Brigadeiro Cupcakes

This Brigadeiro Cupcakes recipe is one of the oldest on my website, and I decided it was time to give it an upgrade with my new favorite chocolate frosting: Briganache.

It’s a combination of brigadeiro and chocolate ganache that’s fudgy, silky, rich, and deeply chocolatey without being overly sweet or buttery. It complements the rich, moist chocolate cupcakes perfectly. If chocolate buttercream isn’t your favorite, you have to try Briganache.

What is Brigadeiro?

I’m from Brazil, where brigadeiro is a classic chocolate confection made with sweetened condensed milk, chocolate, and butter. It can be rolled into truffles, eaten straight from a spoon, or used as a filling or frosting for cakes.

Traditional brigadeiro can be a little tricky to pipe neatly as a frosting, which is why I turn it into Briganache by combining it with chocolate ganache. The ganache makes it smoother, silkier, and much easier to pipe while keeping that rich brigadeiro flavor. I first used it in this Strawberry Chocolate Cake, and I’m not going back! For the brigadeiros on top of these cupcakes, I use my classic brigadeiro recipe, which you can find here.

Why You’ll Love These Brigadeiro Cupcakes

I’ve made many versions of brigadeiro desserts over the years, and I especially love the balance of textures in this one. The cupcake itself stays very soft while the Briganache is rich and fudgy without the heaviness of a traditional buttercream.

• Rich and moist chocolate cupcakes with a soft crumb.
• Silky Briganache frosting made with brigadeiro and chocolate ganache.
• No buttercream, which is great if you prefer a fudgier chocolate frosting.
• Deep chocolate flavor from cocoa, coffee, and two kinds of chocolate.
• Balanced sweetness from a combination of milk and semi-sweet chocolate.
• Classic brigadeiro finish with sprinkles and an optional brigadeiro on top.

Key Ingredients & Why I Use Them

Cocoa powder: I typically use natural unsweetened cocoa powder in the cupcakes, but I’ve also tested them successfully with Dutch-process cocoa. Both will work here.

Hot coffee: Coffee is one of my favorite additions to chocolate cake and cupcake batter because it intensifies the cocoa without making the finished cupcakes taste strongly like coffee. Hot water works if you don’t want to use coffee.

Oil: I prefer a neutral oil such as vegetable or canola oil for these cupcakes. It helps create a very moist, soft crumb and keeps the cupcakes tender even after refrigeration.

Sweetened condensed milk: This is the foundation of the brigadeiro portion of the Briganache and gives it that distinctive creamy, fudgy sweetness.

Table cream: I use Brazilian-style table cream, such as Nestlé Media Crema, to make the brigadeiro softer and creamier. You can usually find it in the Latin foods or baking aisle at the grocery store.

Chocolate: Chocolate is a major part of the flavor of Briganache, so use one you actually enjoy eating. For the ganache, I like a 50/50 combination of milk and semi-sweet chocolate. It gives me plenty of chocolate flavor without making the frosting too sweet.

Heavy cream: This emulsifies with the chocolate to make the ganache portion of the Briganache smooth and silky.

How to Make Brigadeiro Cupcakes

The full measurements and instructions are in the recipe card below, but here’s how I make these step by step. The cupcakes themselves are very straightforward. Most of your attention should go toward cooking the brigadeiro to the correct consistency and giving the finished Briganache enough time to set before piping.

Make the Chocolate Cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a cupcake pan with liners.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into a large bowl.

Mix the Wet Ingredients

In a separate medium bowl or measuring cup, whisk the egg, milk, oil, and vanilla until combined.

Add the Coffee and Mix

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and whisk everything together. Add the hot brewed coffee and continue whisking until the batter is smooth.

The batter will become very thin once the coffee is added. That’s exactly what it’s supposed to look like, so don’t be tempted to add additional flour.

Fill the Cupcake Pan

Divide the batter between the cupcake liners, filling each only about halfway. This batter rises quite a bit, so I don’t recommend filling them as high as you might with other cupcake recipes.

Bake!

Bake for about 18 minutes, until the tops spring back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let the cupcakes cool briefly in the pan, then transfer them to a wire rack. They need to be completely cool before you add the Briganache.

Make the Brigadeiro

This process will make enough brigadeiro mixture for just the frosting. If you want to make the actual brigadeiro fudge for decorating the cupcakes, I recommend you follow along to that recipe here! Or you could try doubling the recipe, pull half aside for the frosting, and let the other half keep cooling for the brigadeiro toppings. So let’s start.

Add the sweetened condensed milk, table cream, and 75 grams of chopped chocolate to a medium saucepan.

Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a silicone spatula, for about 15 minutes.

This isn’t a mixture I walk away from. You need to keep the spatula moving across the bottom and sides of the pan so the condensed milk doesn’t stick or scorch.

Cook

As the brigadeiro cooks, it will gradually become thicker. The final consistency matters more than the exact cooking time.

