Balas Baians (Bala de vidro)
Ingredients
Balls
- 1 can (395 g) sweetened condensed milk See #1
- 1 tbsp unsalted, room-temperaeture butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups sweetened coconut flakes, optional unsweetened See #2
Caramel coating
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 cup water
- 1 tbsp white vinegar See #3
Instructions
Balls
- In a medium non-stick pan, mix the ball ingredients on medium-low heat.
- Stir constantly until the mixture thickens, reduces, and turns a few shades darker.
- Spatula dragged across the bottom should reveal the bottom of the pan for a few seconds.
- Spread the mix in a greased or clingwrap-lined dish, and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Lightly grease your hands, and roll 1/2 tbsp of the mixture into balls.
Caramel coating
- In another medium, non-stick pan, add the caramel ingredients.
- Cook over medium heat without stirring. You can gently swirl the pot if you think it's needed, but you reallly shouldn't.
- The liquid will slowly turn to a light honey colour after 5-7 minutes, and quickly get darker.
- You should be using a high-temp thermometer, and remove from heat at 300F. You can test by dropping a spoonfull into a bowl of cold water. It should break like glass, and have just a little elasticity.
- Move the pan to an element on low to keep the caramel liquid.
Final assembly
- Either use a fork to lower the balls and roll them around, or use a long toothpick/skewer to dip the balls in the caramel, then set aside on parchment paper to cool to room temperature.
- Once the caramel is fully cooled, you can trim off any excess caramel, just be careful not to press on the ball itself as the caramel will crack.
Notes
- Must be "sweetened condensed". The unsweetened kind will need a lot of sugar to be dissolved, and will likely crystalize on you. Evaporated milk is also not the correct thing to use.
- I used unsweetened, and found it to be perfectly fine. Use a short/small length of coconut. Medium or long shreds will result in bumpy balls. I might try this with coconut flour one day, but I like the texture and I'd be concerned this would turn into a coconut-flour cake pop.
- Any acid works; lemon juice, orange juice, etc