Brazo de Mercedes (Filipino Meringue Roll) Recipe

Primarily based on the title alone, I personally wouldn’t eat a dish referred to as the “arm of Mercedes,” named after Our Woman of Mercy, even when it guarantees some divine reward. However this pillowy meringue roll crammed with a wealthy citrus-scented custard is irresistible. It’s a true celebration of eggs: A dozen egg whites are whipped as much as make the baked meringue and a dozen egg yolks enrich the custard. Prior to now, this meringue custard roll was reserved for particular occasions and gatherings, however in latest instances, bakery chains have made it extensively accessible. It’s now usually served as a merienda (snack) or an after-dinner panghimagas (dessert).

I’ve a deep connection to this saccharine deal with. As a child I had such a large candy tooth that my lola (grandmother) used to cover and ration sweets and candies at dwelling. That didn’t deter me from grabbing a candy snack from a panaderia on my means dwelling from faculty. I used to drool over these custard-filled meringue logs and would beg my aunt to purchase me a slice to take dwelling, though it hardly ever made all of it the way in which dwelling intact. The model I bear in mind greatest from one specific panaderia had custard with a definite citrusy tone. I later came upon it used the zest from dayap, popularly referred to as key lime. In additional analysis I realized that zests from native citrus like calamansi or pomelo are typically used as effectively.

The core of this dish is the candy and citrus-tinged custard that’s enveloped within the ethereal meringue. The inspiration for the custard is yema (Spanish for “egg yolk”), a candy, delicate confection made with egg yolks and sugar that’s thickened and formed into balls or pyramids and wrapped in colourful cellophane. Some variants of yema embrace chopped peanuts or cashews, and milk or condensed milk.

It’s believed that yema originated within the Philippines throughout the Spanish colonization. Egg whites and egg shells have been blended with limestone and crushed coral and used as development materials to construct church buildings. The eggs’ albumen proved to be such a powerful adhesive that plenty of these colonial church buildings are nonetheless standing in the present day. To make use of the excess of discarded egg yolks, Filipinos integrated them into custard confections equivalent to yema.

Sadly, as an grownup, I not have the identical palate for indulgently candy desserts. So in my yema-inspired custard, I’ve used floor cashews and a beneficiant quantity of lemon zest to chop via the sweetness. The addition of heavy cream ensures a clean and creamy texture. Toasting the sugar for the meringue offers welcome caramel notes that rework the ultimate dessert from a cloyingly candy confection to a extra balanced dessert I now savor as an grownup.

Regardless of its grown-up refinements, my brazo de Mercedes recipe nonetheless calls again to the flavour of these rainbow-colored balls of yema, the egg yolk sweet I beloved as a baby. This candy arm of Mercedes is probably not divine, however it magically makes me really feel 7 years previous once more.