The Unlikely Baker

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Brazo de Mercedes

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Brazo de Mercedes is a traditional Filipino dessert that consists of a soft and pillowy meringue roll filled with sweet and sticky egg custard.

Brazo de Mercedes - a favorite Filipino dessert

We all have those moments – big and quiet ones – that change everything. For me, it was craving Brazo de Mercedes so bad it got me off my lazy behind and start baking. So I thought it appropriate my first post be about that.

The Baking Begins

I was craving Brazo de Mercedes for weeks but I wasn’t really doing anything about it except whine (shame on me, I know).

Understand that before any of this, all I can do is re-heat food in the microwave (and call places for delivery). So going from that to making this relatively complex cake from scratch is almost impossible (I wanted to say “ridiculous” but that might be too harsh).

Took me 2 (I think it was 3 but who’s counting?) tries but when I finally got it, that was it. There was no looking back.

What is Brazo de Mercedes?

Brazo de Mercedes - Fluffy meringue roll filled with luxurious custard

Brazo de Mercedes is a soft and pillowy meringue roll filled with sweet and sticky egg custard. It is quintessentially Filipino – it’s what you have on the dinner table when you’re celebrating something.

And Filipinos are always celebrating something. So I grew up eating it and I’ve always associated it with happy, family gatherings.

And there I was, thousands of miles away from family, craving this cake. It was driving me insane.

Not So Simple Plan

I scoured the Internet for the simplest Brazo de Mercedes recipe I could find (one has to be realistic about one’s skill set after all) but quickly realized this was not going to be a simple undertaking at all. There was the custard, then the meringue, then the assembly.

But 40 eggs, steely determination and maybe some tears later, I have this fantastic cake that not only tastes great but also reminds me of home. Now I have a recipe I can rely on so that I can make this cake whenever the craving hits (minus the tears).

Tips for a Successful Meringue

I’ve made Brazo de Mercedes several times and what is still a hit or miss for me is the height of the meringue. I would love for it to be at least an inch thick but despite my best effort, I am only able to achieve this 50% of the time.

I follow all these tips for a successful meringue every time:

  • Use room temperature egg whites and make sure there is no speck of egg yolk in it
  • Make sure all the tools used to make the meringue are dry and grease-free
  • Don’t over beat the egg whites; stop as soon as stiff peaks are reached
  • Handle the meringue gently when spreading onto baking pan
  • Bake/use immediately

The recipe is awesome. I just need to work on my technique. Any other ideas?

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Brazo de Mercedes

Brazo de Mercedes

Brazo de Mercedes is a traditional Filipino dessert that consists of a soft and pillowy meringue roll filled with sweet and sticky egg custard.

Ingredients

    For the meringue:
  • 10 egg whites, room temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
    For the custard:
  • 10 egg yolks
  • 1 300ml can of condensed milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
    For dusting:
  • 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar

Instructions

    For the meringue:
  1. Pre-heat oven to 350F.
  2. Prep your baking pan by covering it with parchment paper and lightly greasing the parchment paper. Set aside. (My baking pan is 17.25 x 11.5 x 1 inches.)
  3. Using a stand mixer (a handheld electric mixer would work too - even mixing it by hand - it would just take more time…and stamina) with the whisk attachment, whisk the 10 egg whites until foamy (The Kitchn has a great visual guide on what this is supposed to look like. See my Baking Cheatsheet below for the link).
  4. Add 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar and whisk until soft peaks form.
  5. Gradually (slowly and in small quantities at a time - do not dump all the sugar in) add the 3/4 cup sugar and whisk until you reach stiff peak stage.
  6. Transfer the meringue (yes, this is now meringue!) to your lined and greased baking sheet and spread evenly. Handle lightly. ( Brazo de Mercedes traditionally has a zigzagged surface and you can achieve this by levelling the top of your meringue with a decorating comb. If you don't have one, you can use a fork. Or you can skip this step altogether.)
  7. Bake the meringue in your pre-heated oven for 20 minutes or until the top part turns a light brown.
  8. While that’s baking, you can work on your custard.
    For the custard:
  1. In a medium heavy-bottom saucepan (don’t turn on the stove yet), beat the 10 egg yolks before adding all the condensed milk.
  2. Mix them thoroughly then start cooking over low-medium heat.
  3. Stir often so you don't end up with scrambled eggs. I won’t lie, this process takes me a long time (seems longer when you’re constantly stirring; just think of it as a mini-workout) but you really need to watch your custard.
  4. When you see that your mixture is starting to take shape and form into clumps, add the 1 teaspoon of vanilla and the 1 tablespoon of lime juice (lime juice helps cut through all that sweet condensed milk).
  5. When you’ve reached custard consistency (thick but still spreadable), turn off the stove, remove pan from heat and set aside.
    Assembly:
  1. By this time (and we are multi-tasking here), the meringue should already be done, removed from the oven and cooled slightly so let’s start assembly.
  2. While the meringue is still a little warm, dust the top with confectioner’s sugar. Make sure to cover the whole meringue otherwise it will stick once you roll it (this will make sense later, read on).
  3. Place another piece of parchment paper on top of the dusted meringue, then cover that with another baking pan (ideally the same size as the one your meringue is on). You now have a meringue-baking pan sandwich.
  4. This step is tricky - I do it slowly and deliberately but others do it quickly. Just follow your gut - flip your meringue sandwich so that your bottom baking pan is now your top baking pan.
  5. Remove the top baking pan (which is the pan you baked the meringue on - confused yet?) and carefully remove the parchment paper.
  6. Spread the custard evenly.
  7. Roll the meringue inward while also gently removing the other parchment paper you placed on top of the confectioner’s sugar. Nothing should stick; the confectioner's sugar should see to that.
  8. Cut the edges (these are the uneven bits) and serve.
https://theunlikelybaker.com/brazo-de-mercedes/

