Guest post: Η Julianna του Jardin Sucré μας φτιάχνει βραζιλιάνικα brigadeiros

Mε μεγάλη μας χαρά, σήμερα φιλοξενούμε στο μπλογκ τη Juliana, pastry chef από το Ρίο (της Βραζιλίας, όχι το δικό μας) που μας φτιάχνει το εθνικό γλυκάκι της χώρας της, τα brigadeiros (μπριγκαντέιρος).

Η Juliana σπούδασε ζαχαροπλαστική στην Cordon Bleu του Λονδίνου και στη συνέχεια εργάστηκε ως pastry chef στο Sushi Samba στο Λονδίνο (καταπληκτικό υπερτρέντι σουσερί με fusion ιαπωνική, περουβιανή και βραζιλιάνικη κουζίνα στον 38ο όροφο του Heron Tower, με ντουβρουτζιαστική θέα) και στο ABC Kitchen στη Νέα Υόρκη (επίσης τρέντι ρεστοράν με βιολογικό φαγητό, νοοτροπία farm to table, comfort food πιάτα και πολλούς σελέμπριτις. Πολλούς, όμως. Οι ιδιοκτήτες αστειεύονται λέγοντας ότι το ABC σημαίνει Always Bursting with Celebrities.) Στη συνέχεια η Juliana η Βραζιλιάνα επέστρεψε στο Ρίο όπου πρόσφατα ξεκίνησε τη δική της επιχείρηση με très chic, custom-made γλυκά, με πολύ ρομαντικό ύφος και τίτλο Le Jardin Sucré. Μπορείτε επίσης να την κατασκοπεύσετε στη σελίδα της στο facebook όπου συχνά ανεβάζει υπέρκομψες τούρτες όπως αυτή εδώ:

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Διαβάστε τη συνταγή της και λίγα λόγια για την ιστορία των brigadeiros. Παράλληλα, για να μπούμε λίγο και σε κλίμα Αποκριάς αλά Μπραζίλ, μπορείτε να ακούτε τη Σπεράντζα: 

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Brigadeiro - the sweetest sweet from Brazil!

Before we start, I would like to say that I feel truly honoured to be invited by Madame Gâteaux to share the recipe of Brazil`s most loved sweet. She and I met at a critical point of our lives, when we decided to take the leap and follow our dreams. And here we are now. Our love for pastry has given us such amazing life-changing experiences and brought us together in a truly sweet friendship! 

So back to what I`m here for. Do you know what a brigadeiro is? Do you know what it looks like? The literal translation of the name would be “brigadier.” Yes, as in a “general of a brigade”. There are many versions to the story about how it came to be the most loved sweet in Brazil, but none of them have actually been confirmed. Therefore, I will tell you the one I like the most.

Brigadeiro was named as a tribute to the air marshal Eduardo Gomes, who ran the 1945 elections for President. Apparently he was very handsome, and his campaign logo was something along the lines of "vote for the most handsome and single brigadier". But what does that have to do with the actual brigadeiro? Apparently, it was created at a party during his first presidential campaign, but it became so popular that it was used as a means to fund his next campaign! Yes, it is that good. 

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Some people say it's a Brazilian truffle, but to me, as a pastry chef, I would classify it as a chocolate, sprinkle-covered fudge. It is very simple to make, and it is present in EVERY SINGLE kids' birthday party, passing on from one generation to another. Brigadeiro has even won over international fans! A few years back, there was an article in the New York Times about this Brazilian fashion producer who 'was making it' in New York by opening her own brigadeiro business in a commercial kitchen in lower Manhattan!  Yes, they are THAT popular! 

So enough talking, let's get to it. Don't be intimidated. They are VERY easy to make.

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Ingredients:

1 can of sweetened condensed milk (395gr) 

2 tablespoons of cocoa powder

50 gr of butter (plus a little extra to grease your hands when you are rolling them into balls)

Chocolate vermicelli aka, chocolate sprinkles

Method: 

In a medium sized pot, put the condensed milk, cocoa powder and butter.

Mix it a bit with either a wooden spoon or a heat proof spatula.

Cook it over medium heat stirring non-stop (this is very important so it doesn't stick to bottom of the pan and burn). You will know when to stop cooking when it starts to get thick and you can see the bottom of the pan. It's about 5-8 minutes.

Please be aware that the brigadeiro is at a very high temperature at this time, so do not attempt to touch it!! Allow it to cool down, and as that happens, the mixture will become firmer, allowing you to roll it into balls (make sure to grease your hands first with a little bit of butter), and then rolling them over the chocolate sprinkles.

And that's basically it! I told you it was simple! 

The most challenging part of this whole recipe is actually something that has nothing to do with baking. It's how you pronounce the word “brigadeiro!” So I've made a small video to actually show how to say it correctly in my language. Practise with me:

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