Small, melt-in-your-mouth truffles made from sweetened condensed milk cooked with cocoa and butter, rolled in chocolate sprinkles. Eaten by hand, in a paper cup.

Why this dish? Brigadeiro is the candy of all Brazilian parties, from children's birthdays to musicians' gatherings. Rolled into small balls and shared, it's the convivial sweet that closes an evening — a bit like a sweet encore after the concert, for Flora and her diaspora tribe.

Ah, brigadeiro! It's the candy of all my childhood parties — we'd stir the pot until the dough pulled away, and the hardest part was not eating it all off the spoon! We'd roll dozens, and everyone would leave with their little paper cup. Later, abroad, it was our way, us exiled Brazilians, to end an evening laughing: a brigadeiro in hand, and suddenly everyone felt at home.

How it was made : Brigadeiro was born in the 1940s in Brazil — exactly the decade of Flora's birth — its name paying homage to a brigadier in the air force. Industrial condensed milk, then new and accessible, made it the instant star of snacks and children's parties for an entire generation.

The contemporary twist : Rolled in shredded coconut or cocoa nibs, arranged in a line on a slate like black piano keys — a nod to Flora's pianist mother.

Flora Purim · Charactorium