RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL— Mardi Gras in New Orleans sees around 1.5 million visitors. Rio De Janeiro, Brazil by comparison sees around 1.7 million visitors for Carnival. Both are considered the premier destinations to celebrate the Carnival season.
Amy Agra and her husband Ricardo met seven years ago and never looked back. Ricardo is from Rio De Janiero and Amy is from south Louisiana.
“Funny story, before I even met my husband, I was a samba and Zumba teacher. Everything I knew about carnival was just the purple green and gold, the floats and Mardi Gras beads. Once I went to Brazil for the first time with him and saw how much it was a part of his life, events and parties, I came home and started making brigadeiro for our kids’ parties and our family’s parties,” says Amy.
Amy makes brigadeiro, a chocolate delicacy from Rio De Janeiro and says, “for those who have never tried it, I like to say it’s a mixture between a fudge and a truffle. However, be open minded that it’s also neither of those. Though it forms a ball when you bite into it, it has a soft caramel type of texture.”
Similar to the beginning of some of New Orleans’ praline recipes, brigadeiro starts with quality butter and condensed milk.
The recipe dates back to 1946, when Eduardo Gomes was running for president. One family wanted to help him by selling a fudge-like treat. Soon, women all over Brazil were selling brigadeiro in support of Gomes. He didn’t win, but brigadeiro had made it’s way into the heart of Brazil.
Today, Amy sells brigadeiro in south Louisiana through her business called Delicia, Gourmet Brigadeiro. She makes the traditional chocolate version, but her creativity has given life to all sorts of new flavors, including dulce de leche, praline, and a king cake brigadeiro.
Brazilian Brigadeiro Recipe
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 tablespoon butter
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
chocolate sprinkles
Directions:
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine cocoa, butter and condensed milk. Cook, stirring, until thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest until cool enough to handle. Form into small balls, roll in chocolate sprinkles and eat at once or chill until serving.