PHILADELPHIA - Celebrate Easter with Special Chocolate Eggs from Mardhory Santos-Cepeda’s Kouklet Brazilian Bakehouse
Mardhory Santos-Cepeda’s Kouklet Brazilian Bakehouse
In Brazil, Easter is the most important holiday after Christmas, when Brazilians look forward to getting together to enjoy churrasco (Brazilian BBQ), exchange chocolate eggs, and celebrate their traditions. Now, Mardhory Santos-Cepeda, the owner of Kouklet Brazilian Bakehouse, located at 1647 E. Passyunk Avenue, is bringing Brazilian Easter traditions to Philadelphia, offering decadent chocolate eggs and more beginning April 1.
Kouklet will be offering Ovo de Páscoa de Colher – half of a chocolate eggshell filled with layers of chocolate cake and rich chocolate mousse ($59); Ovo de Páscoa Trufado – chocolate eggshell filled with brigadeiro truffle ($28); Bombom de Brigadeiro – Traditional Brigadeiro Bonbon — bite-size, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate (2 for $5); Sonho de Cenoura e Chocolate – Sourdough Carrot Donuts filled with condensed milk chocolate custard ($5).
“We take the tradition of gifting chocolate eggs very seriously in Brazil,” said Santos-Cepeda. “We even go out of our way to make chocolate eggs at home to gift our loved ones. If you go to any supermarket during April, there will be an aisle hanging from the ceiling with chocolate eggs. I don’t know why, but that’s how we do it. At Kouklet, we make every chocolate egg by hand. Traditionally, you would dig into these big chocolate eggs with a spoon. Still, as kids, we just loved to take bites of them and savor the crunchiness of the chocolate shell and the softness of the filling together. These are extraordinary confections that I look forward to producing and devouring every spring.”
Pre-orders will begin on April 1. There will be a limited number of items for purchase at the shop through Easter, which falls on April 17, but Cepeda strongly encourages pre-ordering.
Kouklet Brazilian Bakehouse offers several savory and sweet pastries, including their special Bolo de Rolo cake rolls. The shop is open Thursday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
