Name: Brazo de Mercedes (Philippines)
Prep time: 10 min
Yield: 4 People
Cuisine: Filipino
Ingredients: 6 eggs; 1 3/4 cups milk (or 1 2/3 cups condensed milk); 2 tbsps powdered sugar (+ for decoration); 2 tsps cornstarch; 1/2 tsp cream of tartar; 1 tsp vanilla

The Brazo de Mercedes is a Filipino cake made of soft meringue, with a center of rich custard made from egg yolks, sugar, and milk or yema, which is similar to custard but with condensed milk, sugar, and egg yolks, and the final addition of a teaspoon of butter (see Yema cake)

It is a type of “pionono“ (written “pianono” in the Philippines), which are rolled sponge cake desserts whose most common traditional filling is simply sugar and butter, similar to other forms of Filipino mamón (traditional Filipino sponge cakes, baked in characteristic cupcake-shaped molds).

Unlike other types, Brazo de Mercedes is made with meringue and therefore does not use flour, making it gluten-free.

The meringue is composed of egg whites, cream of tartar, and granulated sugar.

Although popularly translated simply as “Arm of the Mercedes,” in Spanish it actually means “Arm of Our Lady of Mercy,” from Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, a common devotional title for Mary, mother of Jesus.

The dessert dates back to the Spanish colonial period.

It is one of the desserts believed to have originated from the reuse of egg yolks discarded from the use of egg whites for mortar and plaster in Hispanic-Filipino colonial architecture.

Eggs were essential in the construction of churches, bridges, government buildings, and ancestral homes, such as those with indigenous baroque architectural styles.

Another version of pionono on the blog, the Argentine one, where it is a soft rolled cake both savory and sweet.

Pionono (Argentina)

@cucinare_per_te_00
La collaborazione questo mese con Selene di @ViaggiandoMangiando per il nostro hashtag #cucinareviaggiandoinsieme arriva dalla cucina filippina e fa parte della sua rubrica #girodelmondoin80piatti : Brazo de Mercedes una torta filippina a base di soffice meringa, con un centro di ricca crema pasticciera a base di tuorlo d’uovo, zucchero e latte oppure yema, simile alla crema pasticcera, ma con latte condensato, zucchero e tuorli d’uovo, e l’aggiunta finale di un cucchiaino di burro (vedi Yema cake) Si tratta di un tipo di “pionono” (scritto “pianono ” nelle Filippine) , ovvero dolci a base di pan di spagna arrotolato il cui ripieno tradizionale più comune è semplicemente zucchero e burro, simile alle altre forme di mamón filippino (tradizionali pan di Spagna filippini, cotti in caratteristici stampini a forma di cupcake). A differenza di altri tipi il brazo de Mercedes è fatto con meringa e quindi non utilizza farina, ed è perciò senza glutine. La meringa è composta da albumi, cremor tartaro e zucchero semolato. Anche se popolarmente è tradotto semplicemente come “Braccio della Mercedes”, in spagnolo significa in realtà “Braccio di Nostra Signora della Misericordia” , da Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, un titolo di devozione comune per Maria, madre di Gesù. Trovate la ricetta sul blog di Selene #viaggiandomangiando . Mentre per la mia versione vi lascio le dosi : Per la meringa 6 albumi 140 g di zucchero 1/2 cucchiaino cremor tartaro 1/2 limone il succo filtrato PER LA CREMA 500 g di latte 5 tuorli 100 g di zucchero 2 cucchiai succo di limone Buccia di limone edibile grattugiata 50 g amido di mais #cucinandoconcarmen #meringa #dolci #dolcifattincasa #foodtiktok #tiktokviral
♬ suono originale – cucinare_per_te

Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Inexpensive
Rest time: 30 Minutes
Preparation time: 10 Minutes
Portions: 4 People
Cooking methods: Bain-marie, Oven
Cuisine: Filipino
Seasonality: All seasons

Ingredients

6 eggs
1 3/4 cups milk (or 1 2/3 cups condensed milk)
2 tbsps powdered sugar (+ for decoration)
2 tsps cornstarch
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp vanilla

Steps

For the custard: cook, preferably in a bain-marie, the yolks with the milk (or condensed milk), powdered sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla.
Let cool, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Beat the egg whites and gradually add the sugar and cream of tartar.
Spread in a baking tray to form a rectangle.
The smaller the rectangle, the higher the base will be.
Bake in a static oven at 350°F for 15 minutes.
Let cool and spread the custard.
Roll up and serve with powdered sugar sprinkled on top.

Modern versions of the dessert can have a variety of different fillings and ingredients. These variations usually have different names, such as brazo de ube (with purple yam), brazo de pandan, brazo de buko pandan, brazo de chocolate, brazo de manga, and so on.