Brazil's Beignets -the Bolinho de Chuva

Just as you can find variations on baked or grilled flatbread all around the world, from Mexico and its tortillas, to Lebanon's lavash, Italy's pizza and Indian naan, the idea of making a loose dough then dropping small balls of it into hot oil to deep fry can be found in countries and culture here and there on all continents. There's something deeply comforting (and addicting) about these sweet treats that seems to appeal universally to human's appetites.

Almost no one doesn't like a doughnut, America's contribution to this type of food. Canadians, though, have recetnly trumped the Americans and now have become the world's highest per capita consumers of doughnuts. The idea of visiting New Orleans and not eating a beignet is scandalous to many , and elsewhere in the American south you'll run across the charmingly-named hush puppy. The Netherlands has its oliebollen, and in Belgian Wallonie they've got croustillons. Quebec has chosen to call their version (rather rudely) pets de nonne. Presumably because the little balls are light and sweetly fragrant, Quebecs seem to think these sweets deserve to be called "nun's farts".

Brazilians too love these sweet treats, and have christened their version bolinho de chuva which means little cakes of rain. Bolinhos de chuva, dusted with plain or cinnamon sugar are a favorite accompaniment to late afternoon coffee in Brazil, and are considered to be the standard version. Numerous variations do exist, even including some savory recipes, though these are still massively outnumbered by recipes for sweet bolinhos. Because bolinhos are so light and airy, they are sometimes stuffed with sweet whipping cream or doce de leite. Brazilian cooks seem to have oringally inherited their recipe for bolinho de chuva from Portuguese sweet kitchens, where bolinhos de chuva are also found.

Emília

For many Brazilians there is a deep nostalgic connection between bolinhos de chuva and a long-running childrens' TV show called Sítio do Picapau Amarelo (The Yellow Woodpecker's Farm). The show was based on a classic book of Brazilian childrens' literature of the same name, written by Monteiro Lobato. One of the show's most-loved characters was kindly Tia Nastácia (Aunt Nastácia) who was always making bolinhos de chuva for rag doll Emília and the show's other characters.

Next post, we'll publish a typically Brazilian recipe for bolinhos de chuva.

RECIPE - Doce de Leite

Whether you call it dulce de leche in Spanish, or prefer to use the Brazilian Portuguese doce de leite, this decadently rich and delicious treat is not that difficult to make at home. It does require patience, and an arm that's strong enough to keep stirring for quite a while, but the result is infinitely better than most store-bought versions, and will keep for a very long time in the fridge. (In fact, the dish was most likely invented as a technique to preserve fresh milk in hot tropical climates - sugar is a powerful agent of preservation.)

The ingredient list is short and sweet (sorry about the pun!). Total time required is about an hour and a half, plus time for the cooked doce de leite to cool down. If you wish to flavor your doce de leite you can do so during the final five minutes or so of cooking time by adding things such as grated coconut, powdered cinnamon, or cocoa powder to taste. Once cooled, the doce de leite can be used in a number of ways - it can be served as is, or used in an ingredient in the creation of another dish.

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RECIPE - Doce de Leite
10 portions

2 quarts (2 liters) whole milk
4 cups (750 gr) granulated white sugar.
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Combine the milk and sugar in a large heavy-bottomed pan (enameled cast-iron is best, but any heavy pan will do. Avoid pans that are thin, as the bottom of the doce de leite can easily burn). Stir with a wooden or silicone spoon until the sugar dissolves completely.

Place the pan over medium heat and bring slowly to a boil, stirring constantly with the spoon (approximately 15 minutes).

Reduce the heat, and continue to cook, stirring contantly, until the mixture is reduced to about 1/6 of its original quantity and developed a rich brown color and a shiny, creamy consistency. (approximately 45 minute to 1 hour). ** If you wish you can continue to cook for another 15 minutes or so, letting the mixture continue to thicken. When cooled, this doce de leite will have the consistency of fudge, and can be cut into pieces.

When the mixture has reached the desired consistency and color, pour into a glass casserole or lasagne dish and let cool completely. 

Cooled doce de leite can be kept in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Translated and adapted from website Tudo Gostoso.

Doce de Leite

If you've read the previous post on Flavors of Brazil, you'll already know that we've recently returned to Brazil from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Although the two countries are neighbors and good friends (apart from football/soccer!) their cuisines are quite different. Some culinary traits, however, they do hold in common - particularly their love for grilled meats of all sorts, for pizza, and especially for the sweet preparation known as dulce de leche in Argentina and here in Brazil as doce de leite (pronounced dough-see gee LAY-chee). Both names merely mean milk sweet.

This thick, unctuous and very sweet mixture of milk and sugar is known throughout Latin America, from the Rio Grande in Mexico's north, to Cape Horn at the bottom of South America, and in recent years has begun to conquer new territories in the USA and Canada. It's only in the parts of the Americas that have an Iberian colonial past where it truly reigns as the king of sweets, though.

Basically, doce de leite is nothing more than milk sweetened with sugar that is boiled down until it is concentrated into either a creamy paste, or even further into a fudge-like consistency. It's not uncommon for doce de leite to be reduced to one-sixth of it's original quantity. While it is being boiled down, the mixture undergoes two browning processes -  carmelization and the Maillard reaction - which give the final product its characteristic caramel/butterscotch flavor and it's warm, toasty brown color.

In Brazil, kids (and sometimes even adults) love to eat doce de leite straight up - out of the jar or can. The bulk of it, though, is used in the creation of sweets and desserts. For instance, doce de leite is a favorite flavor of ice cream (sorvete) everywhere in Brazil - an idea that has been adopted by Ben & Jerry's and Häagen-Dazs, among others. Bakeries and confectionaries use it as a filling for cream puffs, sponge roll cakes and between layers of layer cakes. It makes a delicious dessert sauce when heated and thinned with whole milk or even better, cream.

Making doce de leite at home is not that difficult, though most Brazilians buy theirs at the shop. There are a wide range of doces de leite available, from large industrial producers, like Nestlé or Parmalat, to small and artisanal producers on dairy farms in every region of the country. In the next post, I'll provide a DIY recipe for making doce de leite in your own kitchen.