Brazo De Mercedes

Whenever I go to any Goldilocks branch, I’m always tempted with Brazo De Mercedes. I never tried buying one because I find it impractical – how can that very soft bread of less than a kilo in weight could be given a price that is almost similar with the other cake? Unfortunately, they do not sell in slice.

Now that I’m into cooking, I want to try some of most people’s favorite foods that we see in different food chains like this Brazo De Mercedes of Goldilocks.

My second attempt :) (first attempt was not successful)

Good thing that I depend on Panlasang Pinoy website and all their recipes are truly wonderful and easy to prepare. I tried Brazo at first using the ingredients that they gave but since I couldn’t find any wax paper that time, I used the alternative – parchment. It was hard to use especially if it was not greased as instructed. To make it short, my first trial wasn’t as perfect as I expected it to be. The only fulfilling is the taste but the presentation was not as good to see as that in the advertisements of Goldilocks :). But still, my friends and I consumed all :)

This time, I was able to see wax paper so it was easier for me to prepare. Though the picture looks so perfect, the preparation made me crazy once more. For how many times should I tell myself to follow the instruction from top to bottom so I get the things done in good results? Sometimes I do it in shortcut way. The thing is, if I do it, it wouldn’t give me the desired result.

Ingredients:
-10 raw eggs, separate yolks from whites
-½ teaspoon cream of tartar
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-3/4 cup granulated sugar
-3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
-14 ounces (1 can) condensed milk

Cooking Tips:

- if cream of tartar is not available in the market, you may use an alternative, in my case I used 1 ½ tsp of baking powder instead as I could not find any cream of tartar

You will need:

-2 baking trays with wax papers
-Stand mixer

-Spatula
Procedure:

Preparing the Meringue
- Combine egg whites and cream of tartar then beat using an electric stand mixer until soft peaks form (or meringue)
- Make the meringue by gradually adding the granulated sugar while mixing the ingredients. Continue mixing until the texture is semi-firm. This will take for about 10mins of continuous stirring
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Place wax paper on top of a rectangular baking pan and grease the surface
- Place the meringue on top of the greased wax paper then spread evenly using a spatula
- Bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until the color of the top part turns light to medium brown

Cooking the Filling
- Meanwhile, make the filling by combining the egg yolks and condensed milk in a small cooking pot
- Add the vanilla extract to the mixture
- Apply low to medium heat and cook the mixture while continuously stirring until the texture becomes thick
- Turn off the heat and set aside.

Combining the Meringue and the Filling
- Remove the meringue from the oven and cool down for a few minutes until it sags
- Sprinkle the confectioners’ sugar on top of the meringue
- Place wax paper on the top part of the meringue followed by a similar sized baking tray
- Flip the meringue
- Remove the baking tray and the wax paper (you should now see the opposite side of the baked meringue)
- Spread the filling over the meringue.
- Roll the meringue side to side starting at the longest side (the layer with filling must be inward)
- Share and enjoy!
Credits: PanlasangPinoy, Google Images for the You will need photos