mole-style sauce for chicken, a mousse, and a chip-laden cookie, all of which replace chocolate with cupuaçu.

She also recreates hot chocolate with cupuaçu seeds, and the result is a creamy, sweet drink that's perfect on a damp or chilly day. (Incidentally, contrary to what many people believe, there are damp and chilly days in Brazil - either in the far south, or in high-altitude locations elsewhere in the country.)
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RECIPE - Cupuaçu "Hot Chocolate" (Leite Queimado com Cupuaçu)
makes one drink

10 cupuaçu seeds
1 cup whole milk
2 Tbsp sugar
1 clove
small piece of cinnamon stick
small piece of lime zest - green part only
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In a blender combine the cupuaçu seeds and the milk, and process completely. In a saucepan, caramelize the sugar (click here to read about caramelizing sugar). Add the mixture from the blender, the clove, the cinnamon and the lime zest to the caramelized sugar, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved. Bring rapidly to the boil, then remove from the heat, cover and let stand for 10 minutes for the flavors to blend.

Pour the liquid through a sieve into another small saucepan, and heat to just below the boiling point. Serve immediately.

Developing the Cupuaçu's Full Potential

cupuaçu fruit

Although it's as yet virtually unknown outside Brazil, chocolate's close relative, the cupuaçu, has always been loved in Brazil. People there line up in ice cream parlors to get a double scoop of cupuaçu ice cream. And when Brazilians want a rich, creamy drink they often go for a glass of freshly-prepared cupuaçu juice. Mousses, puddings and cream fillings of all sorts are often flavored with the richly aromatic fruit.

What is interesting about the two closely related foods, chocolate and cupuaçu, is that up til now, each of the two fruits has been exploited entirely differently, their biological relationship notwithstanding. Chocolate is derived from the fermented and dried seeds of the cacau fruit, but when it comes to cupuaçu it's the succulent pulp which is eaten. A look inside these two botanical cousins gives an indication why this might be so - there is little pulp and a large number of seeds inside the cacau fruit but inside the cupuaçu the portions are reversed, with plenty of creamy pulp and a smaller number of seeds.

Recently, however, there have been some very interesting developments in the exploitation of cupuaçu. Food scientists, creative chefs and food-security activists in Brazil are taking a second look at the cupuaçu. They're moving beyond the pulp and concentrating on the seeds. The thought is that since the world has long been addicted to chocolate in all its variety, it might be worthwhile seeing what the gastronomic potential is of the seeds of the cupuaçu. Perhaps it could come to stand alongside chocolate as one of the most commercially valuable members of the Theobroma genus. Theobroma does mean "food of the gods" in Greek, and maybe it's time to add cupuaçu to the pantheon as well.

fermented cupuaçu seeds

Fresh from the pod, neither the seeds of cupuaçu nor cacau are edible - it's only after fermentation and drying that the seeds can be used in the kitchen. The chemical changes involved in this process are a gastronomic transformation that is the culinary equivalent of making a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

Horticulturists and nutritionists are now looking at cupuaçu with a new eye. The potential for gastronomic use of the seed far exceeds the market for pulp. Chefs in Brazil are already creating recipes that exploit the best characteristics of the seeds, NGOs are helping farmers in the rain forest develop sustainable cupuaçu agriculture, and media campaigns are already underway to educate the public about cupuaçu seeds.

On Wednesday, we'll feature recipes from the Brazilian press which focus on this unique fruit and it's entirely new use.

Brazil Hosts the Salon du Chocolat for the First Time

The 20120 edition of the world's largest and most prestigious trade far and exposition dedicated to chocolate, the Salon du Chocolat, took place two weeks ago in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Previously, the exposition had been held in Europe, Asia and in North America, but this year was the first time it was held in the Southern Hemisphere and the first time it was held in South America. From July 02 to July 09, Salvador was the center of the chocolate world and the city's trade and convention center was chocolate heaven.

It was appropriate that of all the major Brazilian cities, Salvador was chosen to host the event. Bahia state historically and presently has always been the center of cacau cultivation in Brazil. Today Brazil ranks 4th in the world in chocolate consumption and 5th in the world in chocolate cultivation, and a good percentage of Brazilian chocoate originates in the cacau-growing region in the southern part of Bahia.

This edition of the Salon du Chocolat fittingly included a homage/tribute to Brazilian novelist Jorge Amado. 2012 marks the centennial of the Bahian writer's birth, and throughout the year his literary legacy is being commemorated in Brazil. Amado himself was the son of a cacau planter, and many of his novels, including his most famous, Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon, were set in southern Bahia in the golden age of cacau production.

The exposition included a trade show, lectures, demonstrations, a symposium and a special kids' section. There were also tours to the region of cacau-production in southern Bahia prior to the events in the capital.

