Brazo de Mercedes is a meringue cake with custard filling baked like a jelly roll. It was very popular back in my childhood days. The filling is so yummy- it taste just like leche flan, my fave dessert on earth- actually, it was the only reason why I eat it, I didn’t like the white part or the meringue because it’s not sweet enough for me and it was too “egg-y” for my taste. But that was in the past, I love meringue now 🙂
I actually haven’t tried making Brazo de Mercedes, I’ve always been intimidated by making a meringue before and I have only tried making cake roll once or twice and both didn’t turn out well, I’m planning on giving it a try again someday. In the meantime, I’ve tried this easier and yummier frozen version first.
The recipe is adapted from True Confections as originally published here. I didn’t change anything… except that I use a 9″ square pan for the meringue and assembled it in an 8-inch square plastic box plus I unintentionally made the slightest change to the filling as you can see below..
ruined custard. I was busy preparing the meringue and taking pictures that I forgot to stir the yolk into the milk, I left it on low heat and the next thing I know I got poached egg yolks in milk. I tried to stir it but it was too late..so I just strained it and added more condensed milk and 1 yolk ( I ran out of eggs)..it was very good too but it’s more like yema instead of creamy soft custard…sigh …so much for multi-tasking, I’m glad I was able to saved it..I hope I won’t make the same mistake next time ( fingers crossed)
at least my meringue was just as it should be..stiff but not dry ( a first for me, my meringues were usually over-beaten)
I used a cake comb here but a fork will do too
my yema filling
softened vanilla ice cream
finish the layer with the meringue, cover and freeze for at least 4 hours
Frozen Brazo plus hot coffee..yummy combination! 🙂
This frozen brazo didn’t disappear as quickly as the other desserts I’ve made so far..not because it’s not as yummy but probably because since it’s in the freezer, my kids forgot that we have it.. that and because there’s a sinfully rich chocolate ( will post it very soon) on the counter plus some macapuno tarts..it was sem-break and I had a lot of time to bake 🙂
Frozen Brazo de Mercedes
Equipment
Ingredients
FOR MERINGUE:
- 4 pcs Eggs whites only / large size
- 1/4 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
- 1/4 cup Sugar
- 2 tablespoons Confectioner's Sugar
FOR CRUST:
- 1 cup Graham Crackers crumbs
- 1/4 cup Butter
- 1 tablespoon Sugar
FOR CUSTARD FILLING:
- 4 pcs Eggs yolks only / large size
- 1/2 cup Condensed Milk
- 1/2 teaspoon Lemon rind
- 1/4 cup Butter cubed
- 1 pint Vanilla Ice Cream
Instructions
FOR MERINGUE:
- Preheat oven to 250 F. Degrees.
- Grease and line the bottom of a 9 inch square pan.
- Grease and flour the paper again then spread the meringue on the pan..
- Beat the egg whites with cream of tartar in a bowl of an electric mixer on high until fine bubbles form.
- Then gradually add the sugar.
- Whip to stiff peaks but not dry.
- Using a spatula, spread the meringue over the prepared pan making sure to fill even the edges.
- Use a cake comb to create texture on the meringue.
- Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes.
- Dust with confectioner's sugar and allow to cool until ready to use.
FOR CRUST:
- Combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and sugar in a bowl. Mix Well.
- Place the graham cracker crumbs in a 8-inch square (freezer safe) container and evenly spread on the bottom of the pan.
FOR CUSTARD FILLIING:
- In a double broiler or heavy bottomed sauce pan, mix eggs, condensed milk and lemon rind.
- Stir for about 30 minutes or until thick but still pour-able in consistency.
- Add butter, a little at a time until melted and blended in.
- Cook longer to make it thicker.
- Pour over the graham crust and allow to cool to room temp.
FOR THE FROZEN LAYER:
- Leave ice cream at room temperature for about 15 minutes or until softened.
- Mix until consistency of soft serve ice cream.
- Place over the custard layer.
- Finish the layer by putting the meringue on tom of the ice cream layer.
- My meringue shrunk a little after i took it out of the pan so it just fit right in the container.
- Place in the freezer for at least 4 hours before serving.
♥ Thanks for reading…have a nice day!! 🙂 ♥