Raisins are a fall in the love it or hate it category, at least in Brazil. Especially during Christma’s time, there are waves of cyberbullying from those who love them to the ones who hate them. And back, of course.
In Brazilian cuisine, raisins help bring personality to a lot of preparations, from salads to desserts and even the traditional farofa. Check out four recipes with the ingredient:
King’s cake: The typical cake of Twelfth Night, 6 of January.
8 portions
1 hour
Easy/ medium
- 1 CUP RAISINS
- ½ CUP PRUNES
- ½ CUP DRIED APRICOTS
- ZEST OF 2 ORANGES
- 3 TABLESPOON COGNAC
- 200 G BUTTER
- 1 CUP BROWN SUGAR
- 4 EGGS
- 1 CUP MILK
- 2 CUPS WHEAT FLOUR
- 1 TABLESPOON BAKING POWDER
- ½ TEASPOON CINNAMON
- ⅓ CUP CHOPPED WALNUTS
- CANDIED FRUIT FOR DECORATION
FROSTING
- 2½ CUP POWDERED SUGAR
- 4 TABLESPOON ORANGE JUICE
Put raisins, prunes, apricot and orange zest to soak in cognac. In the mixer bowl, put the butter and then whisk until creamy. Keep the mixer on and add the brown sugar and the egg yolks, one by one. Turn the mixer off, add the milk and whisk it manually. Add the flour, the baking powder, the fruits that were soaking in cognac, the cinnamon, the chestnuts and the whipped egg whites. Place the dough in a pan (24 cm) with a hole in the middle, greased and floured. Bake in a preheated oven at 200° C for 40 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool and unmold. For the icing, mix the sugar with the orange juice. Cover the cake and decorate with candied fruit.
The Brazilian English cake: a classic recipe in confectionery world that dates back to Roman Empire and got this name in Portuguese although is not really an English recipe
8 portions
40 minutes
Easy / medium
- 50 G SEEDLESS RAISINS
- 95 ML RUM
- 150 G CANDIED FRUIT
- 1LIME
- 150 G BUTTER
- 1½ CUP SUGAR
- 4 EGGS
- 2½ CUPS WHEAT FLOUR
- 1½ TABLESPOON BAKING POWDER
- 100 G TOASTED AND PEELED ALMONDS
Mix the raisins with the rum in a pan and put it at low heat tomflambè. Rinse the candied fruit in boiling water for just a few seconds and chop them. Add the zest of the lime to the raisins. Heat a bowl with boiling water. Whisk butter and sugar to get a creamy and homogenous texture. Add the eggs one by one, stirring well. Add the candied fruit, the flour and the baking powder. Grease and flour a rectangular pan and also fill it with baking paper, adding the dough until it fills ¾ of the total capacity of the pan. Spread the almonds over it and put in the pre-heated oven at 200°C for 20 minutes. Low the heat and bake it for more 30 minutes or until you stick a toothpick in the dough and get it off as clean as it was before. Wait until it is cool to take off the paper.
Chicken salad (click to see the recipe): an icon for sunday lunches, barbecue parties and year-end holidays.
Bride’s cake (click here to see the recipe): the recipe that needs to be in every wedding in Pernambuco.
