Easy Brazo de Mercedes

We have this family friend who makes the best Brazo de Mercedes. I only tasted it once as a kid and I never forgot it. During the recent monsoon rains, we evacuated at their house and so we made one for fun. :) I never thought that it would be so easy!

INGREDIENTS:(Makes 2)
8 small eggs or 7 medium eggs
1 teaspoon of Cream of Tartar
1 can of Condensed Milk
1/4 of the biggest butter (we used Dari Creme Classic)
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon of Vanilla (optional) -- we didn't add vanilla but I bet it'll be yummier with this
2 Parchment Paper/Wax Paper

STEPS:
-Separate egg white from yolk

-Mix the egg yolks, condensed milk, and butter using a double boiler (i.e., there's boiling water beneath the pot since you can't cook the mixture directly on fire)
-Don't stop stirring until the mixture becomes thick (you'll know it's ready when you scoop the mixture and it slowly falls from the spoon)

-After cooking the yellow filling, whip your egg whites and cream of tartar
-Add sugar gradually
-Add vanilla

-Prepare the cookie sheet by spreading small amounts of butter and then lining it with wax or parchment paper
-Spread the white mixture (meringue) on your cookie sheet
-Use oven or toaster to heat the top until it becomes golden brown (it's better to just hold it because if you leave the meringue inside the oven, the whole thing might get burned)

-When you get the desired "cook" of the meringue, flip it over so that you can spread the yellow filling next
-Spread the yellow filling (don't put it on the middle or too much on the side)
-Roll the meringue carefully
-Sprinkle sugar (granulated or confectioners sugar) on top
-Place inside ref first to cool before eating

P.S. We didn't use all the eggs so this little one right here got all angry at us :)) (Egg drawing by Angela)

Thanks again to the Robles family! :) This is such an easy dessert to make!

Attempt to Design a Cake

It was Ayessa's birthday and we got her cake at Red Ribbon. Their new one: Ultimate Chocolate Cake (Large- P495) which was super chocolatey, not too sweet, melt-in-you-mouth type of yummy. <3

Photo from Red Ribbon Facebook Page

When Ayessa's sister and I got the cake, I asked the counter girl if I could personally write on the cake with icing. She wrote the "Happy birthday Ayessa!" part:

And I designed the most beautiful part of all:

The two separate ends of the message part. It's FLAWLESS! :))

Cotton Candy Love

It's been a while since I last drew something. The last time was during college when we were required to submit storyboards. So last night, I pulled out some materials and since my last blog browse was about cotton candies and Maggie's blog, here's what I came up with:

"Fairy Tales and Cotton Candy Dreams" (Soft Pastel on Paper)

It was my first time to use soft pastel (like chalk) and it was difficult to be precise. The colors kept smudging. But after a while, I enjoyed mixing and blending the colors that made a soft overall look to the drawing.

Then here are some of my favorite cotton candy photos from Pinterest:

I was amazed on how people experiment with cotton candy to complement well-known drinks and desserts, like for example:

Cotton Candy Meringue and Cake

Cupcakes, and...

Drinks! Coffee or Martini (with cotton candy), anyone?

I remember as a kid, I would treat myself to a cup of cotton candy ice cream from Baskin-Robbins after school. It was my favorite flavor from BR. I was one of those who mourned when its Katipunan shop closed down. Good-bye to 30+ flavors of ice cream. :( Sadly, we don't have Baskin-Robbins in the country anymore.

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EXTRA THOUGHTS: 

Right now, a warfare is going on in my mind: whether to post drawings here or not.

 Since I want a "food blog", I'm supposed to stick to food/ product reviews and less on the personal side. Plus, my latest blog posts were more about inspiration/ photographs from other blogs, rather than reviews or recipes.

So, I thought of putting up another blog so I could be free to write and upload anything I like. But the thought was immediately rejected since I can't (-slash-I don't like to) maintain two blogs.

*Sigh* The last thing I want for this blog is for it to have an identity crisis. But okay. I really can't make another blog so I just have to do this. =)) Personal stuff will now be categorized under: RANDOM.
Besides, I stick to the blog's motto of good things are meant to be shared-- 
whatever that is.:)