Pão de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Breads) are wonderful little poufy muffins that are delicious alongside our Brazilian Black Bean Soup, or as a tasty little snack, well, anytime! Light and airy, they’re like a cheesy-popover or Yorkshire pudding — but even better because they are gluten-free!
Gluten-free and adaptable!
This recipe is so nice because it is gluten-free. Instead of flour, the recipe uses tapioca starch (from yucca root), which is common in Brazil. This “flour” gives the Pão de Queijo a pleasant gummy texture which works well with the melted cheese.
All-in-all, this is a non-fussy recipe that is easily adaptable. At Hipcooks, we love the flavor of coconut oil, and use this frequently as the base oil in the recipe. However, other neutral oils work well, too, like grapeseed or avocado oil. Pão de Queijo can also use up whatever cheese remnants you have: it works well with Parmesan, Pecorino, Gruyere, Swiss, or any mix of hard cheeses. Experiment!
Make now, or make later, or make now and later!
You can certainly whisk up at batch of Pão de Queijo and bake them all for immediate consumption, but what we love about this recipe is how nicely the batter holds. You can bake some now, and then bake more another day. Cover and/or seal the batter and store in the fridge for up to a week. Then it’s just a matter of pre-heating the oven, filling the muffin pan and you’ll have warm Brazilian cheese bread as the perfect snack!
You’ll find that when you hold the batter, it will thicken considerably. That’s the tapioca starch at work! Not to worry — use the thickened batter as you would the fresh one. Scoop it with a spoon if pouring the batter is impossible, or even use your hands to form balls with the batter. It all works! In fact, Hipcooks research shows that 4 out of 5 of our students prefer older batter. The longer you hold the batter, the more even the bake and the pouffier the pouf!
The perfect mini muffin pan for $23
You can make Pão de Queijo in a standard muffin pan, but we find that mini-sized is the perfect pop-in-you-mouth size for a popover. If you don’t have a mini-muffin pan, you can let the batter thicken in the fridge, then scoop out small golf ball sized rounds of the thickened batter and bake on an exopat-lined baking sheet.
Every cook’s kitchen needs one of these. This pan (made in USA) is weighty enough to be sturdy and conduct heat beautifully! The stainless steel is non-stick and will last you many, many great bakes.
We use ours for mini-muffins, cakes, potatoes stacked with goat cheese (yum!), mini-flans, and small quiches. It’s the perfect size for the Brazilian Cheese Breads.
For a diary-free version, you can substitute coconut milk and a non-dairy cheese.
Ingredients
1 cup milk
3 eggs
¾ cup oil (grapeseed or coconut)
1 tablespoon salt
3 cups (14 ounces) tapioca starch
2 cups grated cheese (use pecorino romano, parmesan, gruyere or quatro formaggio)Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Place milk, eggs, oil and salt in a blender and whizz. Add the tapioca starch one cup at a time, blending after each addition. Pour into a bowl and mix in the cheese in by hand.
Spray a muffin pan (a mini-muffin or regular muffin pan) with non-stick cooking spray. Spoon the batter evenly into each cup, filling each about three-quarters to the top. Bake until the Pão de Queijo are puffed and just beginning to brown. (This will take about 15 minutes if you're using a mini-muffin pan and about 30 minutes for a standard muffin pan.) Any leftover batter can be covered and refrigerated up to a week: bake the next batch anytime!
Let the Pão de Queijo cool enough to handle — but enjoy them while they are still warm from the oven and deliciously cheesy!
Notes
1 comment
Can you freeze these?