I look for the brigadeiro to heavily coat the back of a spoon and fall from the spatula in a slow, thick ribbon. If you stop cooking it while it’s still too loose, the finished Briganache may not become firm enough to pipe.

Once it reaches that consistency, remove it from the heat and set it aside while you prepare the ganache.

Make the Chocolate Ganache

Place the 450 grams of chopped chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. I like using 225 grams milk chocolate and 225 grams semi-sweet chocolate for a balanced flavor.

Melt the Chocolate & Add the Cream

Gently melt the chocolate in the microwave in 20-second intervals, stirring between each interval. You can also melt it over a double boiler.

Meanwhile, warm the heavy cream to approximately 105ºF (40ºC). The cream doesn’t need to boil; it only needs to be warm enough to help everything emulsify smoothly.

Mix Well

Pour the warm cream over the melted chocolate and whisk gently until the mixture is completely smooth and glossy.

Turn It Into Briganache

Now comes the part that makes this frosting different.

Add the warm brigadeiro directly to the chocolate ganache. Using an electric mixer, beat on low speed for about 2 minutes, until the mixture is completely smooth and evenly combined.

At this point, the Briganache will still be fairly soft. Cover it and let it cool until it becomes thick enough to pipe.

The exact amount of time this takes will depend quite a bit on your kitchen. A warm room will keep it soft longer, while a cooler kitchen will help it firm up much faster.

Before filling your piping bag, test the consistency. It should come out smoothly but hold a defined swirl without slumping.

Make Sure To Get the Right Briganache Consistency

Briganache isn’t difficult to make, but its consistency changes considerably with temperature. These are the things I pay attention to every time I make it.

• Cook the brigadeiro until it’s properly thick. It should heavily coat a spoon and fall from the spatula in a slow, thick ribbon. Undercooked brigadeiro can result in Briganache that’s too soft.
• Use good chocolate. Since there’s a lot of chocolate in this frosting, its flavor really matters. I prefer combining milk and semi-sweet chocolate.
• Don’t boil the heavy cream. Warm it gently to about 105ºF (40ºC).
• Give it time to set. Freshly mixed Briganache will be soft. Let it cool until it can hold a piped shape.
• Pay attention to your room temperature. Setting time can vary quite a bit depending on how warm your kitchen is.
• Don’t try to pipe it too early. If the swirl doesn’t hold its shape, the Briganache simply needs more time.
  If it becomes too firm, don’t heat the entire batch. Warm just a few tablespoons for a few seconds, then stir that softened portion back into the rest.
• Plan ahead if you refrigerate it. Chilled Briganache becomes very firm. Take it out about 2 to 4 hours before decorating, or until it reaches a pipeable consistency.

Assemble and Decorate the Cupcakes

Make sure the chocolate cupcakes are completely cool before decorating. Even a slightly warm cupcake can soften the Briganache enough to make your piping lose its shape.

Transfer the Briganache to a piping bag fitted with your favorite piping tip and pipe it generously over each cupcake.

Finish with chocolate sprinkles, and if you want the full brigadeiro experience, place a chocolate brigadeiro right on top.

I love the brigadeiro on top because it gives you two different versions of the same Brazilian dessert in one cupcake: the classic chewy truffle and the silky Briganache frosting.

Storage & Make Ahead

These cupcakes are a good candidate for making ahead, but keep in mind that Briganache becomes quite firm when refrigerated.

Store assembled cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Before serving, let them sit at room temperature for a little while so the cupcake softens and the Briganache returns to its creamy, fudgy texture.

If you’ve made the Briganache ahead and refrigerated it separately, remove it from the refrigerator about 2 to 4 hours before you plan to decorate, or until it’s soft enough to pipe.

You can also freeze the assembled cupcakes in an airtight container for up to 1 to 2 months. Thaw them overnight in the refrigerator, then let them come closer to room temperature before serving.

Another option is to freeze the chocolate cupcakes and Briganache separately and assemble everything after thawing.

Variations

I prefer these cupcakes exactly as written, but there are a few easy adjustments you can make without changing the basic recipe.

Use all semi-sweet chocolate: This will give the Briganache a deeper chocolate flavor and make it less sweet.

Use more milk chocolate: If you prefer a sweeter, creamier chocolate flavor, adjust the milk-to-semi-sweet ratio accordingly.

Skip the coffee: Replace it with the same amount of hot water. The cupcakes will still work beautifully.

Skip the brigadeiro decoration: The cupcake already has plenty of brigadeiro flavor from the Briganache, so the truffle on top is completely optional.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Brigadeiro Recipes

If this is your first time baking with brigadeiro, my classic Brigadeiro Recipe is a good place to learn more about the traditional version and the different consistencies you can achieve depending on how you cook it. Check out all of my other brigadeiro recipes here.

