QuindimCoconut Egg Custard
Glossy Baked Custards of Egg Yolks, Coconut and Sugar.
Quindim's bright gold dome and dark history both come from Bahia: a custard built almost entirely from egg yolks and coconut, born in the sugar kitchens of the Northeast and named from a Bantu word for a beloved gesture. It is dessert as inheritance — glossy, dense, and unmistakably itself.
Ingredients
- 8 egg yolks
- 1 whole egg
- 200 g sugar
- 100 g desiccated coconut
- 30 g unsalted butter, softened, for the molds
- 1 tbsp sugar, extra, for dusting the molds
Method
- Prep the moldsButter 12 mini muffin cups generously and dust with the extra sugar, tapping out the excess. The sugar layer becomes the glossy top.
- Make the batterWhisk the yolks, whole egg, and sugar just until smooth — do not beat in air. Stir in the coconut and leave to hydrate 10 minutes.
- Fill and bakeDivide among the molds and set them in a roasting pan of hot water. Bake at 160°C for 30 to 35 minutes until just set with a slight tremble in the center.
- Chill and invertCool in the pan, then chill 2 hours. Run a knife around each and invert onto plates — the caramelized sugar top should gleam.
Questions
How long does Quindim take?
About 20 minutes of prep and 35 minutes of cooking — 55 minutes total, yielding 12 mini custards.
Why is my quindim pale on top?
The glossy dark top comes from the butter-and-sugar mold and gentle baking in a water bath. Under-browning means too cool an oven; foamy tops mean the eggs were beaten too hard.
Can I make one large quindim instead of minis?
Yes — a 20 cm ring works; bake 45 to 50 minutes at the same 160°C until just set. Cool fully before inverting.