Back when I still lived with my mom and she was out, she'd always ask me what I wanted her to take home. 4 out of 5 of the time, I would tell her to bring me something saccharine for my sweet tooth. And 3 out of that 4, it would be an image of a cake in my mind's eye. Not just any cake, mind you. It was always specific. Nooo, it's not chocolate cake. It's Brazo de Mercedes, my super duper ultimate favorite!
This afternoon, I challenged myself to bake one, but not in its usual rolled form. Since I'm into cupcakes, why not make a cupcake version of this dessert of soft meringue with custard filling? You'd think it would be easy since I already had a recipe to follow (thanks to Rolly's officemate, Mira, who gave me the link to the recipe). To me, however, it was a relatively tall task since I know that I am no good at anything involving egg whites. But what the heck. There's no harm in trying (except for the ingredients which would go to waste, just in case). Hehe. Oh well, I'm glad I did it because otherwise, I wouldn't have created these drop-dead dainty cuppies! :)
Here's the recipe I got from bakehappy.net, just in case you want to bake Brazo de Mercedes, too.
Ingredients:
FOR THE FILLING:
8 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1/4 cup cornstarch
300ml condensed milk
300ml water
FOR THE MERINGUE:
8 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp vanilla
Directions:
FOR THE FILLING/TOPPING:
1. Pour condensed milk in a pan.
2. In a bowl, mix water and cornstarch. Add the mixture to the condensed milk and start heating up the pan.
3. Whisk in the egg yolks gradually while the pan is still not too hot.
4. Whisk continuously until very thick. The texture should be of piping consistency before you turn the burner off.
5. Set aside to cool down.
FOR THE MERINGUE:
1. Beat the egg whites until foamy, then add the vanilla and cream of tartar.
2. Gradually add the sugar while beating the egg whites. Mix until stiff peaks form.
3. Pipe to prepared baking cups. Leave a hole at the center of each cup for the custard filling/topping (but don't pipe in the custard yet!).
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 7 minutes, or until the top of the meringue turns slightly brown. After baking, set aside for a few minutes to let it cool.
5. Finally, pipe the custard into the center and on top of each meringue cuppy. You may dust the cupcakes with powdered sugar if you want to. :)
And there you have it - your Brazo cuppies! :) If you're not as bad as I am with egg whites, I bet this recipe will be easier for you. ;) Good luck!
Cheers,
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