Pavê-ing Around.

I wonder how many of you get the same kick out of my titles as I do. Unless you speak Portuguese, or any of the languages that share the use of this word, you probably just have absolutely no idea what that is relating to.. AT ALL. Which is why I found it comical to make a play on the word in the first place. My inside joke I guess. ANYWAY. Let's learn about Pavê.
     Pavê is pronouced (pah-vay) and best translates into the word parfait. Parfait basically means "perfect" in French, and generally describes those yummy frozen layered desserts you know and love. In Brazil, though, Pavê is not frozen. I mean some people may freeze it depending on its variation, but for the most part it is only necessary to serve cold. Not only is it necessary, it is vital. Though most of the recipes I see here say to keep it in the fridge for at least 3 hours, I found that keeping it in overnight made for a "parfait" result. Get it?
     This dessert is a traditional dessert item in Brazil and each household has their own variation of it. People make Pavê with pretty much anything they can think of to add, but the main ingredients which remain crucial are eggs,milk, cream, and condensed milk. Without these items you cannot make a proper Pavê. Everything else you add is at your own discretion. I made this dessert for the first time the other day. I must say, it takes a little work, but is WORTH every bit of it in the end. This dessert is so delicious. You know the filling inside of a custard donut or eclair? Yeah it's got that stuff as a layer. Amazing. So, if you are looking to wow everyone with something different and delicious, try this recipe out. When you're done putting it together you can decorate it and make it super pretty. It might even go over well as a birthday cake alternative. It's good stuff. So let's get started.

What you will need:

* For this recipe you will need a sauce pan/pot for cooking the cream. You will also need either a wire whisk or a mixer. We have neither right now in my case, so I used my husband's handy hands to beat my whites. ;)

* The dish for this dessert can be really anything that's deep. Most people use a fluted bowl or deep pie/casserole dish. As long as it's about 2-3 inches deep you should be good. You also don't want something really huge either... because you won't have enough cream to spread around everything. Unless you double the ingredients... which in my opinion, you can't have too much of!

FOR CREAM: (Parenthesis contain Portuguese word for ingredient)

• 1 can condensed milk (leite condensado)
• 1 cup milk (leite)
• 4 egg yolks (gemas)
• 1 tsp corn starch (amido)
• 1 tsp vanilla (baunilla)

FOR COVERING:

• 4 egg whites (claros)
• 4 Tbsp sugar (acucar)
• 1 cup heavy cream (creme de leite sem soro- meaning the kind in the box not can- Brazil only)

FOR BASE:

• 1 package lady fingers (Biscoito Champagne)
• other type of cookie that does well when absorbed with liquids... such as kit kats (in Brazil, Bis)
• optional - if you like it fruity, use peaches, pineapple, strawberries, or other fruits that taste good when used in desserts heavy in dairy. I didn't use any this time, but I will next time.
• 1 cup milk (leite)
• 2 Tbsp chocolate powder (chocolate em po)

1. Separate your eggs first and foremost. Yellows in one bowl, whites in the other. Set the whites aside we'll get to those.

 2. Dump condensed milk, milk, yolks, and corn starch into sauce pan and stir together. Turn heat on low to medium and stir continually. 

3. Once the goop has thickened you can add your vanilla. Keep the heat on though and keep stirring. You will stir this stuff for about 10-15 minutes depending on the amount of heat you have it on. It need to be so thick that it doesn't fall off of the spoon as soon as you take it out.

4. When the consistency is more like the filling you see in a custard donut, you can turn the heat off. You don't want it to be too runny because it won't set when you cool it, and if you cook it too long it won't taste good when it cools. So just make sure it's like a very thick custard before you turn off the heat. Set it aside and allow it to cook and thicken while you do the rest of the steps.

5. Take your eggs whites and put them in a large mixing bowl. Begin to whip them with a wire whisk or mixer on medium speed until they start to foam up and turn white like the pic above. At this point, you can add your sugar.

6. Continue whipping/mixing your whites until they resemble fluffy clouds. They should be what is called "peaked" meaning you can literally see peaks rising off the tops of the whites like mountains. It should be very stiff.

7. Add your cream little by little, continually whipping/mixing it in with whatever method you are using. Be careful not to put your mixing speed too high as it will lose it's "puff". 