At a time when the industry is undergoing a renaissance and when the image of Brazilian chocolate is improving worldwide, hosting this prestigious event is a shot in the arm for Brazilian cacau agriculture. And a very sweet experience for participants in the event.

STATS - Brazil's Chocolate Easter Egg Market

Anecdotal evidence would tell anyone wandering the aisles of a Brazilian supermarket in the weeks leading up to Easter that Brazil's have a very, very large appetite for chocolate Easter eggs - usually for very, very large eggs, too. Supermarkets in Brazil construct apparatuses for hanging Easter eggs in the aisles themselves, so that shoppers wander through the aisles as if in an endless cavern with shiny foil-wrapped stalactites hanging overhead.

But how many shoppers pull down an egg, or two or three, and plop it into their shopping cart? Just how many eggs are consumed in Brazil during the annual Easter-season chocolate orgy? In the age of the internet, it was relatively easy for Flavors of Brazil to find out.

According to chocolate-industry predictions, in Easter season 2012 Brazilians will consume 80 million chocolate Easter eggs. This number is about 10% higher than the totals for 2011, and economists posit that the bulk of the growth is due to the increasing economic power of the lower middle class - those who have moved from poverty levels to middle class in the last decade. This hunger for chocolate makes Brazil the third-largest chocolate market in the world.

This growth in the market comes even at a time in which prices for chocolate Easter eggs is rising much faster than the rate of inflation in Brazil. Prices for Easter eggs in 2012 are expected to be about 9% higher than last year, even though the cost of pure cocoa has fallen more than 4% during the same time period. The increased costs are put down to large increases in the price of sugar and the cost of labor.

The manufacture of Easter eggs in Brazil is dominated by multi-national food giants, and two of the top three producers are multi-nationals. The best-selling brand of chocolate Easter eggs in Brazil is Lacta, owned by American food giant Kraft. It expects to sell 27 million eggs this year. In second position, with 20 million eggs sold, is Brazilian chocolate manufacturer Garoto, and in third place, selling under its own brand name is Nestlé, which expects to move 17 million eggs.

One interesting statistic about chocolate Easter eggs shows the huge economic power of Brazil's most populous state, São Paulo. With just over 41 million inhabitants, the state of São Paulo makes up approximately 22% of the total population of the country. But according the the chocolate industry, Paulistas (those who live in the state) will purchase 45% of the Easter eggs produced in 2012.

However you slice these statistics, it's a whole lot of chocolate and sugar, and millions of square feet of shiny foil to wrap them in. But the chocolate Easter egg is thoroughly ensconced in Brazil's Easter iconography, and the continued success of the product is not even slightly in doubt.

RECIPE - Chocolate Bread Pudding (Pudim de pão ao chocolate)

Bread pudding - love it or hate it? Most people seem to fall into one or the other of those two extremes. As with the related rice pudding, people are either attracted to the dish's sweet, eggy, creamy taste and texture or repelled by it.

Part of the problem, in our opinion, is that for many people both desserts are in memory forever linked with school cafeteria, summer camp, or, God knows, even prison. Maybe it's the institutionality of bread pudding and rice pudding that puts people off.

Certainly, a badly-made example of either one can be quite nasty stuff. Pasty and glutinous, ghastly white, jiggly, a plastic dish of either to top off an already dreadful meal can be the straw that broke the camel's back.

But if these dishes are prepared with quality ingredients and with attention paid to detail and to presentation, they can be heavenly. Still eggy and creamy, but with just the right amount of sugar and a minimum of starchiness, they can be worthy of a place alongside flan, egg custard and crème brûlée in the pantheon of milk-and-egg desserts.

Most bread puddings contain rough-torn pieces of stale bread, still recognizable as such in the final products. And spicing is restricted to cinnamon, with perhaps a touch of ginger or nutmeg. The bread pudding in this recipe, which comes from São Paulo restaurant Casa da Li, uses a blender to homogenize all the ingredients prior to baking, and adds chocolate to give the dish a whole new flavor profile. It's practically unrecognizable as bread pudding, and it's delicious.

If you are serving dinner to bread pudding haters and are feeling sneaky, don't tell them what the dish is (just tell them it's Pudim de pão from Brazil). After they've eaten it and lavished you with praise, it's then up to you whether to spill the beans about it being bread pudding or not.
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RECIPE - Chocolate Bread Pudding (Pudim de pão ao chocolate)

3 day-old French rolls, torn into small pieces
2 cups (500 ml) whole milk
1 tsp powdered cinnamon
2 cups granulated white sugar
1/2 cup seedless raisins, soaked for 15 minutes in hot water
1 whole egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of clove
pinch of nutmeg
1/3 cup creme de cacao chocolate liqueur
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In a heavy saucepan, combine the milk, sugar, cinnamon, clove and nutmeg. Bring slowly to a boil over medium-low heat. When the liquid reaches a boil, stir in the pieces of bread. Remove the pan from the heat and let the bread soak in the liquid for 20 minutes.

