SWEET TOOTH DIARIES: Brazo De Mercedes Cupcakes (Plus! Brazo De Mercedes Roll)

As a child, I have always refused to eat brazo de mercedes roll cake from Goldilocks or Red Ribbon (popular bakeshops in the Philippines). 

Why? 

Well for one, I thought that no other cake could taste as heavenly as chocolate cakes and two, I thought that it's all sugar and air. Actually, only a few children I know likes this dessert, it appeals more to adult taste buds.

photo credit: yelp.com

Until just recently, when my passion for baking brought be to a page about brazo de mercedes cupcakes. They look oh, so elegant and I knew that I wanted to whip up one.

I am so delighted with the outcome and decided to share with you what I have learned from another food blogger like me. 

So, here is a list of the things that you will need before we start:

MATERIALS:

2 large bowls
1 saucepan
wire whisk
spatula
electric mixer (hand mixer will do)
measuring spoons
measuring cups
parchment paper
foil cupcake liners (NOT paper liners) or muffin cups (sturdy cup)
2 Piping Bags
Big Closed Star decorating Tip
Big Dropped Flower Decorating Tip

INGREDIENTS:

Meringue Cake
4 egg whites
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Custard Filling
4 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 cup cornstarch
150ml (approx 10 Tablespoons) condensed milk
150ml (approx 10 Tablespoons) water

SPECIAL TIP ALERT!!! None of the brazo de mercedes recipes (at least the ones that I have checked) included this special step to make the custard more sumptuous, this is totally optional, but I highly recommend that you do this step to make your recipe better than the others!

Add at least 1/2 teaspon Rind of fresh lime. (Note: not lemon)


PROCEDURE:

Nope. Get your hands off of that oven dial. You do not need to pre-heat your oven at this time. 

Before you get too crazy and excited, it is essential that you begin making your custard filling first before you do your meringue. This is because you need to cool it down first before you pipe them.


1.) In a bowl, combine the cornstarch and water. Mix until the cornstarch is completely dissolved.

2.) Combine your eggs and vanilla and beat only until incorporated.

3.) In a saucepan, pour the condensed milk and add your lime rind. Put saucepan in low heat. It is essential that you use a thick saucepan to avoid your custard getting burnt.

4.) Whatever you plan on doing put it on hold! Do not leave your custard alone if you want a perfectly silky smooth custard! While the milk is just starting to heat up, gradually add the water and cornstarch mixture. Using a wire whisk, mix until incorporated. As soon as the milk and water mixture are combined, gradually add in the eggs ensuring that you are continuously mixing, else you will end up with a lumpy custard. All of these are happening before the saucepan heats up. 

It will take you approximately 10 minutes before you notice that your custard will try to get it's form. continue mixing until it looks like a thick liquid. It is important not to over heat your custard because as soon as it cools down, it becomes thicker. If you over do it, it turns into a big clump. I normally turn off the stove when the first signs of lava-like bubble shows up. As it cools down, it will form a "skin" that is fine, when you mix it, the skin will dissolve and become part of the custard. However, if you do not wish to have this, just cover your mixture with parchment or seran/cling wrap.

Alright, while your custard is cooling down, you may go ahead and pre-heat your oven at 180 degrees Celsius. You will have to prepare the following items before you want to start. I personally do not want to keep my meringue hanging before baking them as it tends to wilt especially on humid environment.

I read somewhere that you should NEVER use paper liners in making brazo de mercedes cupcakes. This is because the meringue is heavy and it needs a stiff support to keep its shape. You can either use a foil liner or a muffin cup. I also wanted to support my foil liner so I placed it on a cupcake baking pan.

I had to use two tips for this recipe, one is for the meringue and the other for the custard. I used the dropped flower tip to pipe the meringue. This is because it creates a more obvious decor. I used the closed star decorating tip for the custard.

Let's get back to making the meringue.

5.) In a clean bowl, put the egg whites (1) and using a hand mixer (or stand mixer) beat the whites until frothy (2). Add vanilla extract and cream of tartar and beat until incorporated (3). Continue beating while gradually adding the sugar (4) From time to time, check the consistency of your meringue (5) Beat it until it forms stiff peaks or until it can hold its form without moving (6)

6.) Put the meringue in a piping bag careful not to deflate the batter. Pipe a layer of the meringue onto the foil liner. And slowly pipe a cylindrical shape (hollow center) until you achieve the height you wish. Quick tip, do not pipe outside the foil liner. The meringue tends to spread out and if you pipe outside the liner, it may fall off to the sides.

Bake them for about 10-12 mins or until golden brown. Be sure to check the oven from time to time to avoid it getting burned. AS soon as cooked, allow open the oven door to allow the meringue to cool down gradually. I noticed that if you remove it from the oven and let it cool off on a wire rack, the meringue wilts and the sugar breaks down. If you want it to keep its form, gradually cool it down.

7.) Once the meringue has totally cooled down, you are now ready to pipe your custard. Put your custard into a piping bag and holding the bag upright, pipe out (straight down) sufficient amount of custard. Do not put too much as this may break your meringue or it may over power the taste of it. And dust off with more confectioner's sugar for presentation purposes.

Here is a quick video on how to pipe the meringue. If you can't play it here, check it via this link.

Then I decided to make a mini cake roll as well. Why? I just felt like trying it too! So, here's how to do it:

     a.) Line your pan with non stick parchment paper. 
     b.) Dust it with a generous amount of confectioner's sugar.
     c.) Carefully spread out your meringue onto the pan with light hands.
          You don't want to have deflated cake don't you?
     d.) Bake for 10-12mins or until golden brown. Cool completely.
     e.) Dust a generous amount of confectioner's sugar onto another parchment paper. Flip cake over, onto the sugar-dusted parchment paper.
     f.) Slowly and carefully peel off the parchment from the cake.
     g.) Pipe on the custard, making sure to leave two sides bare.
     h.) Lift the parchment paper and slowly tuck and roll the cake.

Here's a video to better help you with the procedures stated above. If you can't play it here, you can view it via this link.

There you go guys! I hope you enjoyed this blog post and let me know if you were successful in making your own brazo de mercedes cupcakes or rolls! I'd also like to know if you think that the lime made such a big difference in the taste of the custard that you are making.