8. Mix well. Set aside.

9. Take your lady fingers and line them up in a shallow dish. Mix your milk and chocolate powder together and pour, little by little, over the cookies. 

10. Let them sit for just a couple minutes to absorb the liquid. You don't want them to sit too long though because you won't be able to pick them up to put them in the desired dish.

11. Add your other cookie or fruit choices on top of that. You can also add another layer of lady fingers.

12. Spoon all of the cream over the cookies. Make sure you cover it as much as possible. 

13. It should look something like this. At this point you can add another layer of cookies or whatever you think will taste good. Some people like to make several layers. I kept it simple for teaching purposes, though.  It tastes awesome with the basic layers anyway.

14. Now pour on your covering. (Egg white mix). Smooth it over and make sure everything is well covered. 

15. This is the fun part. Decorate it with whatever you want! The most popular toppings in Brazil are shaved chocolate, crushed cookies, and strawberries. You can also throw the leftover lady fingers on top. 

This is what it looks like from the side - note the layering.

16. Place finished product into the fridge for at LEAST 3-5 hours. However I feel that you will have the best experience with this if you let it sit overnight. I wasn't very impressed with what I tried after the 3 hours mark. The next morning, however, it was AMAZING! Everything had set perfectly and the cookies had gotten super soft and mixed in better with everything. It really is the most important part of this recipe in my opinion. If you try to eat it too early, it's going to be more like a pudding. If you leave it long enough, it will be more like a really soft cake!

* I have seen a lot of people here actually use those tube pans with the fall out bottoms to make decorative. tasty birthday cakes. I def. recommend trying that!

ENJOY!

Caramel - Brazilian Style!

I could not rightfully keep a food blog about Brazilian food without including what seems to be the "glue" of most Brazilian desserts; Condensed milk. I have never seen a people consume as much of it as they do here. In almost every dessert you will find it as an ingredient, and if not, you can probably add it to the dish somehow. Condensed milk is the only ingredient needed to make what I am going to now discuss the making of; Doce de Leite. Doce de Leite ("doh-see" "dgee" "lay-chee") basically means Milk Dessert or Candy in English. Technically it means "sweet of milk," but that wouldn't really make sense to say. It tastes very much like caramel.
      That is how it actually originates though. To make condensed milk, you heat powdered milk and sugar on a stove until it begins to turn into a yellow-ish goop.
To make doce de leite from scratch, all you need is milk and sugar. You must be prepared to stand there stirring for a loooong time though. The end product is a very milk creamy almost pudding like dessert.
This type of doce de leite is also not exactly the same as the kind made the way I am about to show you, which is more of a caramel/candy type texture. I prefer this way the most. And here is the incredibly simple recipe for that:

What you will need:

• 1-3 cans of sweetened condensed milk
• 1 very large soup pot (depending on how many cans you plan to put inside of it)
• water
• utensil to retrieve can from hot water
• can opener
• self control (it is REALLY delicious)

Ready for the easiest recipe ever?

1. Place your UNOPENED can(s) of condensed milk into the pot and fill with enough water to completely submerge the cans. THEY MUST STAY COVERED WITH WATER! If you allow them to boil dry they can explode. Not good.
2. Turn fire on medium to high flame.
3. Once the water starts boiling, leave it for 2 1/2 hours. If you have a pressure cooker and can use that, it only has to cook for 40 minutes.
4. Once time is up, remove the can(s) and allow them to completely cool off before attempting to open it. If you try to open it while it's hot, the contents may burst out into your eyes and cause blindness. Or something bad like that. So just please let it cool off first.
5. Eat it out of the can or transfer into a bowl and store in the fridge. You can add pretty much anything to it, or add IT to pretty much anything.
6. Enjoy and share with others.

ALTERNATE RECIPE:

For those who would prefer to try the completely homemade version, here is how you do it:

1. Place 8 1/2 cups of milk into a large pot with 4 cups of sugar.
2. Stir the ingredients first without heat until the sugar is totally dissolved (to avoid clumping at the bottom of the pan when sugar begins to crystallize).
3. Medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. You are seriously going to be stirring for about 15 minutes before you start to see the mixture thickening and turning a golden color.
Here is what it should resemble when ready:

4. Remove from heat and allow to slightly cool before transferring into a container of your choice. Store in the fridge.
Note - In Brazil people often mix doce de leite with strawberries, prunes, coconut, and chocolate. I have also had it with candied figs.

