Queijadinha
The transatlantic remix
Hi friends, I’m still in Brazil with my partner’s family and the latest project has been to make my ideal version of queijadinha, mouthfuls of flourless custard bound with grated cheese and coconut. The standard recipe includes Brazil’s favourite ingredient, condensed milk, which I don’t particularly love. I mean, it’s delicious. But in a recipe, it’s impossible to adjust the sweetness without totally changing the structure by reducing the quantity of condensed milk. I found the standard queijadinha far too sweet, so I sought out some alternative.
I encountered Portuguese recipes for queijadinha which my Brazilian partner found offensive because they include neither cheese nor coconut (“Can you believe we almost moved there?” he said incredulously). BUT, these recipes use milk, eggs and a bit of flour, meaning I could control the sweetness and avoid condensed milk entirely. In the end, I used these Portuguese ratios and simply added coconut and cheese until I was perfectly happy with them.
They’re SO good. Everyone was humming when they first got passed around, and they’re just the right balance between sweet and savoury that makes them dangerously moreish. They’re super simple too: just mix everything in the same bowl, divide among moulds, top with cheese/coconut and bake. They’re gooey and custardy in the centre and crispy around the edges. I’m eating one with coffee as I type this and I love my life.
A couple of considerations:
I’m using a mix of two Brazilian gluten-free flour blends by the same brand (the wholewheat and regular blends by Vila Alimentos), which contain xanthan gum. With only 50g of flour used in this recipe, you only need a little pinch of xanthan gum here. So if you have a blend with xanthan gum included, it makes sense to use it in this recipe. Otherwise, just give a pinch: even a 1/4 tsp may be too much.
I use Brazilian ‘parmesan’ cheese here, but this is almost nothing like the Italian parmesan (Parmigiana Reggiano) you may be familiar with. It’s medium firm (bendy), nutty, and salty though not as salty as Italian parmesan. Some good options for use here are: Havarti, Fontina, Gouda, medium Cheddar, and Emmental. Anything grateable, a bit salty, but still pliable/bendy should work just fine. Or you could use actual Parm for something distinctly salty and cheesy.
Coconut products can be confusing: make sure to use unsweetened, dried (desiccated) coconut here. I used fine coconut but if you only have (or prefer) flakes, that should work well too. Don’t use the larger ‘chips’.
The vanilla is optional here because I imagine some people will find vanilla and cheese to be weird. I think it works perfectly in these. There is no added salt which is unlike me, but between the salted butter and salty cheese, it’s just the right amount.
Next week, I’ll be sharing a recipe for Chocolate Brownie Biscotti, a lovely recipe I developed at Edison Coffee Co. in Texas and have finally converted to being gluten-free.
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Overview
This one is quick. Put the milk and butter in a saucepan and heat to melt the butter. Grate the cheese and toss it with the coconut. Then combine the dries, add egg and mix, pour in the milk and mix. Fill cupcake/muffin trays (or silicone moulds) with the batter and distribute the cheese/coconut among all. Bake, let cool and unmould. Optionally, top with cinnamon sugar.
Recipe
Makes 16 small queijadinhas, or about 12 medium/large ones
Ingredients:
200g sugar
50g GF flour blend (with xanthan gum preferred, or add a pinch of gum otherwise)
2 eggs (~100g)
60g salted butter (if using unsalted, add a small pinch of salt)
425g whole milk (I use UHT in Brazil but fresh is always better)
60g medium-firm, grateable cheese (see note in intro)
70g unsweetened, desiccated coconut flakes
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
Topping (optional):
0.5 tablespoon (1.5 tsp) cinnamon powder
1 tablespoon sugar
Method:
Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F) fan.
Combine milk and butter in a small saucepan and heat on low until the butter has melted, then remove from heat.
Combine the flour and sugar in a medium bowl. Add eggs to this and whisk. Slowly add the milk/butter to this bowl while whisking to ensure no egg scrambles. Add vanilla (optional). Pour into moulds: I made 16 small ones using silicone moulds; This batch would make about 12 larger ones if using a muffin tray or cupcake tray lined with papers. The final queijadinhas are slightly sticky and somewhat fragile so properly grease the tray or use papers. Forgoing papers will get you crispier edges, but with some risk of sticking.
Grate the cheese and toss with the desiccated coconut. Evenly divide this mix among all queijadinhas. The mix will sink inside as it bakes so no need to press it in.
Bake for 25 minutes, rotating halfway through, and check. They should be deeply golden on top and only slightly wobbly when you shake them. A knife inserted should come out clean. If you made 12 larger ones, they will very likely need more time in the oven. If pale in the center of any, continue to bake a few minutes longer.
For the optional topping, mix the sugar and cinnamon powder together and sprinkle over the queijadinhas just after they come out of the oven.
Allow the queijadinhas to rest inside the tins/moulds for about 20 minutes or until just cool enough to handle, then unmould. If using paper, you can likely let them cool completely inside the paper. If not using paper, you’ll probably need to run a butter knife around the edges to unmould.
Storage: The queijadinhas will keep sealed at room temp for 1-2 days.
Serving suggestion: With a cup of coffee, ideally.
I hope you give these wonderful bites a try and experience a rare collaboration between Portuguese and Brazilian palettes.
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