A Rolled Meringue filled with Creamy Custard

The Philippine cuisine has an impressive lineup of desserts, as we Filipinos like our sweets. In that long list, Brazo de Mercedes ( which means Mercedes’ Arm in Spanish) would be a front runner and a firm favourite of most Filipinos.

The Brazo de Mercedes is a rolled cake of pillowy fluffy meringue filled with custard. Admittedly, I have only started making Brazo, since I’ve come to Australia because I thought firstly, making meringue was too fiddly. Secondly, I could get my Brazo fix from any of the popular bakeries in Manila, like Goldilocks and Red Ribbon. Over here in Sydney, I have to travel nearly two hours if I wanted one, so I might as well make it myself. As they say, necessity makes you do stuff you wouldn’t normally do.

Don’t be put off by the thought of making meringue or custard. If you follow the simple steps, it ‘s actually pretty straight forward, and in no time, you’ll be digging into this wonderful sweetness. It has very few ingredients and if you have eggs and condensed milk, you are halfway there. If you do make this recipe, let me know how you went by commenting below.

Tips in Making the Brazo de Mercedes

Carefully separate the egg whites from the yolks when eggs are straight out of the fridge. It is easier to do this when eggs are cold. There must be no part of the yolk within the egg whites. Another trick is that the egg whites need to come to room temperature, to make it easier to whip.
When making meringue, the mixing bowl and the whisk should be scrupulously clean and free of oil.. This will ensure that the egg whites reach and hold their full volume.
Use medium instead of high speed when whipping meringue. This ensures that the bubbles formed are smaller and more stable. Larger bubbles caused by high speed beating, deflates when exposed to hot temperature causing the meringue to shrink.
To prevent “weeping” meringue, add the caster sugar one teaspoon at a time, ensuring it’s fully incorporated before adding the next one. Undissolved sugar causes weeping, as sugar is hydrophilic, which means it attracts water droplets from the atmosphere.
When making the filling, whisk the custard continuously to prevent lumps from forming. Cook custard on low heat, preferably a double boiler. Also, the finished filling should be quite thick but of spreading consistency.
Don’t fret too much if the meringue cracks. A generous dusting of sugar, not only prevent the meringue from sticking to the baking paper, but also hides imperfections!

What you need to make Brazo

Eggs, yolks separated from whites
Full fat cream
Condensed Milk
Caster sugar
Vanilla Essence and lemon zest for flavour
Cream of Tartar- for stability