Brigadeiro

Brigadeiro is a Brazilian sweet made by stirring sweetened condensed milk with chocolate or cocoa in a pan and cooking it down. Rolled into bite-sized balls and coated with chocolate sprinkles, it is soft and sticky at the center. Each piece is placed in its own paper cup, and they are set out for celebrations such as children’s birthdays. It is not baked firm with flour or eggs. Its shape depends on how much moisture is cooked off and how it is cooled.

Cooking Sweetened Condensed Milk Down Further

Today’s basic combination is sweetened condensed milk, chocolate powder and butter. The process starts from condensed milk, in which the milk solids and sugar are already concentrated, and the moisture is reduced further in a pan. The heat is turned off once the mixture has reduced enough, and it is then cooled to a firmness that can be rolled by hand.

The sweetness and the intensity of the cacao vary depending on whether the chocolate powder is a product containing sugar or unsweetened cocoa. In recipes (the ingredient proportions and method) that also use solid semisweet chocolate, not only the cacao flavor but also the amounts of fat and solids change. Even under the same name, the heating and cooling conditions are adjusted to suit the formula.

Firmness of the Mixture When Hot and When Cooled

The ingredients are mixed well before being placed over the heat, and during cooking the mixture is stirred constantly from the bottom of the pan so that it does not scorch. When the mixture clings to the spatula and slides as a single mass when the pan is tilted, it is ready to be rolled. Another clue is that a line drawn with the spatula does not close up immediately, leaving the bottom of the pan visible.

The cooking time varies with the width of the pan, the heat level and the quantity being made. Because the mixture is soft while hot and firms up as it cools, care is taken not to cook it down to its finished firmness while it is still hot. If the heat is too high, it scorches before it has concentrated sufficiently; if it is cooked too long, it tends to become hard and crumbly after cooling.

Rolled by Hand or Scooped with a Spoon

The cooked mixture is transferred to a plate greased with butter or a similar fat and left to cool. Once it is cool, the hands are also lightly greased, and the mixture is rolled into bite-sized balls, which are then rolled in chocolate sprinkles. The sprinkles on the outside have a texture different from the soft, sticky center, and by covering the surface they also make each piece easier to handle.

There is also brigadeiro de colher, which is not rolled but put into small cups and scooped with a spoon. This version is finished softer, for example by adding cream. When the mixture of condensed milk and chocolate cooked down is used as a cake filling or topping, it is likewise brought to a firmness suited to that purpose.

Brigadeiros with different finishes. Differences can be seen in the coating materials, such as brown sprinkles and white flakes. Photo: Rodrigogomesonetwo, 2020-05-06, location unknown. Original image / CC BY-SA 4.0. Reduced-size version from the source; no additional processing.

A Tradition That Traces the Name to a Presidential Candidate’s Rank

In Portuguese, brigadeiro is the name of an officer’s rank, equivalent to “brigadier.” Eduardo Gomes, the man linked to the sweet’s name, was a military officer who ran for president in 1945 for the National Democratic Union, and he held this rank in the Brazilian Air Force. According to tradition, his female supporters made a sweet of condensed milk and chocolate powder, handed it out at rallies or sold it to raise funds, and called it by the candidate’s rank. Gomes ran again in 1950.

Newspapers and magazines from 1945 contain articles and slogans urging women voters to support Gomes. However, no contemporary record has been found confirming that this sweet was made and handed out during that election. The story connecting the candidate’s rank to the sweet’s name is a tradition that has been passed down separately from the records of the election campaign.

Another account holds that a sweet previously called “negrinho” was renamed during the election, but when the renaming took place is not known. In the April 30, 1949 issue of the magazine O Cruzeiro, Helena Sangirardi published a recipe under the name “brigadeiro” in which condensed milk and chocolate powder are cooked, rolled into balls and coated with chocolate sprinkles or colored decorations. Apart from not using butter, it is close to today’s basic form, and it is a sweet intended for small parties for children. Sangirardi did not present this sweet as her own invention.

The Spread of Condensed Milk and Home Celebration Sweets

Condensed milk had been sold in Brazil since the 19th century, but at first a large part of its use was also as a drink, diluted with water. It spread as an ingredient for home confectionery against the backdrop of industrial production in the first half of the 20th century, the milk supply situation during and after the war, and recipes introduced by magazines and manufacturers. Brigadeiro turned a shelf-stable, factory-made dairy product into a sweet made in a home pan.

Newspapers of the 1950s show recipes in which the mixture is wrapped around raisins soaked in liquor, as well as recipes for serving the sweets in paper cups at children’s celebrations. Today there are also versions using powdered milk, coffee, fruit and other ingredients, and the method of cooking down condensed milk has given rise to sweets in a wide range of flavors. In Rio Grande do Sul in the south, it is also popular under the name negrinho.

Glossary