Bolo prestigio (chocolate and coconut cake)

Yesterday was my birthday and, believing I deserve a treat, I made one of my favourite cakes. If you live in UK, the name of this cake translates as "Bounty" (the chocolate) cake, because it's a chocolate cake filled with coconut...mmmmmm

The cake:

2 cups of flour
3 tbspoons of cocoa powder (the one you children drink with milk)
3 eggs - separate the whites and whisk them into egg whites (very fluffy and firm)
2 cups of sugar
1 cup of milk
2 tbspoons of butter
1 tbspoon of baking powder


Mix the yolks, the sugar and the butter. Add the milk and the chocolate, adding the flour last with the baking powder. Mix it gently and them add the egg whites, envolving them in the cake mix without mixing too hard.

Bake it in an medium heat oven (around 180C) in a greased tray.

Filling

1/2 can of condensed milk
1/2 cup of grated coconut (the one we buy in supermarkets)
2 cups of milk
sugar (to taste)

Mix it all in a pan and let it boil and thicken. Some people loose their patience here, because it does take some 30 min for it to thicken properly and cheat with cornflour. Don't, it does taste better if you give it time. It is thick enough when you incline the pan and the filling comes off of it.

Topping

1/2 a can of condensed milk
200g of butter
2 tbspoons of cocoa

Mix it all in a pan, boil and let it thicken a bit.

Syrup

1 cup of guarana - a brazilian soda. If you can't get your hands in some, you can make the syrup I used for this post but use rum and let the alcohol boil (you just want the flavour)

If using the alcohol syrup: Make a small amount of sugar syrup by boiling about 1/4 cup (60 ml) water with 2 tablespoons sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Let it cool completely, then add a good pour of your favorite liquor (use rum for this one). Wet the sponge cake base with the syrup.


Decoration

200g of chocolate sprinkle
optional: chocolate shavings and cherries

To arrange it all

Cut the cake in half. Wet one half with the half the syrup. Spread the filling on top and put the other half of the cake on top of it. Spread the syrup on top of the cake and spread the topping all over. Decorate it with the sprinkles of whatever you prefer.

Chocolate and yogurt cake

1 2/3 cup of flour
1 1/2 cup of sugar
2/3 cup of cocoa
1 1/2 tspoon of baking soda
2 cups of greek yogurt
1/2 cup of butter
2 eggs
1 tspoon of vanilla

topping
1/2 cup of sugar
2 tbspoons of cocoa
2 tbsppons of butter
4 tbspoons of milk
1 tbspoon of golden syrup
1/2 cup of cooking sugar
sprinkles

Mix all the ingredients for the cake. Put it in a greased cake tray and bake it (gas mark 5-6).
Mix all the topping ingredients but the cooking sugar. Boil it for 3 minutes, whisking it sometimes. Let it cool down, add the cooking sugar and mix it. Decorate with the sprinkles

Brigadeiro pudding

Time of preparation: 10 min

For those who don't remember what brigadeiro is, click here.

1 can of condensed milk
1 cup of milk
5 tbspoons of dehidrated milk (powder)
1 cup of cocoa (the one children put on milk)
1/4 cup of sugar
1 tbspoon of butter
2 eggs
1/3 tspoon of salt

Topping: sprinkle chocolate

In a blender, mix all the ingredients. Grease a microwave flute tube pan (preferably) and put the pudding mix in. Bake it in max potency on the microwave for 6 to 8 min, take it off the tray while still warm and sprinkle it with chocolate.

Brigadeiro

There's nothing more traditional in Brazil than this delicious and easy to make candy. There is no birthday party without it in my homecountry! Children love it, adults love it, it is a hit!

If you are interested in its history, you can click here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigadeiro

Time of preparation: 20 min

1 can on condensed milk
1 tbspoon of butter
2 tbspoons of cocoa powder (the one children drink with milk)
chocolate sprinkles

Mix all the ingredientes and take it to medium heat, mixing it vigorously. When it begins to boil, lower the heat and continue to mix it vigorously, until it reaches the point when the candy comes off the pan on it's own.
Let it cool down.

To roll them:
Spread butter on your hands and grab a small amount of the candy (1/2 tbspoon) and roll it in your palms, making small balls. Sprinkle with chocolate sprinkles and serve it in paper trays, like in the picture.

If you are not preparing it for a party, we generally don't roll it, but put the candy on a soup plate and let it cool (You can leave it on the fridge for up to 5 days). We also put a bit more butter (2 tbspoons instead of one) so it becomes creamier and easier to eat with a spoon. Eat it with friends: each one grabs a spoon and digs in.

Brazilian honey cake (pao-de-mel)

Time of preparation: 1 hour

Dough:

3 cups of flour

1 cup of honey

1 cup of sugar

1 cup of milk

2 tbspoons of butter at room temperature

2 eggs

1 tbspoon of baking soda

1 tspoon of ground nutmeg

1 tspoon of ground cloves

1 tbspoon of ground cinnamon

butter and flour to cover the baking tray

Cover

300g of cooking chocolate

3 tbspoons of butter

Line a rectangular baking tray with butter and flour. Pre-heat the oven (medium: 180 degrees)

In a big mixing bowl add the sugar, honey, butter and eggs. Mix it very well (preferably with a mixer). Repeatedly add one cup of flour and 1/3 of the milk, always mixing. After the last cup, stop mixing. Add the baking soda and the spices and mix them delicately.
Put the cake mixture into the baking tray. Bake it for 15min in a medium oven and then lower the heat as much as possible and bake it for some 20-40 min more (depending on the oven). To make sure it is done, stab it with a toothpick or a fork. If it comes out clean, it is done. Let it cool down and turn it out onto a plate. Cover the cake with the chocolate cover.

Cover:

Put water in a pan and heat it. When it boils lower the heat. Put the broken up chocolate into a glass bowl and put the bowl in the water. Add 3 spoons of butter. Mix the chocolate with the butter untill completely dissolved (around 4 minutes). When melted, spread over the cake with the help of a round edge knife.

If you want it in little cubes (my favourite way), cut the cake, and use 2 times the amount of ingredients for the cover. Stab each cube with a toothpick and dunk it into the chocolate (fondue style).

Let it cool on top of grease proof paper or aluminum foil lined with butter