Brazo gitano

Before you start

1. Prepare the pastry cream first following our pastry cream recipe. When it is ready, set it aside and get started on the sponge cake.

Sponge cake

2. Separate the yolks and whites of the 4 eggs. Whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form and incorporate the yolks.

   

3. Without stopping to beat, add the sugar little by little until you obtain a homogeneous cream.
4. Mix the dry ingredients: the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add them gradually to the beaten eggs with sugar, sifting them if possible, so that the batter is lump-free.
5. Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
6. Cover the bottom of the baking sheet with parchment paper. If you don't have any, grease it with butter or oil and sprinkle a thin layer of flour on it, so you can flip the sponge cake easily afterwards. Use the tray and not a mold: you need a thin and long sponge cake to roll it.
7. Pour the mixture into the prepared tray.

   

8. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the center position, with top and bottom heat. Check that it is ready by piercing it with a skewer: it should come out dry.
9. Take the sponge cake out of the oven and cover it with a clean cloth, preferably white cotton.

   

10. Let it cool down a bit and flip it to unmold it. Trim the edges to get a perfect rectangle.
11. With the help of the cloth, roll it so that it takes on a cylindrical shape and leave it wrapped like this until it cools.

    

Filling and decoration

12. Unroll the sponge cake, spread the pastry cream evenly, and roll it up carefully so that it does not break.

    

13. Put it in the refrigerator for about an hour to cool and compact.

    

14. Cover it with a thin layer of pastry cream.

    

15. When the topping is well chilled, sprinkle sugar on it and burn it slightly to caramelize it. Then sprinkle icing sugar. It is best to finish the decoration just before serving.