Brazil’s national sweet has hit Australia.
Imagine fudge. Now combine it with a chocolate truffle, mix it with condensed milk and butter, then roll it in flaked almonds, raw coconut or milk chocolate splinters. What you have now isn’t some kind of Frankenstein-style chocolate nightmare; it’s a Sweet Stone brigadeiro. And it’s delicious.
The brigadeiros Barbara Cardoso recalls from her childhood in Brazil were a staple found at every single event or celebration.
“They were literally condensed milk, butter and a Nesquik-sort of powder,” she says. “The chocolate powder wasn’t that good, and they were always too sweet.”
Inspired by a crop of dedicated artisanal brigadeiro shops she saw popping up back home, she sought to invest in premium ingredients to lift the sweet from basic to brilliant in Australia. After locking down a supplier of sustainable Fair Trade-certified Belgian Callebaut and French Cacao Barry couverture chocolate, and experimenting with flavours and styles, Cardoso and her partner Ross Capsanis settled on seven premium expressions of the brigadeiro and launched Sweet Stone in 2014 on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
Velvety smooth with a ganache-like texture, slight chew and gloss, Cardoso’s product is exceptional. A gift box of mixed flavours may include chai-spiced, original, almond, coconut, a dual flavour combining Ecuadorian dark chocolate and white chocolate or a Mayan variety with a touch of cayenne pepper. The sweets come presented in selections of four, eight, 15 or 30 and arrive in a neatly designed box, each stone nestled in its own compartment. We recommend going large, really large, to save yourself from instantly ordering more.
Sweet Stone ship Australia-wide and are available online at sweetstone.com.au
