Brazo de Mercedes

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.