This Brigadeiro Cake is sponsored by Nestlé.

Ask any Brazilian what is their favorite cake and you will always get the same answer: brigadeiro cake. Absolutely nothing compares to this rich, fudgy, moist chocolate cake! If you love brigadeiro, this is a must-try!

Be still my heart! The cake I’ve been craving for the longest time is finally here. ❤️

I had dreams about brigadeiro cake throughout my whole pregnancy, but couldn’t have it because of my diet restrictions. Well, those restrictions are gone and I’m free to eat whatever I want.

It is also Rebecca’s 3rd month-versary, so I thought it was the perfect occasion to share a cake here on the blog! After all, I survived the infamous “4th trimester” y’all! *bows graciously*

If you know any Brazilians, you know that we are serious about our brigadeiro. It is the nation’s most loved sweet treat and is a must have at any birthday party!

I’m not going to get into the history of brigadeiro, as I already wrote all about it on my “Traditional Brigadeiros” post. Head over there if you wanna learn some more about this beloved docinho, including why it is called “brigadeiro”.

For right now, there is only one thing you should know: we are going all in, y’all!

The brigadeiro cake – which easily feeds a crowd – consists of four layers of a super moist and delicious chocolate cake, filled with soft brigadeiro and covered with even more brigadeiro. ??? As Brazilians would say, it’s “bem brigadeirudo”!

The trick to make a softer brigadeiro for the filling, is adding a can of table cream off the heat, after the brigadeiro is ready.

Table cream is a staple ingredient in Brazilian cuisine and it took me a long time to realize I could find it here in the States. I used to travel all the way to Queens to buy my precious “creme de leite de latinha” (which translates to “canned heavy cream”) at a Brazilian store, since heavy cream wouldn’t cut it for the recipes I wanted to make.

Then, one day I was walking by the hispanic aisle at my neighborhood supermarket when I saw it: the same table cream, the same brand, but a different name: Media Crema.

I couldn’t believe my eyes! And I couldn’t believe one of my favorite ingredients was there all along, right under my nose!

If you’re not familiar with it, Media Crema is a shelf-stable table cream that can be used as an ingredient (or topping) in many savory and sweet dishes.

Unlike the heavy cream, which needs to be refrigerated, the table cream – also known as light cream – can live in your pantry and will last a long time! In fact, before I found out I could find it here in the US, I used to bring back a bunch of cans every time I traveled to Brazil!

It also has a little less fat than heavy cream, around 20% vs 35+% of heavy cream, hence why you can’t make whipped cream with it.

If you plan on making lots of Brazilian dishes – especially our desserts – I would find it in your grocery store and would get familiar with it. You will be using it a lot!

You will notice that the recipe asks you to remove the serum from the table cream. That’s also very common in Brazilian recipes, especially when you want to use the cream to thicken something.

The easiest way to do that is to pop the table cream can (make sure to wash it before doing that) in the freezer for 20 minutes and, when cold, make two small holes with a knife (or can opener) in the bottom of the can. Then, turn the can back up (bottom side down) over a recipient, and all the serum will come out. All that will be left is the pure cream, ready to be used!

This brigadeiro cake might look like a lot – especially when you read the recipe – but a little goes a long way and you’ll be able to feed about 20 people. It is perfect for birthdays or special occasions! You can even make it for Christmas and decorate with red, white and green sprinkles.

I happen to prefer this cake cold, so if you want, you can make this cake the day before you’re planning on serving it! Just let it sit at room temperature for a little while so it’s still cold but not as stiff, as brigadeiro cake is supposed to be very soft and moist.

I hope you guys enjoy this! It is truly my favorite cake in the whole world.

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Brigadeiro Cake

Yield: 12 to 16

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes

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Ingredients

Chocolate Cake

• 8 eggs
• 300ml (about 1 1/3 cups) whole milk
• 255ml (about 1 cup) vegetable oil
• 2 + 1/4 cups brown sugar (360g)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla paste (or 4 teaspoons vanilla extract)
• 2 + 3/4 cups all purpose flour (365g)
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder (37g)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• A pinch of salt

Chocolate Soak (to moisten the cake)

• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cognac

Brigadeiro Filling

• 2 cans (28 oz total) sweet condensed milk
• 280g bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 can Media Crema (225ml), serum removed (*see notes)

Brigadeiro Frosting

• 2 cans (28 oz total) sweet condensed milk
• 300g bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Chocolate sprinkles to decorate

Instructions

Make the Chocolate Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
2. Butter two 8-inch cake pans and line with parchment paper. Brush another layer of butter over the parchment paper circles and then dust with flour, removing the excess. Reserve.
3. In a large bowl, mix the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Then, add the brown sugar and mix again.
4. Sift together all the dry ingredients and add them to the liquids, mixing well with a hand mixer, until there are no lumps left.
5. Divide the batter equally into the two pans and bring them to the oven.
6. Bake for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let it cool to room temperature.

Making the Chocolate Soak

1. Combine all the ingredients (minus vanilla and cognac) in a saucepan. Bring it to the stove, over medium low heat, stirring constantly.
2. When it starts boiling, remove from heat and let it cool down. Then, add the vanilla and cognac. Reserve.

Making the Brigadeiro Filling

1. In a saucepan, combine the sweet condensed milk, chocolate and butter. Cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 10 minutes. (A way to know is to run your wooden spoon - or spatula - across the pan. If you see the bottom of the pan, the brigadeiro is ready!)
2. Remove brigadeiro from heat and add the Media Crema, mixing well.
3. Transfer the brigadeiro to a butter plate and cover with plastric wrap. Reserve until cooled to room temperature.

Brigadeiro Frosting

1. Repeat the steps above, minus the table cream.

Assembling cake

1. Level the cakes and slice each cake into two layers making a total of four layers of cake.
2. Place the bottom layer on a flat serving platter or a cake stand lined with strips of waxed paper to keep it clean while assembling the cake. Brush with the chocolate soak and top with 1/3 of the brigadeiro filling, spreading smoothly with a spatula. Repeat with the next two layers, finishing off with a cake layer brushed with chocolate soak.
3. Bring the cake to the freezer for 30 minutes before frosting.
4. Then, spread the brigadeiro frosting evenly around the side and over the top of the cake. You will have extra to make brigadeiro balls to decorate. Pop that in the fridge so it's easier to roll the balls.
5. Top the cake with chocolate sprinkles, covering both the top and sides.
6. With the remaining brigadeiro frosting, make chocolate balls (it's easier if you grease your hands with butter) and roll them on chocolate sprinkles.
7. Decorate the cake with the brigadeiro balls and serve (or refrigerate overnight).

Notes

To remove the table cream's serum, wash the can and pop it in the freezer for 20 minutes. When cold, make two small holes with a knife (or can opener) in the bottom of the can. Then, turn the can back up (bottom side down) over a recipient, and all the serum will come out.