Seriously, how good have the Rio Olympic games been? The beautiful location. The haul of medals. There really has been some awe inspiring performances achieved in the shadow of Sugarloaf Mountain which towers over the golden sands of Copacabana Beach.
Whilst watching Max Whitlock become double Olympic Champion following his amazing floor routine and prowess on the pommel horse the other evening, I knew that Mr E & I needed to mark the games with a traditional Brazilian meal. Now, not knowing anything about Brazilian cuisine, let alone having never travelled to Brazil, I carried out a quick search on Google and found numerous dishes to whet our appetite.
Amongst the desserts and bakes, many of which were heavily ladened with sweetened condensed milk, I found this Quindao (or Quindim). It's a vibrant yellow, coconut rich traditional Brazilian bake which contained just 4 store cupboard ingredients and sounded a doddle to make, perfect for the less than routine week which had greeted us.
Although the hands on time is incredibly minimal with this easy bake, a touch of patience is required whilst the mixture bakes slowly in the oven before being chilled for several hours. However that patience rewards you with an amazing dessert packed with coconut flavour. From the one mixture you are treated to a crisp base (which was the upper surface during the bake), a slightly chewy coconut mixture which is akin to macaroons despite being made with yolks, and a luscious coconut curd like topping! It really is absolutely delicious. If you enjoy coconut you're sure to love this fabulous Brazilian dessert.
We served our quindao with some fresh berries which cut through the richness of the dessert and added an extra pop of colour to the plate too. It's such an easy, stress-free dessert which would be perfect to make ahead of time when entertaining guests.
OK, I must admit that our Quindao does look somewhat different to the image in the original recipe, with ours being topped with a coconut like curd, and I suspect this is largely down to the baking dish I used. The original recipe would have happily serve 12 to 15 people which would have been somewhat frivolous just for Mr E & I, and so we
looked at scaling back the quantity. As the author highlighted in her notes that an oven-proof glass dish produces a slightly creamier dessert and went onto comment that it was easier to
unmould from a glass container than a metal one, I searched the Only Crumbs Remain kitchen
for oven-safe glass baking dishes and found a Pyrex mixing bowl and a
group of GU individual dessert containers. The latter would have been a
perfect size for an individual portion but, alas, they would no
doubt have been affected by the lip on the inside of the dish. And so, our Pyrex mixing bowl was used to make this coconut rich
Brazilian dessert. The curved base of the bowl produced a slightly domed dessert which meant that our dessert was deeper in the centre than at the sides, causing, I suspect, the delicious curd. If you'd prefer your quindao to be completely cooked through, like with the original recipe, I'd suggest using a flat based glass baking dish.
Now, when you come to read the recipe below (which I hope you will because it's an absolute breeze to make and oh so delicious to eat) you will notice that a large number of eggs are used! Six yolks plus one whole egg! In fact the original recipe used 12 yolks and two whole eggs! Given that this Quindao serves around 6-8 people I wouldn't be too concerned with the calories and fat content (being around 1 egg yolk per serving) but you may wonder what to do with all of those remaining egg whites, other than freeze them (egg whites freeze well in an airtight container) or bake the obvious pavlova or meringue. Well, cast your eyes over this delicious collection of ideas, all from fabulous UK food bloggers.
- Dark Chocolate Amaretti Biscuits from Charlottes Lively Kitchen
- Fortune Cookies also from Charlottes Lively Kitchen
- Langues du Chat Biscuits from me, Only Crumbs Remain
- Tuiles from Tales From the Kitchen Shed
- Ile Flottante (Floating Islands) from Pebble Soup
Clearly our quindao was a little larger than we
would have ideally liked, but it allowed us to share this traditional
Brazilian dessert with neighbours who thoroughly enjoyed it as much as we did with the mixed berries. Although this bake was made to mark the amazing achievements of the athletes out in Rio, it certainly wouldn't be out of place when served at any special occasion.
Let's get to it and bake!

Hands on time: 10 mins Cook time: 1 hour 10 mins - 1 hour 20 mins Yield: 6 - 8 slices
- 1 x Baking Dish (ideally oven-safe glass). I used an 8" diameter Pyrex mixing bowl.
- Food Processor / Blender or Stick Blender
Ingredients:
- 75g Butter, unsalted & softened, plus extra for greasing
- 100g Shredded Coconut Flakes, plus 1-2 tbsp extra for serving
- 200g Sugar, plus 2 tbsp extra
- 6 Egg Yolks
- 1 Whole Egg
- Fresh Mixed Berried (optional)
a) The egg whites can be frozen in an airtight container until required. Mark the container with the number of whites contained. b) If using a flat bottomed baking dish rather than a mixing bowl, consider that the bake time may be reduced as the quindao won't be as deep in the centre. c) De-mould the quindao just before serving.
Charlotte Oates
This sounds so amazing, I love coconut and I love custard so I'd imagine this tastes so yummy 🙂
Thanks for featuring my amaretti and fortune cookies for using up egg whites. It's such a shame you can't buy liquid yolks in the supermarket the same as you can with whites, I'm terrible at actually getting around to making things with my leftovers and find that they can go to waste.
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
It really is absolutely amazing Charlotte, I loved the flavours and the varying textures of it as I bit through it....and its so so easy to make too 🙂
You're welcome, I always think it's useful to have a few ideas up your sleeves for using egg whites especially if your having a good baking day like my mum and grandma would often do once every few weeks.
Thanks for your lovely comment Charlotte,
Angela x
Eb Gargano
Haha...you know how much I like a happy accident 🙂 This dessert looks incredible - I love how much I am learning about Brazilian cuisine from all the blogger recipes!! Looking forward to seeing your savoury recipe 🙂 Thanks for linking up to #CookBlogShare. Eb x
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
So do I Eb, the "oh bother" when I saw it hadn't fully cooked through quickly turned into an "oh yum" when I tried the 'curd' and realised what had happened. The curd really adds a delicious extra dimention to the dessert. Isn't it just great learning about new foods, I really had no idea about Brazilian food before now. The savoury dish was another winner for us Eb, I'm hoping for it to be published in the next day or two 🙂
Thanks for hosting Eb,
Angela x
Sarah James
Wow, what a delicious looking dessert Angela, well worth waiting for. I love discovering new recipes I've never tried before, this is going on my to try list. Thanks for including my tuiles recipe x
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
It was absolutely delicious Sarah. The curd which was in the bottom of the bowl and ultimitely sat on the top of the dessert was such a happy accident. There are so many different cuisines and foods which I've never tried and to come across a dessert, having been inspired by the Olympics, which used everyday ingredients, was such a treat and has made me keen to try other recipes from over seas. If you enjoy coconut Sarah I'm sure you'll love this as much as we did. I'd love to see an image of it when it gets to the top of your 'to try' list.
Thanks for popping by, and your welcome for the link to your lovely tuiles,
Angela x