Pudim de Tapioca – Brazilian Tapioca Pudding Recipe

This post is sponsored by my awesome amigos over at Bob’s Red Mill! We’re using Small Tapioca Pearls to make this comforting Brazilian Tapioca Pudding recipe. As always, recipe, ideas and all opinions are my own. Thanks Bob’s Red Mill Família!!

Oi Gente!

Tapioca pudding is a classic dessert all over the world, and today I’ll show you the Brazilian way to make it. I’m talking all the creaminess, milkiness and sweetness you already know, with a different shape, texture and a touch of coconut. It’s comfort food at its best!

Brazilian Tapioca Pudding Recipe

What is Brazilian Tapioca Pudding?

Brazilian tapioca pudding, or how we say it in Portuguese, pudim de tapioca, is not much different from any other classic tapioca pudding recipe. It’s milky, sweet, and creamy. The difference is in the almost certain presence of coconut, the way its cooked, and the final texture. As you can see in the photos, the Brazilian Tapioca pudding holds its shape like a baked custard. Kinda like a flan! And also like a flan, it has a perfect caramelized sugar sauce all over to make it even more delicious. Aiiii meu Deus!!

Brazilian Tapioca Pudding Recipe

Strangely, pudim de tapioca wasn’t really a tradition in my home when I was growing up. My mom mostly preferred making flan, and we obviously never complained. I had literally no idea what I was missing out until recently!

Now I make pudim de tapioca very often, to catch up on what I’ve been missing and to create not only a tradition, but awesome everlasting memories around it.

I hope you love this sweet treat as much as I do!

Beijinhos xx

Bom Apetite!

Brazilian Tapioca pudding recipe

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Brazilian Tapioca Pudding Ingredients

Brazilian Tapioca Pudding Recipe

Brazilian Kitchen Abroad is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

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How to Make Tapioca Pudding Brazilian Style

This Brazilian tapioca pudding recipe may look complicated because there sure are a lot of steps, but I promise you, it’s actually not hard at all to make. There are 17 steps for making it from start to finish, and I’ve split the info into 5 parts to make it easier for you to go through. Just like other baked goods, always start by preheating your oven to 350F. Now, let’s do this!!!

Making the Pudding

Step 1 Add the eggs, the vanilla, and the condensed milk to a blender.

Step 2 Pulse until well combined. Then, leave it covered and set aside.

Step 3 – Use the empty can of condensed milk to measure 2 “cans” of milk (yup! That’s how Brazilian grandma’s roll). Then, add that milk, the coconut milk, the dried coconut, and the salt to a medium pan over medium heat.

Step 4 – Bring it to a gentle boil.

Then, get your Bob’s Redmil Small Tapioca Pearls.

Brazilian Tapioca Pudding Recipe

Step 5 – Add the tapioca pearls to the pan.

Step 6 – Reduce the heat, and stir continuously until the tapioca hydrates and doubles in size – approx 5 mins. Turn off the heat and cover the pan. Stir every now and then to promote even hydration.

NOTE: You’ll notice that, as the tapioca hydrates, the mixture will stick together, and will start to look gummy. This is normal. Keep stirring it every now and then so it hydrates evenly, and we’ll break all the lumps later when we mix the egg mixture with the tapioca.

Step 7 – caramelizing sugar. You can move on to make the caramelized sugar sauce, but as the caramel cooks, keep stirring that tapioca mixture on the side. By the way, now is also a good time to start boiling water for the bain marie water bath!

How to make Caramelized Sugar

Caramelizing sugar can intimidate a lot of people, but I can assure you it’s actually easier than you might think. All you need to do here is add the sugar and the water to a small saucepan over medium to high heat. Just leave the pan there and never ever stir! If we stir, the sugar will crystallize, and will not form a perfect syrup sauce.

Brazilian Tapioca Pudding Recipe

After you start, it’ll take approximately 4 minutes for the syrup to begin to simmer. Just let it simmer, without touching the pan. In about 12 mins you’ll see the color start to change, and at that point you want to keep a close look. On my stove, I get a perfectly gold caramelized sugar around minute 16. It’s important to keep a close eye because, at this stage, once the sugar starts to caramelize, it goes from perfect to burnt really fast.

Brazilian Tapioca Pudding Recipe

Step 8 – When the sugar turns amber color, carefully pour it in a bundt cake pan, and safely coat the inside of the pan, like in the image below. Make sure to coat the pan as much as you can, all the way to the top edge, as the caramel sauce is what will help you remove the pudding from the pan later. You can use a heat resistant silicone brush to brush the caramel nicely on the inside ring. After your pan is all caramelized, set it aside a few minutes while we finish the pudding.

