Brigadeiros

When I was a little girl, there were commercials for Lindt chocolate on television. I remember how delicious the ribbon of oozing chocolate looked. Back then people watched commercials because they had no choice. There was no skipping ads, or recording shows without a big to-do (specifically a VHS tape, and a VCR). I remember, in the commercial, a guy in a chef's hat stirred the chocolate, lovingly, in romantic lighting. Then it cut to sultry close-ups of the liquid chocolate pouring into a form.

This time, it's 2019, not 1989. Not it's later than it was, and it's getting later still. It's never been quite so late, I think! If you catch my drift, I'm talking about this moment, and how there has never been a better time to make fresh chocolate yourself, at home. No preservatives or emulsifiers added. Just four components: Condensed milk (sugar), cocoa powder, and butter.

For 20 minutes of stirring, it will be you and a wooden spoon. You're going to spend some quality time together. An intense 20 minutes, and then you'll realize that you know how to make chocolate truffles at home, for a tiny fraction of the cost of chocalatiers, and you will realize that the stirring was worth it.