These cupcakes are also part of a much longer story for me. The original version of this recipe was one of the earliest recipes on my website, and brigadeiro itself is something I grew up eating in Brazil. Updating the cupcakes with Briganache feels like a fitting way to keep that original recipe here while making it much closer to the way I like to bake now.

If you make these Brigadeiro Cupcakes, leave a rating or comment below and let me know how they turned out. And if you share them on Instagram, tag me so I can see them!

Brigadeiro Cupcakes

Camila Hurst

Rich and moist Brigadeiro Cupcakes topped with silky Briganache frosting, a fudgy combination of classic Brazilian brigadeiro and chocolate ganache, then finished with chocolate sprinkles and a brigadeiro on top.

5 from 13 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 45 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Cooling/Setting Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 3 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine brazilian

Servings 12 cupcakes

Calories 650 kcal

Ingredients

 

Chocolate Cupcake Batter

• 1 cup all-purpose flour 127g
• 1 cup granulated sugar 200g
• ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder 33g
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 large egg
• ½ cup milk 120ml
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil 80ml, such as canola oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ cup hot brewed coffee or hot water 120ml

Brigadeiro (for Briganache)

• 1½ cans sweetened condensed milk 594g
• 600 g table cream see notes
• 75 g semi-sweet or milk chocolate chopped

Chocolate Ganache

• 450 g chocolate chopped, I use 225g milk chocolate and 225g semi-sweet chocolate
• 200 g heavy cream

To Decorate

• Milk chocolate brigadeiros optional, see notes or recipe here

Instructions

 

Chocolate Cupcakes

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
• Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into a large bowl.
• In a separate medium bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the egg, milk, oil, and vanilla extract.
• Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and whisk until combined.
• Add the hot coffee and whisk until the batter is smooth. The batter will be very thin.
• Divide the batter between the cupcake liners, filling each about halfway.
• Bake for about 18 minutes, or until the tops spring back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let them cool briefly in the pan before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Brigadeiro Ganache

• Add the sweetened condensed milk, table cream, and 75g chopped chocolate to a medium saucepan.
• Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a silicone spatula, for about 15 minutes.
• Continue cooking until the brigadeiro has thickened considerably. It should fall from the spatula in a slow, thick ribbon and heavily coat the back of a spoon. Don’t stop stirring at any point or it will stick to the bottom of the bowl.
• Remove from the heat and set aside while you prepare the chocolate ganache.
• Place the 450g chopped chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Melt gently in the microwave in 20-second intervals, stirring between each interval, or melt over a double boiler.
• Heat the heavy cream until it reaches approximately 105ºF (40ºC).
• Pour the warm cream over the melted chocolate and whisk gently until completely smooth and glossy.
• Add the warm brigadeiro to the chocolate ganache.
• Using an electric mixer, beat on low speed for about 2 minutes, until completely smooth and evenly combined.
• Cover the Brigadeiro Ganache and let it cool until it reaches a thick, pipeable consistency.
• If you refrigerate the ganache, it will become quite firm. Remove it from the refrigerator about 2 to 4 hours before using, or until it has softened enough to pipe.

To Assemble and Decorate

• Make sure the cupcakes are completely cool before decorating.
• Transfer the Brigadeiro Ganache to a piping bag fitted with your desired piping tip.
• Pipe the ganache generously over each cupcake.
• Top with sprinkles.
• If desired, finish each cupcake with a chocolate brigadeiro on top.

Notes

Cocoa Powder: You can use either natural unsweetened cocoa powder or Dutch-process cocoa powder in this recipe. I typically use natural cocoa powder, but I have tested the cupcakes with Dutch-process cocoa with good results as well.

Coffee: The coffee enhances the chocolate flavor without making the cupcakes taste strongly of coffee. You can substitute it with an equal amount of hot water.

Cupcake Batter: The batter will be very thin after adding the hot coffee. This is normal. Only fill the cupcake liners about halfway to prevent them from overflowing.

Table Cream: Brazilian table cream, such as Nestlé Media Crema, works well for the brigadeiro portion of this recipe. You can usually find it in the Latin foods aisle or baking aisle of most grocery stores.

Chocolate: For the 450g of chocolate used in the ganache, I like to use 225g milk chocolate and 225g semi-sweet chocolate. You can adjust the ratio depending on how sweet or intense you want the chocolate flavor to be.

Brigadeiro Ganache Consistency: The ganache will continue to thicken as it cools. If refrigerated, it will become quite firm, so let it sit at room temperature until soft enough to pipe.

Brigadeiro Decoration: For the brigadeiros on top, I used a batch of milk chocolate brigadeiros. You can find my brigadeiro recipe here.

To Freeze: Place assembled cupcakes in an airtight container and freeze for up to 1 to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. You can also freeze the cupcakes and Brigadeiro Ganache separately and assemble them after thawing.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupcakeCalories: 650kcal

Keyword brigadeiro, buttercream, chocolate, cupcakes

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