Pour the ingredients from the saucepan into a blender and blend until completely homogenized. Let cool.

When the custard liquid is cool, separate the egg and beat the white until it forms soft peaks. Lightly beat the yolk. Stir the beaten yolk into the custard, then gently fold in the egg white. Do not overmix. Finally stir in the raisins and the chocolate liqueur.

Pour the custard into a non-stick tube or bundt pan, place the pan in a baking dish and pour boiling water into the dish to the level of the custard. Place in a pre-heated 350F (180C) oven and cook for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove to a wire cake rack and let cool completely.

Chill the pudding in the refrigerator for at least three hours. Unmould onto a decorative serving platter and serve immediately.


Recipe translated and adapted from Estado de S. Paulo newspaper.

RECIPE - Cashew-nut Brownies (Brownie com Castanha de Caju)

Although last week was a kind-of-official Rice Week here on the blog, we didn't intend to have this one turn out to be a Cashew Week, though it seems to be happening naturally. One post just leads to another, so we'll follow this thread for a while, though this recipe for brownies with cashew nuts will be the last post to mention the words cashew or caju this week, we promise.

Brownies are an American dessert that has taken Brazil by storm in the past few years. They're popping up on restaurant dessert menus everywhere and there are bakery/cake shop-style brownie shops in many Brazilian cities. Here in Fortaleza we have a shop called Empório Brownie which specializes in these squares of chocolate deliciousness.

This recipe, which comes from women's website mdemulher, substitutes cashew nuts for the standard walnuts, as in a classic brownie recipe. Otherwise, it's very true to the original recipe, and the results are an interesting tweak on the usual brownie. For those who love cashew nuts, and they are legion, it's just one more way to gild the lily that is a brownie. Do give it a try sometime.
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 RECIPE - Cashew-nut Brownies (Brownie com Castanha de Caju)
15 portions

1 1/3 cup butter
12 oz (360 gr) semi-sweet baking chocolate
6 whole eggs, lightly beaten
2 1/4 cup (270 gr) all-purpose flour
3 1/3 cup (600 gr) granulated white sugar
1 cup (150 gr) roasted, unsalted cashew nuts, coarsely chopped
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Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).

In a double-boiler, melt the butter and chocolate together. Stir to mix completely. Remove from heat, then stir in the beaten eggs, mixing completely. Reserve.

Combine the flour and sugar in a large mixing bowl, then stir in the butter/chocolate/egg mixture with a rubber spatula, a bit at a time. Stir in the chopped cashew-nuts, mixing carefully and completely.

Pour the batter into a buttered square 8" (20 cm) cake pan. Smooth out the surface with the spatula.

Bake for about 45 minutes in the preheated oven. The brownies are done when a toothpick inserted in the center of the batter comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool completely in the pan. Cut into squares and serve.

Attn Chocoholics: The World's Largest Chocolate Fair Is Coming to Brazil

It's just been announced that the largest international chocolate fair and exposition, the Salon do Chocolat, will be held for the first time in the Southern Hemisphere in 2012, specifically in the Brazilian city of Salvador, Bahia.

The Salon, which held its first edition in Paris in 1995 has since been hosted by cities such as New York, Shanghai, Madrid, Beijing, Lille, Bologna, Marseille and Cairo. But it's never been held in a country and region which produces cacau, the bean from which chocolate is produced. Salvador is the capital of the Brazilian state of Bahia - the largest producer of cacau in Brazil and one of the most important cacau-growing regions in the world. The Brazilian cacau-growing industry is currently growing rapidly and recovering from the effects of a devastating disease which affected large number of cacau trees in the 1980s.

Brazil is also one of the world's largest chocolate-consuming nations, and its passion for chocolate in all its forms borders at time on obsession. The most prestigious Europeans brands of chocolate, such as Valrhona and Godiva, have recently entered the Brazilian marketplace where they have had exceptional success.

Previous editions of the Salon do Chocolat have welcomed up to 20,000 visitors per day, and the government of Bahia, which is one of the event's sponsors, expects that the Salon will have a tremendous impact on Salvador's 2012 visitor numbers.

The Salon is scheduled for the first week in July, 2012. Chocoholics, mark your calendars.

