Tuesday

coconut batida - batida de coco

Brazilian Batida de Coco - Coconut Batida

Batida de coco or Coconut Batida is a famous Brazilian cocktail made with cachaça, vodka or white rum, coconut milk and condensed milk. It is smooth, sweet, strong, and will make you dance samba after the second sip even if you have two left feet. That's how good it is!
Veja a receita em Português no final deste post.

Batidas were very popular in Brazil in the 70's. They are not so popular anymore but they are still delicious and represent Brazil well. They are considered classic Brazilian cocktails specially the Batida de Coco. 

Batidas can be made with all kinds of fruits but for now I will present you with the father of all batidas, the one made with coconut. Before I go on I need to let you know that if you google 'batida de coco or coconut batida recipe' you will find an incredible array of recipes. I cannot comprehend how a drink with three ingredients can have so many variations. Well, my recipe is the best of course so you came to the right place.

If you are wondering what a batida de coco tastes like I can say that it is a distant cousin of Piña Colada, without the annoying pineapple taste. By the way, who said pineaple and coconut milk are a good match? Now you are thinking that if you don't like Piña Colada you will not like Batida de Coco. Wrong! You might end up loving Batida de Coco. And if you do like Piña Colada then you might never want to drink it again after trying Batida de Coco.

Well let's get down to the recipe.

What You Need:






  • 2 parts cachaça, vodka or white rum
  • 2 parts coconut milk
  • 1 part condensed milk
  • crushed ice (about 2 parts)









Notes: 
  • You can use anything to measure the parts as long as you keep the ratio above. 
  • To make 1 serving I use 1oz for 1 part, which means 2 oz cachaça, 2 oz coconut milk, 1 oz condensed milk and I add 3/4 cup crushed ice.
  • The amount of ice will affect how strong the batida will be.
  • I suggest you try my ratio first and if you don't like it try different combinations until you find your 'perfect' batida recipe.
  • The cachaça in the picture came directly from Brazil, a gift from a dear friend who knows how much I miss Rio. You can find good quality cachaças in most liquor stores in the US.

What To Do:



Put everything in a blender and blend for a few seconds.
Or use a cocktail shaker and when you pour it you can choose to strain the ice or not. Usually men don't like it with much ice but women prefer with the ice as it is not so strong.



Brazilian Batida de Coco - Coconut Batida
You can serve the batida in Martini glasses, small cocktail glasses, shot glasses or even in champagne flutes. I usually serve it with a straw.

An exotic way of serving Batida de Coco is inside a coconut shell. In the US I buy whole coconuts in Asian markets. To prepare the coconut first I empty them by making a whole in two of their 'eyes' with a screwdriver and pour the coconut water out. Then I drink it of course. Finally I just saw the top off because I don't have a cleaver knife, but if you have it, use it :) Leave the pulp inside. Later you can cut the coconut open and remove the pulp to use it for another dish or to make coconut milk. (a busy mom told me it's a lot of work but worthwhile; to tell you the truth I never did it)

Brazilian Batida de Coco - Coconut Batida

You can decorate the rim of the cup with coconut flakes. To make them adhere to the cup just turn the cup upside down on coconut milk and then on coconut flakes. You can also brush condensed milk across the rim of the cup, then turn it upside down on the coconut flakes.

The best way to try your samba steps is after at least one batida. After three you become a 'passista' (professional samba dancer).


Receita em Português


Batida de Coco

O melhor de uma batida de coco é ficar tentando achar a melhor proporção dos 3 ingredientes básicos: cachaça, leite de coco e leite condensado. Mas já que você tem que começar em algum lugar, aqui vai a combinação perfeita para o meu paladar. Espero que você também goste. Divirta-se!


  • 2 medidas de cachaça
  • 2 medidas de leite de coco
  • 1 medida de leite moça
  • mais ou menos 2 medidas de gelo picado.
Bata tudo no liquidificador ou mexa vigorosamente. Se quiser acrescente mais gelo picado.

Você pode usar qualquer coisa para medir os ingredientes. Tudo vai depender da quantidade de batida que você quiser fazer. Se for fazer batida para uma pessoa por exemplo, pode-se usar como medida uma xícara de cafezinho.