What Are the Different Types of Brazilian Desserts?

Brazilian cuisine has many dessert options, including fruit desserts, nut desserts and breaded desserts like cakes, pastries, and pies. They also have frozen desserts, puddings, and desserts from made sweet corn and cereal. Cakes and puddings, flavored with fruit, spices and creamy fillings, are among the most popular types of Brazilian desserts.

For fans of light dessert options, fresh or cooked fruit make popular ingredients in Brazilian food, including desserts. Lots of different fruits can be included in Brazilian desserts, but the most common ones include coconut, banana and guava, passion fruit, and mixed berries. Plates of fruit, like passion fruit, served with cheese are a popular light dessert choice in Brazil. For those who prefer desserts that are somewhat more decadent, types of Brazilian desserts include a wide selection of heavy dessert indulgences, including rich cakes and pastries with fruit as well as fruit pies.

Cakes, which are called bolos, are extremely popular and common Brazilian desserts. This type of cuisine offers cakes of many shapes that are flavored with a wide selection of ingredients, including carrot, guava and orange, sweet flavors like chocolate, cinnamon and passion fruit. Cheesecake is another popular dessert in Brazil.

Brazilian cakes are not limited to the standard cake flour and frosting variety. Alternate starches, such as corn and cassava, are frequently mixed into cake flour, changing the flavor and texture of the cake. Some cakes are sliced into thin layers and rolled with a filling, often fruit or chocolate mousse, spread inside. Toppings on Brazilian cakes include cinnamon, hot melted chocolate or fudge, and chocolate truffle spread, which is sometimes covered with chocolate sprinkles as well, resulting in a brigadeiro cake.

The brigadeiro cake has its name because it is covered in sprinkles to resemble candies called brigadeiro, which are chocolate truffles rolled in chocolate sprinkles. Candies, particularly truffles, are highly sought-after Brazilian desserts. Truffles are technically made with chocolate, but in Brazil, truffle-like candies are made with rolled coconut and nuts instead of creamy chocolate.

Corn and rice cereal served with fruit and hot sweetened milk is a simple but popular dessert choice in Brazil. Rice is also used to make rice pudding, which can come in vanilla and chocolate, or creamy fruit flavors like coconut and banana. Another popular pudding is doce de leite, a dish of caramelized sweetened condensed milk which is known by many names, including dulce de leche, manjar, and cajeta. Corn can also be used to make puddings that are similar to rice puddings.