RECIPE - Carrot Cake with Coconut Oil and Gianduia (Bolo de cenoura com óleo de coco e gianduia)

When we were doing research for the previous post on Flavors of Brazil, about virgin coconut oil, we came across a recipe on a Brazilian food blog called Sabor Saudade for an amazing sounding carrot cake made with coconut oil and marbled with the Italian hazelnut-enriched chocolate known as gianduia. If you're familiar with the Italian chocolate spread called Nutella, you'll know what the taste of  is all about, though industrially-produced Nutella is far inferior to good quality  gianduia. The recipe on the blog was accompanied with mouth-watering photographs, a couple of which we've included on this post.

As discussed in the last post, if you're contemplating purchasing coconut oil, be sure to buy only virgin oil. We've even seen coconut oil labeled extra virgin, though we're not sure what differentiates garden-variety virgin from extra-virgin. In any case, do not buy processed or hydrogenated coconut oil - it is very high in saturated fats and trans fats.
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RECIPE - Carrot Cake with Coconut Oil and Gianduia (Bolo de cenoura com óleo de coco e gianduia)

2 medium carrots, peeled and grated
3 medium whole eggs
2/3 cup (200 ml) unrefined white sugar
1/2 cup (250 ml) all-purpose white flour
1/3 cup (100 ml) virgin coconut oil
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 Tbsp gianduia paste
pinch of salt
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Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Grease a tube cake pan (or Bundt pan, reserve.

In a blender or food processor, combine all the ingredients with the exception of the gianduia. Blend or process until you have a homogenous batter, thoroughly mixed. Pour the batter into the greased cake pan.

Spoon the gianduia paste onto the top of the cake batter, in spoonsful of about one Tbsp each. With a rubber spatula, fold the gianduia into the batter, but do not over-mix. You want pockets of melted gianduia in the cake when you serve it.

Place the cake pan in the preheated oven and bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Remove from the oven, let cool in the pan, then reverse the cake onto a cake platter. Let cool completely before serving.

RECIPE - Chocolate Salami (Salame de Chocolate)

Seeing that there's less than 48 hours before the Easter Bunny is due to make his rounds, and since yesterday's post here at Flavors of Brazil concerned wild Brazilian cacau, it somehow seems appropriate to feature a chocolate recipe today - one from the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina.

Santa Catarina is largely populated by descendents of European immigrants to Brazil - from Italy, from Germany, Poland, Austria and other Eastern European countries. They have brought central European traditions with them, including culinary traditions involving preserving meat through smoking, brining and sausage making. This recipe for a popular Catarinense treat turns a fudge-like chocolate preparation into a fake salami look-alike. Shaped into sausage-shaped rolls, and sliced into rounds just like a real sausage, the resemblance is startling. Flecked with bits of Brazil nut, this salami even imitates the bits of fat that fleck port sausage.
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RECIPE - Chocolate Salami (Salame de Chocolate)
20 portions

12 ounces (30 grams) semi-sweet baking chocolate, in pieces
1/2 cup (125 ml) unsalted butter
2 Tbsp rolled oat flakes
1 cup crushed arrowroot cookies
1/2 cup (125 ml) finely chopped Brazil nuts
3 ounces (85 grams) white baking chocolate, chopped
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In a double boiler, melt the semi-sweet chocolate and butter together over medium heat. Remove from heat once melted and let cool. Stir in the oats, the crumbled cookies and the Brazil nuts. Finally, stir in the white chocolate.

Spread the mixture out on a large piece of wax paper. Shape the mass into a roll about 12 inches (30 cm) long, using the wax paper to help form a sausage-shaped piece. Once the roll is formed inside the wax paper, fold the ends of the wax paper tightly, and place the roll in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours to chill thoroughly.

When ready to serve, remove from the refrigerator, unwrap the roll and slice into thick slices. Let rest for approximately 15 minutes to warm slightly, then serve.

Recipe translated and adapted from Cozinha Regional Brazileira by Abril Editora.

Hunters of the Wild Cacau

In a recent article in São Paulo newspaper Estado de S. Paulo, Cintia Bertolino, reporting from the middle of the Amazonian rain forest, highlighted the work of a small group of "wild-chocolate hunters." The cacaueiro, or cacau tree, which bears the fruit from which chocolate is made, is native to the Amazon and in the most remote reaches of the rain forest there are still places in which the wild ancestor of the cultivated, hybridized commercial cacau tree flourishes.

As the world's appetite for chocolate, and for new chocolate experiences grows unabated, chocolate producers are constantly looking out for new and exotic sources of chocolate. Wild chocolate appears to be one of these new sources, and according to chocolate experts, offers a new chocolate experience. Harvesting the wild fruit also provides a living for a few residents of the rain forest, most of whom are native Americans.

