Custard. One of the most traditional sweets in Brazilian confectionery. Yes, yes: Brazilian.
Of course, with Portuguese and African influences. But let’s be definitive and say that it is a national sweet. The important thing about this mix of cultures is that the Custard it’s delicious.
If I could I would eat it every day. All good. Not every day, but more frequently. But as you and I know, it is done with a quantity questionable of yolks and sugar. So, it’s sweet for sometimes.
It’s easier to make than we think, with just a few ingredients and a incredible result.
Now, I’m going to get into that delicate field: whether or not to sift the yolks.
I don’t sift. And point.
Not to say too much: what gives flavor and aroma to the yolk is not just in the vitelline film (yolk membrane), it is also inside. And the concept of flavor is different from taste. Flavor involves much more smell than taste.
As a Portuguese friend says: it is made from eggswill have egg flavor. Sifting or not.
If you want to sift, sift. The gems are yours and you can do whatever you want, right? 🙂
Traditional Quindim
Makes: 9 units
- 100 g grated coconut (dry; unsweetened)
- 200 g water (boiling)
- 240 g crystal Sugar (or refined)
- 150 g water
- 20 g butter without salt
- 200 g egg yolk (about 12 gems)
- 5 mL vanilla extract (or 1-2mL essence)
- butter without salt (to spread)
- refined sugar (for sprinkling; this needs to be refined)
1 cup: 250mL | 1 tablespoon: 15mL.
- Mix the grated coconut with boiling water. Cover and wait 20 minutes.
- In a pan, mix sugar and water, place over medium heat. Cook for 10 minutes to form a fine but thin syrup. Add the butter when it reaches the point. Let it stay warm-cold.
- With the syrup a little colder, mix in the hydrated coconut and stir well.
- If it is still hot, wait to add the egg yolks. If so, the yolks will cook in the syrup and this should not happen.
- Heat the oven to 180ºC and boil water for the bain-marie. Grease with butter and sprinkle the desired shape. I used a normal metal cupcake pan that has a capacity of 125mL.
- After adding the yolks, mix well. Wait 20 minutes.
- Divide the mixture into the desired shape. I put ~95g in each cavity of the cupcake pan. Then, place it inside another mold to make a bain-marie.
- Place in the oven and add the hot water.
- Bake at 180ºC for around 30-35 minutes. The time will vary according to the size of the quindim. Do the toothpick test.
- Remove from the oven, it must be warm to remove from the mold. Don’t let it cool completely, it gets harder.
- Place in the refrigerator to cool completely.
- Excited 1: fresh or pasteurized egg yolks can be used. If you use pasteurized, you can use a little more. Instead of 200g, use 215g.
- Excited 2: I recommend that you do it by weight/mass and not by unit. Depending on the variety of egg, it may be larger or smaller and will affect the quantity and, consequently, the texture of the quindim. And no, you don’t need to sift the yolks. Sift it or not, it will have an egg flavor, after all, it is made from egg yolks.
- Excited 3: if you want to sieve, pay attention as it will compensate for the loss of yolk that remains in the sieve.
- Refined sugar: to dust the molds, it has to be really refined. I tested it with crystal and I didn’t really like the final appearance. Refined, it became more beautiful.
- Coco: this recipe is made to use dried coconut, I don’t think it would work with fresh coconut.
- Dots: the specks are not from the yolks, it’s actually vanilla! 😀
- Adapted: Union
