Filed under: Food
I had the pleasure of tasting this dessert when an officemate brought some leftover frozen brazo de mercedes that she bought from Rockwell. I fell in love with it immediately that I wanted to try to make one. This was a slightly easy dessert to make, I had a hard time making the meringue. I ruined the golden brown meringue color because the meringue sticks to the wax paper when I turn it over. To fix this slight problem, try dusting the top of the meringue with confectioner’s sugar. You could also experiment with other ice cream flavors for added variety.
Ingredients
Base:
1 pack crushed Honey Graham Crackers
2 tbsps granulated sugar
1/3 cup melted butter, unsalted
1 gal Vanilla or Mantecado Ice Cream (I used Kasoy Mantecado and Vanilla Almond flavors for this one)
Filling:
1 can condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla
8 egg yolks
2 tbsps butter, unsalted
Meringue:
8 egg whites
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Procedure:
1. Prepare the base by mixing the crushed graham crackers, sugar and butter. Place mixture at the bottom of the baking dish. Top with ice cream. Cover with cling wrap, place in the freezer.
2. Using a double boiler, mix the condensed milk, vanilla, egg yolks and butter. Cook until the mixture sticks at the back of the wooden spoon. When the mixture is a little runny, remove from heat. The mixture will thicken as you continue mixing while cooling.
3. Spread the custard on top of the ice cream base. Return baking dish to the freezer.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F.
5. In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar. Gradually add sugar. Continue to beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks. Do not overbeat the egg whites, as they will appear grainy.
6. Spread meringue mixture on a 10×15 pan lined with wax paper and sprayed with cooking spray. Spread the mixture evenly, you can also use a fork to decorate the meringue. Bake at 350°F for 13-15 mins. The meringue will rise up and turn to a light golden brown color.
7. Allow the meringue to cool completely. The meringue will deflate and return to its normal height. Place a sheet of wax paper on top of the meringue. You can brush the top with confectioner’s sugar to avoid it from sticking to the wax paper. Cover the pan with a bigger baking sheet and flip the pan over. Carefully peel off the wax paper from the meringue.
8. While lifting the wax paper, carefully place the meringue on top of the custard and ice cream base. Tuck the edges under. Freeze for 1-2 hours before serving.