There is really no end to what you can put in this stuff... and put it on. It makes any dessert more delicious. It is also wonderful on toast in inside of breads and donuts! Have fun and experiment, or just eat it right out of the can/container like I do!

Brigadeiro, Truffle or Fudge? You be the Judge.

     I've heard people refer to Brigadeiro (Bree-guh-day-doh) both as Brazilian Fudge and/or Brazilian Truffle, but the truth is, it's technically neither. It's not really important either, because the point is, it's delicious. The method used to cook it does resemble making fudge somewhat, though.
Brigadeiro translates into what would be a Military General in English, and this particular treat was named after Brigadeiro Eduardo Gomes, who was famous for defeating a communist coupe. This was actually created for him during his first campaign as president back in 1946-1950, and was first referred to as "docinho de brigadeiro" or "General's  Little Sweets." Over time, Brigadeiro stuck as the official name for it.
     Today Brigadeiro can be found at any festive gathering, birthday party, deli, bakery, or any children's event. It is the most popular of sweet treats in Brazil, and there are actually quite a lot of variations of it. I will probably post a lot of these variations closer to Thanksgiving and Christmas, which would be a good time to share some of these newly learned treats with family. I once made Brigadeiro for everyone at my son's 3rd birthday party that we had in the United States, and that year it became a traditional staple in my US family's Christmas cookie platter. It really is that good. So easy to make!

So here's what you will need:

• 1 can of sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated!)
• 1 tbsp of butter or margarine preferably with no salt added (though honestly, I make it all the time here in Brazil with salt added margarine because it's cheaper than the no salt added, works just fine!)
• 4 tbsp of cocoa powder OR 7 tbsp of any chocolate drink mix powder
• Tiny cupcake liners-- tiny. I found them at Schnucks while I was in the states, so I know you can get them at a normal grocery store. I found them around where they sell icing dispensers and sprinkles and such.
• Wooden Spoon
• Any pot.. non stick is good, but I don't use non stick here in brazil and I just let the pot soak in water for a bit after I use it.
• 1 cup of chocolate sprinkles
• OPTIONAL - small fruits such as blueberries, strawberries, raisins, nuts, etc. you get the idea, that can be covered with the brigadeiro and rolled into a ball. Very yummy option indeed.

Directions:

1. Put condensed milk, butter, and chocolate powder into pan.

2. Place pan over medium heat.

3. As contents start to heat up and melt, begin stirring with the wooden spoon. Don't stop!

This is not ready yet. See how it sticks to the sides? It should start pulling off of the pan when it is ready.

4. Continue stirring with wooden spoon, slowly and steadily, and it will begin to take on a darker color. The texture will begin to thicken. 

5. Don't stop stirring. You will be stirring for about 8-10 minutes when you will begin to notice that the mixture will start to bubble and boil. You will end up stirring for about 5-8 more minutes after this, and the color will be darker. The smell will get a lot stronger, but if it starts to smell at all like burning, it's time to stop. 

6. Mixture is ready when you pick the spoon up and nothing falls off of it right away. It's a lot like fudge in the sense that if you don't cook it enough, it will not come together properly when you are ready to roll it into balls, and if you cook it too long... you will have more of a toffee when it cools off. So just try to pay attention to the consistency.

See how it has started to  pull away from the pan? It's ready to take off the fire.

7. Take the mixture off of the heat and let it cool down enough to put it into a heat safe bowl. You can either leave this in room temp. to cool for 3 hours, or put it in the fridge and let it cool for about 1.5-2 hours. 

8. Once cooled, it should be thick, but pliable with the fingers. You will need to set up a little station.

9. Take a platter or serving dish and line it with your mini cupcake liners. Also take a deep plate or bowl and pour in the chocolate sprinkles. Bring the pot of cooled brigadeiro over to your station and lightly coat your fingers/hands with butter. You will need to do this from time to time throughout your sprinkle coating adventure, so keep it handy.

