Dessert Brazilian
Brigadeiros with a crunchy salted pretzel coating
Vegetarian
Editorially prepared
Soft, slightly chewy chocolate and condensed milk balls with a salty crushed-pretzel coating. Four small sweet bites served in paper cases; chill the mixture ahead and add the crunchy coating just before serving.
Plan this meal
Set your servings and add the meal. Open your plan to choose more meals and find your combined shopping list.
COOK YOUR WAY
Take this recipe to the kitchen
Start a session to tick off ingredients and steps and use timers.
Ingredients
4 servings · metric units
The base quantity makes four small balls, one per person. Use a saucepan about 10–12 cm across for this small batch. When increasing the quantity, use a larger saucepan and judge the mixture by its consistency: do not multiply cooking or chilling times by the number of servings.
Shopping for this recipe
Your list uses the selected servings and fridge. Stock quantities are unknown — check you have enough.
You’ll need
Accurate kitchen scales, ideally reading in 0.1 g increments · Small heavy-based saucepan, about 10–12 cm across · Heatproof silicone spatula · Fine sieve · Small shallow dish and cling film · Teaspoon and plate for shaping · Food bag and rolling pin · Small bowl for coating · Four small paper cases and a serving platter · Fridge
Method
0/6 stepsPrepare the mixture
Weigh the ingredients. Lightly grease the shallow dish with a little of the greasing butter; reserve the rest of that butter for your hands. Put 70 g of sweetened condensed milk in the cold saucepan. Sift in 3 g of cocoa powder and stir until there are no lumps. Add 2.5 g of unsalted butter.
Prepare the mixture Thicken over a low heat
Set the saucepan over a low heat and cook, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom and sides. Allow about 6–10 minutes from placing it on the heat. The mixture should thicken noticeably, gather around the spatula and leave the base visible for 2–3 seconds when you draw the spatula through it. Remove from the heat once it reaches this stage. If it still flows back immediately, keep cooking over a low heat, checking every few dozen seconds.
10:00Thicken over a low heat Cool briefly
Scrape all the mixture into the greased dish and spread it into a shallow layer. Leave for about 15 minutes from transferring, until it stops steaming and feels no more than slightly warm. If it is still hot, allow a few more minutes.
15:00Cool briefly Chill until shapeable
Cover the dish with cling film and refrigerate. Chill for 3 hours from putting it in the fridge. The mixture should be cold throughout, firm and shapeable, although still sticky. If the centre is still warm or noticeably softer than the edges, continue chilling and check every 20 minutes.
3:00:00Chill until shapeable Shape four balls
Rub a very thin layer of the remaining greasing butter over your hands. Divide all the mixture into four equal portions and quickly roll into smooth balls. They should hold their shape when placed on a plate. If they soften from the warmth of your hands, refrigerate for 15–20 minutes and finish shaping once firm again. If serving later, keep them uncoated in a closed container in the fridge.
Shape four balls Coat and serve
Just before serving, put 15 g of salted pretzels in a food bag and crush with a rolling pin into small, distinct crumbs, not powder. Tip into a bowl. Roll each ball in the crumbs, gently pressing them over the whole surface. Place the balls in individual small paper cases, arrange on a platter and serve straight away while the coating is crunchy.
Coat and serve
My note for next time
Saved automatically in this browser. This note is not sent to the editors. 0/2000
Tips
- Use an accurate scale: with such a small batch, a slight difference in cocoa or butter makes a noticeable difference.
- A small saucepan keeps the mixture from spreading into a thin layer. Do not increase the heat to speed up cooking.
- Do not grind the pretzels to powder. Small, distinct crumbs give the coating its crunch.
- You can make the mixture and uncoated balls the day before. This longer refrigerated storage is optional and is not included in the stated time.
- If the chilled mixture still spreads, it was undercooked. Return it to the saucepan, cook over a low heat until it reaches the described consistency, then cool and chill it completely again; this requires extra time.
Storage
Keep the cooked mixture or shaped, uncoated balls in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Keep the pretzels separately in a dry, sealed container and coat the balls just before serving. Refrigerate any coated leftovers too; the coating will soften over time.
Timing
Hands-on: 30 min · Cooking: 10 min · Resting: 3 hr 15 min
The total allows for tasks done in parallel. The individual times can overlap.