Here is a translation of Ms. Bertolino's article:

Finding cacau trees in the Amazonian forest without trained eyes or an internal GPS - which only those who were born on the banks of the great river and in the forest possess - is like trying to find a needle in a haystack populated by nosy mosquitos and enormous ants.

None of this distracts Alisson Apurinã in his work. For the past three years, beginning in March, the young man of Indian origin sets out in his canoe at the break of dawn and paddles the Purus river in search of native cacau trees, sprinkled throughout the forests of the [Brazilian] state of Amazonas. The cacau trees, ancient and tall, are part of the local ecosystem and until recently bore fruit that no one bothered to harvest. Because they have not been planted by humans in plantations, these trees bear a different fruit, smaller and stronger in flavor than domesticated varieties.

Less bitter than hybridized cultivars, wild or native cacau has good acidity and a taste that is characteristic of chocolate. "When you think of chocolate, this is it. It's not so fruity, but it is the quintessence of chocolate," says American Frederick Schilling, developer of Amma Chocolate along with Bahian partner Diego Badaró.

Finding a cacau tree in the midst of other trees is not an easy task. In March, when the harvest that extends to May begins, Apurinã starts his daily search at 7 a.m. Arriving in the forest by boat or canoe and with three large sacks in hand, he begins his hunt.

Some cacau trees reach 25 meters [80 feet], which no pruning-hook can reach. That means that the tree must be climbed, a feat that Apurinã accomplishes with impressive agility. On a good day, when his sacks are full, he finishes climbing at 3 p.m. But the task of carrying the sacks through the jungle to his canoe still remains to be done.

RECIPE - Brazil Nut Brownies (Brownie de Castanha-do-pará)

One very typical American baked treat that Brazil has taken entirely to heart (and to the stomach) is the brownie. They don't even bother to translate it - brownie in English is brownie in Portuguese. With the national love of chocolate and of sweets, it's no wonder that brownies pop up everywhere here in Brazil - on restaurant dessert menus, on dessert tables at fancy feasts and parties, and at fine bakeries everywhere.

This recipe has slightly Brazilianized the standard American brownie recipe by substituting Brazil nuts (castanha-do-pará) for the more usual walnuts or pecans. The recipe calls for a large amount of these nuts - 2 lbs - so making these brownies isn't cheap. The yield, however, is 16 portions, so the per portion cost isn't exorbitant. You could, of course, reduce the cost by buying unshelled Brazil nuts - though, as anyone who's every tried to crack open a Brazil nut can tell you, shelling 2 lbs of those shells of steel is not childs' play. Fortunately, Brazil nuts are relatively cheap here in Brazil, even the shelled ones, so self-shelling really isn't worth the time and effort.

(NOTE: Please read comments to this post about possible problems with this recipe. Until I've checked the source recipe and confirmed quantities, do NOT follow this recipe. I'll update the post as soon as possible.)
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RECIPE - Brazil Nut Brownies (Brownie de Castanha-do-pará)
Serves 16 portions

10 large eggs (free-range if possible), at room temperature
4 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
2 lbs (1 kg) bittersweet baking chocolate
4 cups (2 lbs) unsalted butter
2 cups crème fraîche or sour cream
2 lbs (1 kg) shelled Brazil nuts
4 cups all-purpose flour
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Preheat over to 200C (400F). Generlously butter a 9x9 baking pan.

In a stand-mixer or in a large bowl with a cake mixer beat the eggs and sugar for 10 minutes at medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Break up the chocolate and melt it in a double boiler or over boiling water with the butter and crème fraîche or sour cream. Remove from heat, let cool and reserve.

Chop the Brazil nuts into coarse chunks in a food processor. Don't overprocess. Mix them with the flour.

In a large mixing bowl, add the sugar and egg mixture, then the hot melted chocolate mixture. Using a rubber spatula, mix completely. Then fold in the flour and nut mixture, a bit at a time, until you have a homogenous mixture.

Pour the mixture into the greased baking pan, and place on the middle rack of the preheated oven. Cook for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the mixture comes out clean. Remove from the heat and let cool in the pan, set on a wire cake rack.

Cut into 16 serving pieces and serve, dusted with confectioner's sugar if desired.

Recipe translated and adapted from Cozinha Regional Brazileira by Abril Editora.

The Story of Amma Chocolate

Amma Chocolate is quickly becoming the chocolate-of-the-moment here in Brazil and the story of the company makes a very interesting, very 21st century story. In a recent blind tasting sponsored by one of Brazil's largest food and wine magazines, Amma's 70% cocoa chocolate bar beat out such heavyweights of the chocolate world as Lindt, Nestlé and Valrhona. (Click here to read the results of the blind tasting). The very short history of this young company, its stated mission and the philosophies of its owners are reflections of the ways many in the contemporary world of food are looking at what we eat today and what we plan to eat in the future.

