Quindim

Ingredients

Custard

• 12egg yolks
• 1whole egg
• 300 gsugar
• 100 gfresh grated coconut, or desiccated
• 40 gbutter, melted
• 200 mlcoconut milk
• 1 tspvanilla, optional

Moulds

• butter and sugar, for lining

Equipment

• small ring or dariole moulds
• a roasting tin for the bain-marie

To serve

• on its own, with coffee

Directions

1. Mix the sugar with the grated coconut. Add the strained yolks, the whole egg, the melted butter and the coconut milk and stir gently.
2. Stir it rather than whisking, and do not beat any air into it at all. Bubbles rise during baking and give a foamy, pocked surface instead of a mirror-smooth glossy top.
3. Skim off any foam from the surface before pouring. Butter the moulds generously and coat them with sugar, tapping out the excess.
4. Coat them thoroughly, because a quindim that sticks is impossible to turn out intact. Pour the mixture into the moulds, filling them nearly to the top.
5. Set the moulds in a roasting tin and pour hot water around them to come halfway up. It keeps the custard below boiling, and direct heat would curdle it into scrambled egg.
6. Bake at 160°C (320°F) for 35 to 45 minutes. Keep the oven low and never let the water in the tin boil, which is the same principle. It is ready when the top is set and lightly golden and the centre barely wobbles.
7. Take them out and let them cool completely in the moulds. Now chill them for at least 4 hours, and overnight is better. Serve them cold, with coffee, and eat them in small portions because they are extremely rich.

Technique

• Fresh grated coconut gives a noticeably better texture than desiccated.
• Twelve yolks for twelve small sweets is not a mistake, and the whites go into meringues or omelettes.
• They keep four days refrigerated and the surface stays glossy.

Substitutions

• Desiccated coconut soaked briefly in the coconut milk.
• One large ring mould in place of individual ones, as a quindão.

Variations

• Quindão, made large in a ring mould.
• With a splash of coconut liqueur.
• Made without coconut, as the plainer Portuguese ancestor.

History

Coconut and egg-yolk custard descended from Portuguese convent sweets; the name is traced to a Bantu word for charm or delicacy.

Frequently asked questions

What is Quindim?

Quindim is a dessert from Brazil: glossy baked custard of egg yolk, sugar and coconut. Coconut and egg-yolk custard descended from Portuguese convent sweets; the name is traced to a Bantu word for charm or delicacy.

How long does Quindim take to make?

Quindim takes 20 min plus 4 hr chilling of preparation and 45 min of cooking. The recipe makes 12 small quindins. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Quindim?

Yes, within limits. Desiccated coconut soaked briefly in the coconut milk. One large ring mould in place of individual ones, as a quindão.

What is the most important thing to get right in Quindim?

Mix the sugar with the grated coconut. Add the strained yolks, the whole egg, the melted butter and the coconut milk and stir gently.