brazo de mercedes

I wanted to make a brazo de mercedes cake for my brother for his upcoming birthday. His birthday is still a month away from now, but I figured as this will be my second time to actually “bake” something I might as well give myself a month head start to perfect the thing.

Brazo de mercedes is my brother’s favorite cake. I don’t know why he loved this since for me its all air and eggs. (Did I mention that I have this slight aversion to eggs—in general?!) I just don’t like the aftertaste of an egg in any meal.

So it’s quite ironic for me to actually enjoy making something out of eggs. All for the love of my brother—and an excuse to make use of the kitchen! :D

Brazo de Mercedes is a classic Filipino dessert. It literally means “Mercedes Arms”. I have no idea who Mercedes is (perhaps she invented this recipe). Or probably because of the cakes’ elongated and arm-like appearance. (Who knows!). But as my further research would have it, this cake is also known as a Creme-filled Log Cake.

I found this recipe from Panlasang Pinoy. I followed this recipe from the said site because it had an instructional video and it was quite easy to follow! Yey!

ta-daaaah!

Here’s how I made it:

Ingredients:
10 large raw eggs, yolks and whites separated
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 can condensed milk

Procedure:
1. Combine egg whites and cream of tartar then beat using an electric mixer until soft peaks form.

2. Make the meringue by gradually adding the granulated sugar while mixing the ingredients. Continue mixing until the texture is semi-firm.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (or 175 degrees Celsius!).

4. Place wax paper on top of a cookie try or large rectangular baking pan and grease the surface.

5. Place the meringue on top of the greased wax paper then spread evenly using a spatula. When you’ve even out the surface, you can use a fork to “decorate” the meringue.

6. Bake the meringue for 20 to 22 minutes or until the color of the top part turns light to medium brown.

7. For the filling: combine beaten egg yolks and condensed milk in a small cooking pot. Apply heat and cook the mixture while continuously stirring until the texture becomes thick.

 (I like to put it in low heat to avoid burning the custard. Plus I’m dead serious about CONTINUOUS stirring or you will burn your custard.) 

Add the vanilla extract to the condensed milk and egg yolk mixture, turn off the heat, and mix thoroughly. Set aside and let it cool a bit.

8. Remove the meringue from the oven and cool down for a few minutes. The meringue is kinda bloated but once you air it out it will shrink a little. It’s a natural occurrence so don’t fret!(Like I did, when I first made this!)

Sprinkle some powdered sugar on top of the meringue then place wax paper on the top part of the meringue followed by a similar sized baking pan or tray. The meringue should now be in the middle of two baking trays.

still bloated...

after a few minutes outside the oven

9. Flip the meringue: the new cookie sheet/baking tray placed on top should now be below. Remove the baking tray and the wax paper, spread the filling over the meringue. Spread it generously! It’s the fun and yuh-meh part! :D

10. Roll the meringue. Complete rolling side to side starting at the longest side. Make sure that the layer with filling is rolled inward.

baked 2 half-rolls of cake with this recipe

because my pan was too small

Lovin’ the baking life…

prettytwistedchick