Diego Badaró is a fifth-generation cacau planter from the southern part of Bahia state in northeastern Brazil. This area is the historic center of cacau cultivation in Brazil and is home to a large percentage of what's left of the Mata Atlantica, Brazil's largely deforested coastal rain forest. Badaró is passionate about growing the best possible cacau beans for chocolate production and about preserving and fostering the rain forest which is the cacau trees natural habitat. Sometime in 2007 he sent a box of samples of his cacau beans, unsolicited, to Frederick Schilling, the founder and CEO of Dagoba Organic Chocolate, the largest producer and vendor of high-quality organic chocolate in the USA. Schilling was so impressed by the product that within less than a month he was in Brazil to meet Badaró . Realizing that their goals were remarkable similar, the two men decided to start a joint venture in Brazil to produce and market high-quality organic chocolate, sustainable grown.

Badaró (left) and Schilling (right)

This joint venture became Amma Chocolate, and today the company has established a small but very creditable niche in Brazil's booming chocolate market. Their distribution is still very limited and their products can only be found in the best chocolate shops in Brazil's larger metropolitan areas. Unfortunately, Fortaleza, my Brazilian hometown doesn't have a local distributor yet, so I will have to wait for my next visit to Rio de Janeiro, Brasília or Salvador to sample an Amma chocolate bar. It's an experience I'll be looking forward to.

Amma has an excellent website detailing their products and the philosophy behind the company. It is in Portuguese only, but has some great photos and links to some English-language articles on the company. It can be found by clicking here.

Amma - Brazil's Prize-winning chocolate

In a recent issue of Brazilian food magazine Prazeres da Mesa, a number of well-known brands of chocolate were subjected to a blind taste-test. Six brands were chosen for the test, and in each case the brand's 70% cacao chocolate bar was subjected to the tasting. The juedges were some of Brazil's most pre-eminent food educators, chefs, chocolatiers, pastry chefs, and food journalists.

The result, which apparently surprised even the judges once they had removed their blindfolds, was that a Brazilian chocolate, Amma, was the unanimous first-choice among the six jurors.

Here are the complete results of the test, along with my translation of some of the judges' critiques of each brand.
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1. Amma - score 8.1
Produced in Brazil. "Well-rounded flavor, with a sweet aroma and the right proportion of cocoa butter."

2. Casino Bio - score 7.9
Produced in Belgium. "With a nice amount of acidity and light tannins."

3. Lindt - score 6.96
Produced in Switzerland. "Has an agreeable aroma, but is very sweet."

4. Valrhona Guanaja - score 6.95
Produced in France. "Well-rounded, but has a weak aroma which doesn't last long."

5. Nestlé Gold - score 5
Produced in Switzerland. "Rough texture and residual taste of fat."

6. Kopenhagen - score 3.6
Produced in Brazil. "Too much cocoa butter."
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The story of Amma chocolate, the winner, is very interesting and will be covered in the next post here on Flavors of Brazil. It is a new joint venture between a fifth-generation chocolate grower from the Brazilian state of Bahia and the American founder of the largest-selling brand of organic chocolate in the USA.

Brazilian Chocolate Goes Architectural

Palácio da Alvorada, Brasília

Most certainly the most famous architect that Brazil has ever produced, and also one of the best-known 20th-century-modern architects in the world, Oscar Niemeyer is still going strong at the remarkable age of 102. His genius in creating the architectural design of Brazil's capital city, Brasília, built between 1956 and 1960, was recognized by UNESCO when it designated Brasília the newest place in the world worthy to be a World Heritage Site. The outlines and shapes of his monumental public buildings for Brasília are stamped on the Brazilian consciousness, and are as instantly recognizable for Brazilians as the shape of the Eiffel Tower is for the French, or the Sydney Opera House is for Australians. He has also worked extensively outside Brazil, where perhaps his most well-known work was as part of the team that created the UN Headquarters in New York City.

Although he no longer designs buildings, Sr. Niemeyer isn't vegetating during his "retirement." His eye for design is still wickedly strong, and he has recently designed such things as T-shirts for Rio de Janeiro's Carnaval band, Banda de Ipanema and pieces of furniture created from molded wood.

Recently, his latest project was announced in newspapers throughout the country. It's being reported here at Flavors of Brazil because Niemeyer has now extended his designs beyond furniture and clothes into the world of gastronomy. For the gastronomic boutique Aquim in Rio de Janeiro's tony Ipanema district he has designed a chocolate bar which echoes the distinct curves of his architectural work.