NOTE: Caramelized sugar is EXTREMELY hot, so be careful when working with it! Sugar burns are totally the worst!

Brazilian Tapioca Pudding Recipe

Mixing & Baking

Step 9 – Add half of the egg mixture to the warm milky tapioca mixture. Stir with a spatula breaking all the gummy lumps and incorporating all that moisture from the egg mixture into the tapioca. Once you break all the lumps, add the rest of the egg mixture.

Brazilian Tapioca Pudding Recipe
Brazilian Tapioca Pudding Recipe

Step 10 – And finally, pour the tapioca mixture into the caramel coated bundt pan.

Brazilian Tapioca Pudding Recipe

Step 11 – Place the bundt pan in a large roasting pan deep enough for the bain marie water bath. Pour boiling water into the roasting pan until the water is about a quarter to halfway up the sides of the bundt pan.

Step 12 – Cover the bundt pan with aluminum foil, and gently poke little holes with the tip of a sharp pointy knife. That’s it, meus amigos! Your Brazilian tapioca pudding is ready to be baked. Bake for about an hour to no more than 1:15.

NOTE: After a little over an hour of baking, the Brazilian tapioca pudding should still jiggle a little in the center (that’s your pudding creaminess right there!!). Don’t let that trick you into cooking it longer, as that jiggle in the pudding will firm up as it cools and chills.

Cooling

Step 13 – After you remove the pan from the oven, remove the bundt pan from the bain marie water bath. Remove the foil (but, don’t throw it away just yet) and loosen the pudding from the sides of the pan by running a thin pairing knife around both inside rims. We want to do this while the pudding is really hot as this helps release some of the syrup that is trapped at the bottom.

Brazilian Tapioca Pudding Recipe

Step 14 – Cover the pan again with the aluminum foil, and let it cool in pan a few hours. We want to make sure the bottom of the pan is cool to touch before you transfer it to the fridge, which can take about an hour or even two. It’s important not to rush this process as the residual heat is now taking care of gently finishing cooking some of that jiggle from the middle of your pudding. If you rush your pudim into the fridge, you’ll be stopping that residual cooking process too soon, and your pudding will collapse when you unmold it!

Step 15 – When the pan is cool enough to touch the bottom, remove the foil, cover with a plastic wrap and refrigerate 2-4 hours, and up to overnight (my preference). The plastic wrap is optional, but god forbid you have an onion, or a pot of curry in your fridge at the same time, because those strong flavors transfer into the pudding altering its taste. Onion curried pudding!!!?? Ewwww!! No thanks!

Unmolding

If you know how to unmold flan, then this will be an anxiety free step. If you don’t know, as long as you follow steps 13-15 carefully, you should be totally fine! Running your knife around the edges, plus that whole cooling process really are the beginning steps of perfectly unmolding your Brazilian tapioca pudding. Take a deep breath! You can do this!!

Step 16 – After the pudding is cold, remove it from the fridge and gently shake/wiggle the pan. You’ll see the pudding should be looking pretty loose already, and that jiggle that you saw when you pulled it right out of the oven is no longer there. And just so you know, that jiggle is now a perfectly creamy dessert. Victory!

Step 17 – Place a serving plate big enough to accommodate the pudding and all the caramel sauce that’ll ooze right out on top of the pan, and TAKE A DEEP BREATH! And… drum roll… FLIP! Remove the pan and that’s it – you did it!

This sweet and creamy Brazilian dessert is so delicious, and oh-so-very worthy of all these steps and all the wait. I can’t wait to hear what you think!

Any questions, just let me know!!

Brazilian Tapioca Pudding Recipe

A very special obrigada to my Bob’s Red Mill familia for supplying me with some of their delicious products that I love for this recipe! All opinions are my own.

MORE BRAZILIAN DESSERTS RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE:

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Brigadeiro – Brazilian Fudge Balls

Pav̻ de Chocolate РBrazilian No-Bake Chocolate Pie

Bolo Nega Maluca – Brazilian Chocolate Cake

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5 from 15 votes

Pudim de Tapioca | Brazilian Tapioca Pudding

This Brazilian Tapioca Pudding recipe has all the pudding goodness you already know and love, with a different shape, texture and a touch of coconut. Comfort food at its best!
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Resting Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 5 hours 45 minutes
Servings: 10 Slices
Author: Aline Shaw

Ingredients

  • 1 13 oz can of coconut milk
  • 2 cans of sweet condensed milk
  • about 2-3 cups of full fat milk
  • 2 tsp vanilla paste or vanilla extract
  • 1 cup of unsweetened dried coconut
  • 5 whole eggs
  • 1.5 cups of small tapioca pearls
  • pinch of salt

For the caramel:

