I have a confession to make… I’ve kind of been in a baking slump lately. My last few bakes have fallen short of my hopes and dreams, and the repeated defeats coupled with reluctance to fire up the hot oven during warm weather have me feeling unmotivated and unsure. Why go through all the effort for subpar results, you know? However, if you’ve been reading my column you may remember the Brazilian carrot cake I wrote about at the end of April. That cake turned out to be amazing, so when I came across another Brazilian cake recipe last week, I knew it had high chances of turning out perfectly – which would be a much-needed win for my baking confidence! Gathering my determination to reverse the slump, I decided to go for a Bolo Gelado de Brigadeiro, which is Portuguese for chilled chocolate fudge cake.
I’m a fan of Ash Baber’s YouTube channel, and was thrilled to find that he had posted a recipe for this Bolo Gelado de Brigadeiro. Ash is a wonderful baker that combines a winning personality with culturally diverse experimentations in the kitchen – bringing his viewers along on the journey and offering thoughtful insights after trying what he bakes. His channel also offers a sense of silliness and curiosity to the baking process as he playfully scolds his viewers to remind us that good things take time and patience is a virtue. Between the success of the previous Brazilian carrot cake and Ash’s enthusiastic review of this chilled chocolate fudge cake, I felt ready to give it a go!
Now, I did make a few substitutions to this recipe. I know, I know, how am I going to complain about getting mixed results with my bakes lately just to turn around and alter a perfectly good recipe? However, this cake seemed pretty forgiving so I figured I could get away with some minor changes and come out relatively unscathed.
First, Ash noted that in all of the traditional recipes he saw for this cake, there seemed to be no two alike. Instead, it seemed that everyone was using their own preferred chocolate cake as the base. Now, the last time I made Brigadeiro icing, I found it very sweet, so I decided to reduce the amount of sugar used in the cake by about 25% to offset the icing in the final result. It’s a risky reduction as sugar influences the structure of cake, so removing too much leaves potential for a dense, rubbery monstrosity, but I felt that a 25% reduction wasn’t too drastic, and charged forward!
The next change I made came to the Brigadeiro. I decided to use only cocoa powder instead of adding a bar of dark chocolate as Ash called for, mostly because I didn’t have a chocolate bar on hand, and also because I read that using cocoa powder alone is more traditional. I also used two cans of low-fat sweetened condensed milk because last time I sent Jon shopping he grabbed them by mistake instead of the regular full-fat version I put on the list, and one thing about me is, I’m going to use what I already have on hand! Full disclosure, my Brigadeiro did turn out a bit runny. I’m not sure if that was due to the low-fat substitution or if I just didn’t let it cook down and thicken long enough, but it was still usable and definitely still delicious so I didn’t kick myself (or Jon) over it.
Thankfully, I haven’t fully lost my baking touch as, even with my changes, this cake turned out to be unbelievably delicious. It reminded me of what I feel like the big chocolate cake from the movie *Matilda* would have tasted like crossed with a chocolate version of a tres leches cake due to the chocolate milk soak. Like Ash would, I must remind you all it does take some patience as you wait for it to fully cool and set in the fridge, but it was so, so worth the wait! Again, shoutout to Brazil – some absolutely delicious cake recipes come out of that country! Don’t be surprised if you see more Brazilian bakes from me in the future, I’m nothing if not loyal, and I owe them a huge debt for giving me back my baking confidence after a slump!
BRAZILIAN CHOCOLATE CAKE (BOLO GELADO DE BRIGADEIRO)
Recipe adapted from Ash Baber
Ingredients:
Brigadeiro:
(2) 397 g cans of sweetened condensed milk (I used low-fat but full-fat may work better)
50 g unsalted butter, softened
35 g cocoa powder
1 2/3 cups heavy whipping cream
Cake:
65 g cocoa powder
1 tsp. instant coffee or espresso powder
1/2 cup hot water
180 g salted butter, softened
2/3 cup vegetable oil
135 g granulated sugar
135 g light brown sugar
6 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
300 g all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbsp. white vinegar
Chocolate milk:
1 2/3 cups whole milk
1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
For decorating:
Chocolate jimmies
Instructions:
■ In a large pot over medium heat, add all the Brigadeiro ingredients. Stir slowly but consistently until it thickens, almost like a custard, being careful not to burn the bottom. Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap touching the surface to prevent a film from forming. Refrigerate until completely cooled down and thickened.
■ Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease and line a 9-by-9-inch square pan with parchment paper.
■ In a large bowl, combine cocoa powder, instant coffee and hot water. Whisk and set aside to cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
■ After it has cooled, transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer and add the softened butter, oil and both sugars. Beat for 5 minutes.
■ Add 3 of the eggs and mix until fully combined. Then add the remaining 3 eggs and the buttermilk and mix again until fully combined.
■ Add the flour and fold in until just combined with no dry lumps remaining.
■ In a small bowl, add the baking soda and pour the vinegar over it to let it bubble. Give it a quick mix and then pour it into your cake batter and whisk to combine.
■ Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
■ Leave the cake on the counter to cool completely.
■ Meanwhile, make the chocolate milk by adding the cocoa, milk and sugar into a pot over medium heat. Whisk until the cocoa powder has dissolved, then transfer to a container to cool down as well.
■ To assemble: Cut the cooled cake in half horizontally so you are left with 2 cake layers. Place the bottom layer back into the 9-inch square tin you baked the cake in, then pour half of the chocolate milk over it, being careful not to miss the corners. Then add 2/3 of the Brigadeiro on top of the cake and spread it out evenly. Stack the second cake layer on top, pour the rest of the chocolate milk over it and top it with the remainder of the Brigadeiro and a sprinkling of chocolate jimmies.
■ Leave this to set in the refrigerator overnight! Then, the next day, cut into slices and enjoy!
Kristin is a Columbus local and a graduate of MUW’s Culinary Arts Program. She lives downtown with her husband Jon and her naughty cat Sokka. In her free time she enjoys baking, making stained glass art and hanging out with her friends. If you see her in town, say hi!
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