The chocolate is called, simply, Q. It is a purely Brazilian product made with chocolate from the city of Ilhéus, in the state of Bahia, with the addition of selected almonds. The chocolate is sold in a specially designed tasting-box which contains three bars of chocolate plus 42 individual chocolates in six strengths ranging from 30% to 70% cacau. Only those who have bought the box will be able to have it refilled at the store, according to Aquim .

I've no idea how Q tastes, but I imagine it must be heavenly. I do know for certain though, that it's the most beautiful chocolate bar I've ever seen. Let's hope that Sr. Niemeyer continues designing new products well into "old age." At 102, he should be an inspiration to all of us.

The Roots of Chocolate - The Cacaueiro Trees of Bahia (REPOST)

(Please click here to read about this series of reposts of original posts from May 24, 2010 to June 12, 2010)

Chocolate, in whatever its form - a Brigadeiro, a hot chocolate drink, a Mars bar, Callebaut Belgian cooking chocolate - begins its journey to the palate of the consumer in the seed of the cocoa tree (scientific name: Theobroma cacao), which in Portuguese is called the cacaueiro tree. The origins of this tree, which was cultivated from Mexico to Brazil long before the arrival of Europeans on the heels of Christopher Columbus, are obscure, but it is thought that it originated among the foothills of the Andes mountains in the western Amazon River basin. Wild cocoa trees can still be found in that area.

One of the best places on earth to grow the cocoa tree is in the southern sections of the Brazilian state of Bahia. The climate, topography, soil and biodiversity of the local forest (called Mata Atlântica) combine to create perfect growing conditions. Most of Brazil's commercial production of chocolate (95%) comes from this area, and historically it was one of the most important worldwide sources of cocoa. Today, Ghana and The Ivory Coast in West Africa are the largest cocoa producers in the world, but the cultivation of cacao trees is still economically significant in Bahia.

Bahia's cacaueiro trees are to this day planted in the natural forest rather than in plantations or orchards, as the tree, although it can reach a height of up to 40 feet, requires shade from the forest canopy for ideal growing conditions. Cultivation and harvesting of the fruit of the cacaueiro is to this day primarily a manual process, with little mechanical support.

It is from the fruit of the cacaueiro that chocolate ultimately derives. The fruit is large, up to 8 inches in length, with a hard rind and skin about 2 inches thick. Inside the fruit is a thick, sweet and gummy juice enclosing from 30 to 50 large, soft seeds. It is from these seeds, once they have been dried and fully fermented, that the two components of chocolate, cocoa powder and cocoa butter, are extracted. The fruits are cracked open, the seeds are extracted and washed, and then are spread out on the ground to dry and ferment in the heat of the sun. Even today, naturally drying and fermenting of the seeds is the most common means of production of chocolate, as mechanical drying can introduce other, unwanted, flavors to the final product. In the central squares of small Brazilian towns in southern Bahia one can see drying cacau seeds spread out in the sun to dry during the harvest season. Once dry and fermented, the seeds begin their journey on the road to delighting children and adults alike, all over the world, with the heavenly taste of chocolate.

The Roots of Chocolate - The Cacaueiro Trees of Bahia

Chocolate, in whatever its form - a Brigadeiro, a hot chocolate drink, a Mars bar, Callebaut Belgian cooking chocolate - begins its journey to the palate of the consumer in the seed of the cocoa tree (scientific name: Theobroma cacao), which in Portuguese is called the cacaueiro tree. The origins of this tree, which was cultivated from Mexico to Brazil long before the arrival of Europeans on the heels of Christopher Columbus, are obscure, but it is thought that it originated among the foothills of the Andes mountains in the western Amazon River basin. Wild cocoa trees can still be found in that area.

One of the best places on earth to grow the cocoa tree is in the southern sections of the Brazilian state of Bahia. The climate, topography, soil and biodiversity of the local forest (called Mata Atlântica) combine to create perfect growing conditions. Most of Brazil's commercial production of chocolate (95%) comes from this area, and historically it was one of the most important worldwide sources of cocoa. Today, Ghana and The Ivory Coast in West Africa are the largest cocoa producers in the world, but the cultivation of cacao trees is still economically significant in Bahia.

Bahia's cacaueiro trees are to this day planted in the natural forest rather than in plantations or orchards, as the tree, although it can reach a height of up to 40 feet, requires shade from the forest canopy for ideal growing conditions. Cultivation and harvesting of the fruit of the cacaueiro is to this day primarily a manual process, with little mechanical support.