(This recipe adapted from Panlasang Pinoy.)

Happy baking! Did you make Brazo de Mercedes? Tell me how it went in the comments section below. I’d love to hear all about it.

Here are more Filipino desserts you might like:

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. hi jolina, saw your page in fb and i’ve been looking for this recipe as I have been craving for it. First time I tried to bake and it was a succes 🙂 it’s all because of your tips, thank you so much. My husband almost finished it in 1 day.

    Reply

    • Hi Marja! So happy to hear that! And you are most welcome 🙂 Brazo de Mercedes is my all time favourite Filipino dessert.

      Reply

  2. Honestly, I’d never heard of this dessert, but I love basically anything that is stuffed with custard, especially when the custard is made from condensed milk!
    Good for you for persevering to get the recipe right. It’s so demoralizing when things go wrong, but in the end, when it’s right, it feels super!

    Reply

    • Condensed milk is like a magic ingredient isn’t it? And yes, absolutely agree on feeling like a winner when you finally look at the finished product that looks and tastes right! 🙂

      Reply

  7. Wow it’s my first time seeing this wonderful dessert! I love custard it’s one of my favourite things ever, so it sounds like my kind of dessert. Will have to try this!

    Reply

    • Not very many people have…Filipino cuisine hasn’t really gone mainstream. But I hope more people try it 🙂

      Reply

    • Not very many people know about Filipino cuisine but I really hope they try. I may be biased (lol) but it’s really good 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply

  14. This looks incredible! I’ve started baking more outside of my comfort zone recently and it’s been quite the adventure. The best part though is when you figure out THE recipe. <3 Great post, Jolina!

    Reply

  17. Ive had this at a friends house and have always wanted to make it. I can’t wait to surprise them and make them something that is one of their families traditions! It looks so beautiful!

    Reply

    • I’m so glad you liked it. Not very many people are familiar with Filipino cuisine. And yes, that will be a really nice surprise 🙂

      Reply

  18. I can’t believe this is one of your first baking recipes! It looks BEAUTIFUL and I especially love the tips you shared, you totally sound like a pro. Thank you for sharing, this looks delicious and I’d love to try it!

    Reply

  19. Hi! I see you have added lime juice to the custard. Will it lessen the eggy taste of the custard? The recipe I’ve tried before has no lime and it is too eggy. How can I change it? Thanks

    Reply

    • Hi Rose! The custard doesn’t taste eggy at all. It’s sweet and rich because of the condensed milk so I add the lime juice more to cut that sweetness. Just make sure to constantly stir when you’re making your your custard so you don’t scramble your egg yolks…maybe that’s where the eggy taste is coming from? I also add the vanilla towards the end so it doesn’t evaporate completely. Hope this helps!

      Reply

    • They are quite unique 🙂 I was told they were like jelly rolls but since I haven’t had jelly rolls before I really can’t tell for sure lol. Thanks for stopping by! And do tell me how it goes when you try the recipe.

      Reply

  22. This looks wonderful- and perfect for a fun Spring dessert! I’ll definitely try this one!
    Oh- and one tip for working with egg whites that I thought of to add to your list: do not EVER use a plastic bowl to beat the egg whites. It sounds crazy, but the molecular structure of plastic so closely resembles that of the egg whites that it will interfere with how well they whip. Steel is great and copper is preferred 🙂 Happy baking!

    Reply

    • Thank you so much Lynne! That means a lot. I’m really inspired by bloggers like you. And I’m slowly realizing that like you, I also want to be a blogger when I grow up 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply

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