10. Take the mixture out with buttered fingers in small to medium pinches and roll into a ball.  If you are embedding fruit or nuts into these balls, this is the time to get them into the middle of the ball and roll it up inside.

11. Roll the ball throughout the chocolate sprinkles and then place it in a mini cupcake liner. I have also seen people use a spoon to spoon sprinkles over the ball, but I find it's quicker if you just use your hands. Kids love this project by the way. 

12. Keep repeating those steps until all of the mini cupcake liners are all full. Depending on how big your balls are... you will get anyway from 15-30 balls per recipe.

13. Keep in the fridge until time to serve, and try not to let them sit out in extreme heated temps. They'll melt! 

Enjoy!

Note: Feel free to play with this one. You don't have to use chocolate sprinkles, you can use coconut, colored sprinkles, crushed nuts, etc. I've even seen someone use sesame seeds. 

Also, you can make this a vegan version if you can find soy condensed milk and use margarine instead of butter.

A couple ideas:

Pudim!

      I have decided to make my first posting about Pudim. This was one of the first Brazilian Food experiences I ever had and it was about 6 years ago while still living in the United States that I first tasted it. My husband attempted to make it, and while it didn't turn out correctly, I still thought it was absolutely delicious!
     Pudim, pronounced (poo-gene),  is not pudding; despite what it might sound like.  It can best be described as a Brazilian version of Flan. The difference is that Pudim does not use gelatin and it is much more like a stiff custard. Pudim is probably the most commonly eaten dessert after basic cakes and Brigadeiro (recipe soon to come) in Brazil, and it is inexpensive and quite simple to make. There are several varieties of it, from Chocolate or Brigadeiro flavored Pudim, to a cooking sheet baked type of Pudim called Pudim de Pao... or Bread Pudim... which is nothing like the Bread pudding it might make you think of. Anyway, to the recipe.

The ingredients are basic and as follows:

• 1 can of condensed milk (NOT EVAPORATED.. big difference!)
• Whole milk - just use the empty can of condensed milk and fill it once with milk. That's how much you need.
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup of granulated sugar

You will need the following utensils:

• Small to medium Bundt cake pan preferrably one that is flat on the bottom without all of those fancy ridges (the crystalized sugar will get stuck in them-- which is ok-- but you won't have as much delicious sugary syrup to eat with your Pudim), that holds about 2 liters. If you do not have these things... you can still make pudim, but you will need to use a pan that holds about 2 liters, and is not too deep or too shallow. You decide.
• Pan larger in width that the bundt pan that can be used as a bath to submerge part of the pudim pan in.
• Spoon
• Foil
• Blender

Let's get Started!1. Preheat oven to 180 Celsius or about 350 Fahrenheit. 

2. Put Condensed Milk, Milk, and eggs into Blender and blend on normal speed for 5 minutes. Set aside.

3. Dump sugar into Bundt pan... or any pan and place on oven over medium heat. Let it sit until you can smell it cooking, then occasionally stir with a spoon. The sugar will begin to first crystalize and turn a tannish color, then it should start to turn into a syrup. As you stir it, bring some of that syrup up around the sides of the pan and try to coat the pan with some of that sugar. The majority of the sugar should stay at the bottom though. When you see that it has become a rich golden brown color, turn off the heat and let it cool just for a minute or so. (Just until any bubbling has completely gone down). If you have been cooking the sugar in a separate pan than you plan to cook the Pudim in, go ahead and transfer the syrup into the pan of choice, and bring some of the syrup up onto the sides of that pan.

4. Once there are no bubbles or frothiness in the carmelized sugar, pour the contents of the blender over the sugar.

5.Cover the Pudim with foil.

6. Open the preheated oven, place bath pan (filled halfway with water) into the oven first, then place the Pudim pan into that. Close oven, and leave it there for an hour.

7. After an hour, remove the foil, but leave it baking for another 40 minutes.

8. After the 40 minutes is up, take the Pudim out and let it sit in its pan for about 20 minutes.

9. Put in fridge for about 3 hours.

10.Place a plate or dish over the top of it, and while still holding the plate tightly against the pan, flip it over. Use a plate or dish that has a little depth in it because there will be lots of syrup coming out along with the Pudim. 

11. Enjoy!

12. Keep covered in the fridge when you are not eating it.