Colorful, sticky, extremely gooey, and delicious. Quindim (coconut egg custard) is one of the most appreciated Brazilian desserts. It can be found in all churrasquerias (Brazilian steakhouses). 

Quindim is a type of flan or custard typical of the Northeast of Brazil. The dish contains very few, simple ingredients, like egg yolk, sugar, and grated coconut.

The texture of this dessert reminds me of that of the magic cake. While baking, the batter separates into two different densities. The shredded coconut rises, making a crispy top and a creamy, velvety bottom. 

The history of quindim coconut egg custard

Brazilian desserts have a strong influence from the Portuguese starting in the 15th century.

Portuguese nuns were known for making treats to delight their visitors.

At that time, the religious wore habits with large veils. These veils required a lot of egg whites to stiffen them so that they remained upright and rigid.

Because of that, the sisters ended up having large amounts of egg yolks left over that they needed to find a use for. In order to avoid waste, they started making these delicious custards in the convents.

This new dessert was called “Brisas do Lis” (“Lis’ wind”). And they made it with many egg yolks, sugar, and almonds.

When the Portuguese came to colonize Brazil, they came with their favorite recipes, like the recipe for Brisas do Lis from the Portuguese sisters.

The slaves in the kitchen prepared these recipes for their masters. But when preparing Brisas do Lis they had a big problem: a lack of almonds. With all their creativity for gastronomy, African women decided to take advantage of another ingredient that existed in abundance in Brazilian, coconut.

Anyone who likes to cook knows that if we change a small ingredient in a recipe it transforms into another and that is exactly what happened with the traditional Portuguese dessert. 

Quindim, in the Bantu language, possibly meant “the typical gestures, behavior, and humor of adolescent girls.”

To this day, a popular belief in the northeast of Brazil says that “the girl who prepares a quindim for her boyfriend, is going to end up at the altar.”

A delight that makes you fall in love.

Coconut for Brazilian desserts

Cocada, coconut truffles, and candies with coconut flakes, among many others, are already conquering the shelves and the taste of the foreign market.

One of the main raw materials of the industry, coconut is present in various varieties of desserts in Brazil. 

Its production is concentrated mainly in the north and northeast of the country (85%) and it takes five years until the fruit is ready to be picked by the coconut pickers.

Our quindim recipe

Our recipe is the traditional one. Egg yolks, sugar, butter, and dry shredded coconut.

Although there is an abundance of fresh coconuts in Brazil, this recipe is most often made with dry shredded coconut, and 10 to 15 minutes before mixing all the ingredients, it’s hydrated with milk. You can use coconut milk, or whatever milk you have on hand.

Apart from baking, what takes most of the time making this dessert, is separating the egg whites from the yolks.

I find it easier to use my hands, but feel free to use the method you feel most comfortable with. 

After separating the eggs, this dessert comes together pretty quickly, and with very little effort.

Once baked, this Brazilian dessert can be refrigerated or it can be served warm.

Quindim is rich and creamy, a truly indulgent treat that is sure to satisfy any sweet tooth.

How to use up leftover eggwhites

When you make this recipe, you’ll have 10 egg whites left over. So you will undoubtedly want a recipe (or a few) that uses up those leftover egg whites.

You could start with these chocolate French macarons or mini pavlova. Both recipes call for 4 egg whites!

Homemade marshmallows are always a treat. (Our recipe uses 2 egg whites.) And if you haven’t tried this Ecuadorian meringue cream dessert, you will want to save 3 egg whites for that.

How do you measure a large egg white?

One large egg white = roughly 2 Tbsp of egg white.

So if you don’t know what you’re making right away and want to store all the egg whites together, you can easily measure how many egg whites you need for your next project.