  • 2 cups of sugar
  • 1/2 cup of water

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350F
  • Add the eggs, the vanilla, and the condensed milk to a blender and pulse until well combined. Set aside.
  • Use the empty can of condensed milk to measure 2 “cans” of milk.
  • Add the coconut milk, the dried coconut, the salt and the milk to a large pan over medium heat.
  • Bring to a gentle boil, add the tapioca to the pan and stir continuously until the tapioca hydrates and doubles in size – approx 5 mins. Turn off the heat and cover. Stir every now and then to promote even hydration.
  • While the tapioca hydrates in the milky mixture, prepare the caramel. Meanwhile, keep stirring the tapioca.
  • Add the sugar and the water to a small saucepan over medium to high heat. Bring it to a simmer, and let it simmer until amber color – approx 16 mins. Be sure to watch the pan at all times to avoid burning the sugar.
  • When the sugar is ready, carefully pour it in a bundt pan, and coat the inside with the caramel – see photo above. Set aside. The sugar will be super hot, so be extra careful!
  • Add half of the egg mixture to the warm milky tapioca mixture. Stir with a spatula breaking all the gummy lumps and incorporating all that moisture from the egg mixture. Once you break all the lumps, add the rest of the egg mixture, and continue to stir to combine. Pour the tapioca pudding mixture into the caramel coated bundt pan. Cover with aluminum foil, and poke a few holes with a sharp knife.
  • Place the bundt pan in a large roasting pan. Pour boiling water into the roasting pan until the water is about approximately halfway up the sides of the bundt pan and bake for 1h – 1:15 mins.
  • The tapioca pudding should still jiggle a little bit in the center (it will firm up as it cools), so be careful not to overcook. Immediately out of the oven, loosen the pudding from the sides of the pan by running a thin metal spatula around the inside rim. Let it cool in the pan a couple of hours. Then, refrigerate in the pan for 2-4 hours and up to overnight. Then, unmold* and transfer to a plate. 

Bom Apetite!!

    Did you make this recipe? Show me how it turned out! Snap a photo and share with me on Instagram tagging @aline_shaw!

    Notes

    *If the pudding doesn’t come out of the pan easily, re-warm the pan by placing it over a stove burner for a few minutes just to re-warm the caramel inside of the pan and try again.

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    36 Comments

        1. Oi Aline,
          Quero fazer essa receita, parece deliciosa! Mas fiquei em duvida com a quantidade dos leites… 2 de leite moca, 2 latas de leite de vaca e uma lata de leite de coco. Correto? Obrigada!

          1. Oi Hebe!!
            Vc vai amar!!
            Entao, eh isso mesmo, vc entendeu certinho! 1 lata de leite de coco, 2 latas de leite moca, e ai com a lata vazia do leite moca vc mede 2 “latas” de leite de vaca 🙂 Depois me fala como foi!! Essa receita da um trabalhinho mas super vale a pena!!! Beijos!!!

            1. Oi Aline,
              Muito obrigada! Te falo quando fizer, vou comprar os ingredientes ja! 😉
              Beijos e tudo de bom pra voce! 🙂
              Hebe

    1. 5 stars
      I remember one of my friends made it, and I was so surprised with the richness of this delicious pudding. Glad I’ve stumbled upon your recipe!

    2. 5 stars
      This tapioca pudding looks delicious! Though I never tried pearl tapioca before…. only flour…. Anyway, It looks scrumptious and I want to try to make this recipe!

    3. 5 stars
      I’ve always wondered what tapioca pearls would be used for – I always contemplate buying them and trying them out. Maybe now I will!

    4. 5 stars
      Never tried this pearl tapioca pudding. It looks so delicious and unique, I have to try this as we love baked desserts very much! Thanks for sharing this, weekend dessert treat sorted 🙂

    5. Thankyou for sharing the recipe Aline Shaw. I am planning on making it some time soon. It looks delicious.

    6. I’ve never heard of Brazilian tapioca pudding, but the recipe sounds delicious. I guess this Pennsylvania Dutch girl is going to learn to make something new!! Just 2 questions……does the recipe need any adjustments for humidity or altitude? and how much coconut milk do you add? Ok, maybe 3 questions, it’s coconut milk not coconut cream, correct. We usually don’t make our own coconut anything here in the east 40.

      1. Hi Jenni! I’m not entirely sure about adjustments for high altitude, to be honest, BUT I think you should be fine considering we’re already working with a water bath, which keeps things cooking evenly. There is no leavener in this recipe so we don’t need to worry about that. I think it’ll be ok – definitely report back!! I’d love to know how it goes!! I love this recipe and I hope you do too 🙂

        As for the coconut milk, the recipe contains that information already – it’s a 13oz can, and my recommended brand is linked there, too.

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