“Um ovo, dois ovos, três ovos assim!” The lyrics above are from a Brazilian Easter song for children. It translates to something like this: “Easter bunny, what are you bringing me?”, and the bunny answers: “One egg, two eggs, three eggs just like these!”. It’s Easter time and, for Brazilians, that means LOTS of chocolate. Especially in the form of oversized chocolate eggs (Ovos de Páscoa, in Portuguese), just like the song says. Walk into any Brazilian grocery store at this time of the year and, if you’re tall like me (or over 5’11”), you’ll probably have to duck. Hanging from the ceilings, up and down the aisles, are lots of HUGE (football-sized) chocolate eggs, wrapped in colorful and metallic paper. They are usually hollow and have toys or bonbons inside. Families and friends from all over the country will be exchanging delicious chocolate eggs this year. And me? Well, even though I could go to a Brazilian store here in NY to buy an egg, I decided to be adventurous and make my own. But not any kind! Oh no, that would be so lame! I made chocolate egg filled with BRIGADEIRO! You’re welcome! ?
I realize that I should have posted this a few weeks ago, so you could have time to order the egg mold online (assuming you don’t already own one!). Oh well, there’s always next year. Or, if you’re always late to the trends like me, you could still make a few of these and give them as belated Easter gifts to your loved ones. Ooooor you can just make it and devour it by yourself! ??? Because, trust me, once you taste it, you will be tempted to!
I know the title of this recipe is a little deceiving, since I’m sharing the recipe for one half of a chocolate egg. But you can totally double the recipe and make two halves and then wrap it just like the Brazilian oversized eggs that you see in the grocery stores. (Although you would probably have to seal each half with more chocolate so the brigadeiro doesn’t slide all over.) I prefer to gift them separately, one half per gift, displayed in a nice basket or box, with a colorful plastic spoon so one could eat the soft serve brigadeiro before biting into the egg. I also realize a 2-pound egg is not for the faint of heart, so in the instructions below, I’m giving the option of making two one-pound eggs. Go ahead and divide it even further, making four 1/2-pound eggs or even smaller, depending on what size molds you have. And, please, don’t be intimidated at the idea of “making” chocolate. Tempering chocolate is not as hard as it sounds and the results don’t have to be “store perfect” at first. Homemade beats store-bought every single time! Don’t you agree? Besides, once you start making these, it will quickly become your favorite Easter tradition. And practice makes perfect! So in a few years from now, I expect you to have opened your own Easter Chocolate Eggs business and are on your way to becoming a billionaire. Deal? Deal! Have an eggcellent Easter!
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
