At the beginning of my blogging life I published a recipe for Quindim. It’s an egg, sugar and coconut mixture with added vanilla and baked in the oven. It can be baked in a big pie dish, small ramekins or mini pudding molds. They are bright yellow, have a shiny top and a very light golden bottom. The origin is believed to come from African slaves in the 17th century Brazil, where coconut were found in large quantities and sugarcane was a important industry at the time.
Recently I found this fantastic recipe, it takes a bit of time, but it’s well worth it. Quindim is a dessert for all occasions and a crowd pleaser. Happy Easter!
Quindim, Brazilian recipe
Ingredients
60g of unsalted butter
500g of caster sugar
325g of fresh grated coconut *
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
18 egg yolks, sieved
Method
1 . Mix 500g caster sugar and 325 grams of fresh grated coconut with your hands. Continue until the dough is smooth, the sugar has completely dissolved, that takes time! I do it watching TV
2. melt the 60g unsalted butter in a double boiler.
3 . Add the melted butter to the sugar and coconut mix
4 . Let the mixture sit for 12 hours in the refrigerator, covered with plastic. The cooling process will make the butter harden again. You need to take the container out of the fridge and work it again for 5 minutes with your hands.
4 . Let the mixture sit for 12 hours in the refrigerator, covered with plastic. The cooling process will make the butter harden again. You need to take the container out of the fridge and work it again for 5 minutes with your hands.
5.place the 18 yolks together in a fine sieve, perforate all of them, and let them sieve through
naturally. Don’t touch or help it with a spoon . let them fall by themselves it will take about 2 hours. Discard the skin left in the sieve.
naturally. Don’t touch or help it with a spoon . let them fall by themselves it will take about 2 hours. Discard the skin left in the sieve.
6. Add the sieved 18 egg yolks to the sugar, butter and coconut mix . Mix (yes, you
can now use a spoon or spatula ) to form a homogeneous mass. Add the vanilla extract.
7. Prepare the family mould or individual moulds with butter and sprinkling with sugar.
8 . Fill the moulds with batter and place all in a larger roasting pan and add
water so that the sweet is baked in the oven in a ‘water bath’. It takes about 40 -45 minutes at 180C fan assisted oven .
9. Unmold the quindims while warm.
Makes approx 25-30 small bite size quindims (molds of 4cm diameter) or 1 big family (approx size 22cm diameter pie dish)
It keeps in the fridge for a couple of days, or you can freeze it.
The original recipe asks for 36 egg yolks, I halved the portions to make domestic friendly!
Also, the bottom of the quindim should be light golden, my one (picture below) is a bit too golden, but still tasty!Tip: you can’t find it or don’t have time to grate fresh coconut, then hydrate 250g of sweetened shredded coconut, with approximately 50ml of coconut water, the coconut should feel moist and not wet. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes, mix one in a while and then use in this recipe as directed.
Also, the bottom of the quindim should be light golden, my one (picture below) is a bit too golden, but still tasty!Tip: you can’t find it or don’t have time to grate fresh coconut, then hydrate 250g of sweetened shredded coconut, with approximately 50ml of coconut water, the coconut should feel moist and not wet. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes, mix one in a while and then use in this recipe as directed.
The ultimate question is what do I do with the egg whites?
well, suggestions:
1) portioned, frozen and used at later date in other recipes, I tried and it worked!
2) make a giant pavlova, and/or small meringues
3) have egg white omelettes for the rest of the week!
4) Make this delicious dessert Pudim de Claras
This recipe was adapted from Cátia Farias of Bendito Quindim in Sao Paulo, Brazil