It is from the fruit of the cacaueiro that chocolate ultimately derives. The fruit is large, up to 8 inches in length, with a hard rind and skin about 2 inches thick. Inside the fruit is a thick, sweet and gummy juice enclosing from 30 to 50 large, soft seeds. It is from these seeds, once they have been dried and fully fermented, that the two components of chocolate, cocoa powder and cocoa butter, are extracted. The fruits are cracked open, the seeds are extracted and washed, and then are spread out on the ground to dry and ferment in the heat of the sun. Even today, naturally drying and fermenting of the seeds is the most common means of production of chocolate, as mechanical drying can introduce other, unwanted, flavors to the final product. In the central squares of small Brazilian towns in southern Bahia one can see drying cacau seeds spread out in the sun to dry during the harvest season. Once dry and fermented, the seeds begin their journey on the road to delighting children and adults alike, all over the world, with the heavenly taste of chocolate.

INGREDIENTS - Cocoa Powder(Cacau)

The recipe for Brigadeiro in yesterday's Flavors of Brazil called for cocoa powder. This is a culinary term which often confuses amateur cooks, and consequently causes culinary disasters. Dessert and pastry recipes are the most exacting recipes in the entire body of culinary instructions, and one wrong ingredient, or one incorrectly measured ingredient can swiftly turn a potential triumph into a disaster.

Cocoa powder, which is also known as cocoa or cacao in English and is called cacau in Portuguese, is not the same thing as "hot chocolate mix" or "cocoa mix" or any similar sweetened powders. It is pure cocoa solids, in other words, the nonfat component of chocolate. (The fatty component, contrastingly is called cocoa butter). These two components of chocolate are separated in a number of different ways, by pressing or by either the Dutch or Broma process. In any case, the end result is the separation of cocoa powder from cocoa butter. It is this cocoa powder that is required to make Brigadeiros as they should be made.

RECIPE - Brigadeiros

In the previous post, we all learned that we can thank the perennially unsuccessful Brazilian presidential candidate, Brigadeiro Eduardo Gomes, for the sweet chocolate truffle which bears his name, and which has addicted millions of Brazilians, adults and kids alike. It's kind of like having a candy in the USA named the "Adlai" after the similarly unsuccessful Adlai Stevenson.

The candy itself is very simple to make; perhaps part of it's success. Here is the basic recipe, which yields 30 Brigadeiros.
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RECIPE - Brigadeiros
Makes 30

1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
4 Tbsp. powdered chocolate (cocoa powder)
chocolate sprinkles to make balls
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In a deep, heavy non-stick saucepan, heat all the ingredients except the sprinkles, stirring constantly with silicone or wooden spatula or spoon. Continue to heat and stir until everything is well mixed and the mixture begins to come away from the pan. Remove from heat and let cool completely at room temperature.

Place chocolate sprinkles on edged cookie sheet. Greasing hands with softened unsalted butter, roll one Tbsp. of cooled mixture in your hands into a ball, then roll the ball in the sprinkles. Place on wax paper to dry and harden. Repeat procedure until all the mixture has been used up.

Place each brigadeiro in small paper or foil cup and serve as part of a buffet or dessert spread.

SWEETS - Brigadeiro

If feijoada is Brazil's national dish, and the caipirinha is its national cocktail, then there is no question that the Brigadeiro is the country's national sweet. It's impossible to find a buffet table at a birthday party, an anniversary celebration, a wedding reception or any other festive occasion that doesn't include a large number of Brigadeiros. At least at the beginning of the party - at the end, they are usually long since gone from the table.

Besides the sweet itself, Brigadeiro ice cream, candy bars, cookies and other sweet treats are universal in Brazil. If you ask a Brazilian kid what his or her favorite food is "Brigadeiro" is likely to be the answer.

A Brigadeiro is basically a soft sweet, or candy, made from sweetened condensed milk, butter and cocoa powder, with chocolate sprinkles as a topping. They are usually formed into small one-bite balls, but other shapes are possible. They are rich, somewhat like a chocolate truffle in mouth-feel, and incredibly sweet, which makes them perfect for the Brazilian sweet tooth.

The word "Brigadeiro" itself merely means "brigadier", as in the military rank. I've long been curious as to why these chocolate treats are named after a military title, and in researching this posting, I found out. The Brigadeiro was created in the 1940s, and the name is an homage to Brigadeiro Eduardo Gomes, who ran unsuccessfully for the Presidency of Brazil in 1946 and 1950 (at least his name lives on postumously in the candy!). One version of the story has it that his wife created the treat to serve at campaign fundraisers, another is that some female supporters of Gomes from Rio de Janeiro adapted a local chocolate sweet called "negrinhos" (a diminutive term best translated - and avoided - as "blackies")  to sell to raise funds for his candidacy. In either case, the candies became known as "docinhos do Brigadeiro" (the sweets of the Brigadier) and eventually this name was shortened to "Brigadeiro."

Though Gomes himself is a bit of a footnote in Brazilian political history, he has staked his claim to fame in Brazilian gastronomy. It's probably a good thing he was a Brigadier and not a Private!