Mini Brazo de Mercedes

Without a Filipino bakery nearby, I decided to try making Brazo de Mercedes to satisfy Piano Man's craving. To be honest, I was a bit intimidated with the idea, since I know how delicate-looking the cake is plus having egg as the star of the cake could mean disaster if not "handled" properly.

I made this recipe twice already and each time the cake didn't last 48 hours. The first batch wasn't that pretty but the taste was jackpot. I made sure I nail this second batch for my photo session :)

What You Need:

Meringue

10 Egg whites

1/2 tsp. Cream of Tartar

3/4 cup White Sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Filling

10 Egg Yolks

1 can Condensed Milk

Lemon Zest

Confectioner's sugar for topping

Cooking Spray

How it's done:

Using an electric mixer with whisk attachment, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until it forms soft peaks. Add sugar 1/4 cup at a time. Beat until it has a nice even sheen and then fold in the vanilla extract with a spatula.

Prepare two 9x13 baking pans, spray with spray butter and then line with wax paper (for easier cake release later). Transfer meringue mixture and spread evenly.

Bake for 350 F for 15-17 minutes.

Prepare a heatproof bowl and place over simmering water. Put egg yolks and condensed milk on heatproof bowl and stir constantly until thick, around 15 minutes. Add the lemon zest.

(FYI: My method for preparing the cake may seem complicated when described in written form, I hope there can be an easier way to describe how it's done, but you'll get the hang of it, I hope.)

Use the bottom of another 9x13 pan as base before inverting the cake, in simple terms:

- Remove meringue from oven

- Dust top with powder sugar (this will prevent the meringue from sticking)

- Place wax paper on top

- Place the bottom of 9x13 pan on wax paper

- Invert

- Remove the cake pan and then remove the wax paper from the bottom of the cake (spraying with

spray butter made this step so much easier)

Spoon the filling in the meringue and then using the wax paper, gently roll the cake. Make sure it's tight.

Dust with more confectioner's sugar. Serve chilled :)

Kam's Tips:

• If you can get dayap around the area, add dayap zest instead of lemon zest. Like previously mentioned, the citrus flavor gets rid of the egg-y taste.
• Want to make a larger Brazo de Mercedes log cake? Use a 10x15 in jelly pan instead of two 9x13 cake pans.
• Make sure the eggs are room temperature.

Kitchen Gadgets Used:

• KitchenAid Mixer or handheld mixer is fine. A mixer is important when making meringue.
• Zester/Grater
• Sifter