Leite de onça

Ingredients

The base

• 400 gsweetened condensed milk
• one tin
• 400 mlwhole milk
• or evaporated milk

The spirit

• 300 mlcachaça
• or to taste
• or 200 ml cachaça for a lighter drink

The cocoa

• 4 tablespoonscocoa powder
• unsweetened
• or 100 ml crème de cacao
• 2 tablespoonssugar, if needed

To serve

• plenty of ice
• a dusting of cocoa
• or ground cinnamon
• at a festa junina

Directions

1. Put the cocoa powder in a small bowl. Add a little of the milk to it. Work it into a smooth thick paste. Add it in a spoonful at a time. Work it smooth before adding more. Add more milk gradually to the paste.
2. Whisk it until it is completely smooth. There should be no lumps left at all. Put the condensed milk in a blender. Add the rest of the milk to it. Add the smooth cocoa mixture to it. Add the cachaca in last of all.
3. Blend the base first and taste it. Blending it takes only a moment. Blend it until it is completely smooth. Give it about thirty seconds only.
4. Blend it again briefly before serving. Judging the drink takes a taste. Add more milk if it is too thick. Add more condensed milk if it is not sweet enough. Add more cachaca if it tastes flat. Too little cachaca gives a chocolate milk.
5. Taste it first before deciding. Pour it into a jug or a bottle. Refrigerate it for at least three hours. Warm it tastes cloying and heavy. Cold it is refreshing despite the richness.
6. Shake or stir it before every pour. Serving it is always done cold. Fill tall glasses right up with ice.
7. Pour the cold drink over the ice. Serving it very cold without ice works well. Dust cocoa powder over the top. It is drunk cold at June festivals.

Technique

• The name means jaguar’s milk and has no connection to any jaguar; it is a nickname rather than a description, as many Brazilian drinks carry.
• Cachaça is distilled from fresh sugar cane juice, which distinguishes it from rum, most of which is distilled from molasses; that gives cachaça a grassier fresher character, and unaged clear cachaça is the usual choice for mixing.
• Cocoa powder does not dissolve in cold liquid and clumps into floating lumps, so work it into a smooth paste with a little milk added a spoonful at a time before loosening it with the rest.

Substitutions

• Crème de cacao in place of cocoa powder adds flavour and more alcohol at once.
• Evaporated milk stands in for fresh milk and makes it richer.

Variations

• The proportion of cachaça varies enormously between households.
• Some versions are dusted with cinnamon rather than cocoa.
• It is served over ice or very cold without, and both are done.

History

A festa junina drink of Minas Gerais and the interior; the name means jaguar’s milk.

Frequently asked questions

What is Leite de onça?

Leite de onça is a cocktail from Brazil: cachaça blended with condensed milk, milk and cocoa, served cold. A festa junina drink of Minas Gerais and the interior; the name means jaguar’s milk.

How long does Leite de onça take to make?

Leite de onça takes 10 minutes of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes serves 8. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Leite de onça?

Yes, within limits. Crème de cacao in place of cocoa powder adds flavour and more alcohol at once. Evaporated milk stands in for fresh milk and makes it richer.

What is the most important thing to get right in Leite de onça?

The name means jaguar’s milk and has no connection to any jaguar; it is a nickname rather than a description, as many Brazilian drinks carry.