To celebrate the upcoming World Cup in Brazil, I thought I’d share with you a few family favourites from Brazil that are easy to make with children and loved by children! Having spent a while in Brazil, I have tasted and love all of these. A bite or a sip of either of those brings me back straight to Rio, Curitiba or São Paulo. I hope you enjoy them as much as my family does.

I had my first pão de queijo as a student in the U.K., cooked by my Brazilian neighbour. She was a great cook and was on a mission to have her friends taste them. While in Brazil, I introduced my daughter to them and they were an instant hit. They are crunchy on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside. People eat them for breakfast or as a snack with a drink. You can make them as large or as small as you like. The only tricky thing in baking them is to find the actual flour. Traditionally, it is made with sour cassava flour. But this is hard to find. Tapioca flour works as well and is much more readily available. The added benefit is that they are gluten-free! As for the cheese, the Brazilian queijo Minas is really difficult to find outside of Brazil. I would recommend using cheddar or a mix of parmesan and mozzarella.

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups tapioca flour

2 eggs

1 1/2 cup of cheese

Combine the milk, oil, and salt in the saucepan, and whisking occasionally, bring it to a gentle boil. Remove from heat as soon as you see big bubbles coming through the milk. Add all of the tapioca flour to the saucepan and stir until you see no more dry tapioca flour. The dough will be grainy and gelatinous (i.e. not appetising) at this point.

Transfer the dough to a bowl. Beat the dough for a few minutes (at medium speed if you are using a mixer) until it smooths out and has cooled enough that you can hold your finger against the dough for several seconds. Whisk the eggs together in a small bowl. Beat the eggs into the dough in two additions.

Beat in the cheese until fully incorporated. The resulting dough will be very sticky, stretchy, and soft with a consistency between cake batter and cookie dough. Scoop out small portions to make golf-ball-sized puffs. Place onto a lined baking sheet.

Transfer the sheet with the puffs to the oven and bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes, until the outsides are dry, and they are just starting to color. Cool briefly and eat.

Don’t wait too long to eat them, these do not cool down well but you could always freeze the dough and bake as needed.

We recently made brigadeiros for our daughter’s summer party. They disappeared before we had time to taste them! These little chocolate truffles are made with condensed milk and are a sure favourite for children’s parties. They are a traditional Brazilian treats for birthdays. They are topped with all sorts of fancy toppings from sugar sprinkles to dried fruits or nuts. They are very sweet, so do not make them too large. Perfect for getting the kids involved too.

2 cans of condensed milk (sweetened) – 400g each

35g of cocoa (unsweetened unless you have a very sweet tooth)

2 tablespoons of butter

And as many toppings as you like. We used coconut, hazelnut, sugar
sprinkles. But you can use whatever you like: almonds, pistachios, etc.

Grease a large shallow platter or dish with butter. In a saucepan, heat
condensed milk, cocoa and 2 tablespoons butter to boiling, stirring
constantly with a spoon. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook 10 to 15
minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick and shiny. Pour
mixture into shallow pan; cool completely (refrigerate to firm up
faster).

Use a teaspoon or your hands to scoop the mixture, then use greased
hands to shape into small balls. Roll each ball in coconut or sprinkles.
Place in mini paper cups.

Brazil is full of fruits that exist only there and have no names in other languages. Discovering them through juices was one of the pleasures of our then 2-year-old. If you are after something refreshing and a little surprising, but that you can replicate at home without having to import fruits from Brazil, pineapple and mint is a sure way to taste Brazil in a glass.