Grandma's Traditional Brigadeiro Recipe

Grandma's Traditional Brigadeiro Recipe

Grandma’s traditional brigadeiro recipe! These Brazilian chocolate truffles are perfect for any celebration. Quick, easy, and delicious.

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Prep Time:2

Cook Time:14

Wait until it cools down to room temperature:1

Total Time:3

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Brazilian

Keyword: Brazilian, brigadeiros, chocolate, condensed milk, sprinkles, sweet, sweets, brigadeiro, traditional

Servings: brigadeiros

Calories: 91kcal

Author: Claudia Genschow

Equipment

Small paper candy cups (optional) Cupcake paper cups and mini cupcake cups are too big for brigadeiros. Your best bet is to search for truffle paper cups on amazon.

Ingredients

2 cans Condensed Milk each can has 300 ml
1 tablespoon Unstalted Butter
1 Egg Yolk
2 tablespoons Cocoa Powder see notes
Chocolate Sprinkles/Jimmies

Instructions

In a small bowl, prepare the egg yolk first. Pinch and remove the thin membrane that holds the yolk together. If this feels tricky, place the yolk in a fine-mesh sieve, pierce it, and let it slowly drip through. The membrane will stay in the sieve—discard it. (You can also skip the yolk entirely if you prefer.)
1 Egg Yolk
Once the yolk is ready, set a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the condensed milk, egg yolk (if using), butter, and chocolate or cocoa powder. Tip: sift the cocoa powder through a fine sieve before adding to avoid clumps.
2 cans Condensed Milk, 1 tablespoon Unstalted Butter, 2 tablespoons Cocoa Powder, 1 Egg Yolk
Cook, stirring constantly with a silicone spatula to prevent sticking. The mixture will gradually thicken, taking about 10 to 15 minutes. You’ll know it’s ready when it starts to pull away from the sides and bottom of the pan, and you can briefly see the bottom when you stir. Another way to test is to drag the spatula through the center—if it takes a few seconds for the mixture to come back together, it’s done.
Pour the mixture onto a greased plate or tray and cover it immediately with plastic wrap to prevent drying. Let cool to room temperature.
Once cooled, lightly butter your hands, scoop small portions, and roll into 1-inch balls. Roll each ball in chocolate sprinkles until fully coated, then place in paper candy cups if desired.
Chocolate Sprinkles/Jimmies

Video

Notes

Butter: You can use salted butter, unsalted, or even margarine. Grandma used margarine, but I prefer butter.

Egg Yolk: Not all traditional brigadeiro recipes use egg yolks. You can skip it if you prefer, but my grandma used it for a nice consistency.

Chocolate: Grandma used a chocolate powder called Nescau in Brazil. Here in Canada, most chocolate powders are too sweet. You have a couple of alternatives:

Cocoa Powder: My preferred option. Condensed milk is already very sweet, so cocoa powder balances it well.

Traditional Brazilian Flavor: Find a chocolate powder with around 50% cocoa. If you can’t find it, make your own by mixing 1 tablespoon of sugar with 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder, or you can also just add less cocoa powder for a less intense chocolate flavour

Chocolate Jimmies: Now, for Grandma’s secret. Drumroll, please... she used sprinkles made of real chocolate. If you thought chocolate sprinkles are made of chocolate, you might be disappointed to learn that they are typically just sugar. Instead of getting an extra burst of chocolate flavor, regular sprinkles just add more sweetness. Perhaps this is what made Jamie Oliver unhappy? He didn’t try my grandma’s brigadeiros, after all. Grandmas tip: find sprinkles made of real chocolate. Currently, my favorite sprinkles are Dutch sprinkles, called hagelslag, which you can get from specialty shops or online. Note that they expire sooner than regular sprinkles, so don’t buy in bulk unless you’re making brigadeiros frequently.

Nutrition