Canonigo–A deconstructive Braso de Mercedes

I have been trying to make Braso de Mercedes forever.  Each time I tried, I have failed.  For those who does not know what Braso is, it is a Swiss Roll but the cake is made of a soft meringue and filled with a sweet custard.  Every time I try to form the Swiss roll, it would break or crack on me.  I would stomp and scream all over my kitchen.  What made it worse is that The Husband would give his 2 cents even through he has yet to make it.  This would result to more stomping.  When I found the recipe for Canonigo and I was so excited.  I thought, I don’t have to roll the horrible thing.  I’m also not a huge fan of the filling,  I like a thin layer but not too thick.  This recipe allows you to put as much as you want.  I found this recipe from Oggi’s I can do it Blog.  When I made it, The Husband was a little leery of it but once I made him taste it, he ate most of the cake.  I had to make two: one for us and one for my god-child’s birthday party.
Canonigo
(Adapted from Oggi’s I Can Do it)
1 1/2 Cup of Sugar (separate 1/2 cup of sugar for the meringue)
1 Tsp of Cream of Tartar
8 Eggs Separated
1 Cup of Condense Milk
1 Tsp of Vanilla
Directions

1. Heat the oven to 350F and place a large pan in the oven with water to create the Bain-Marie.
   
2. Cook 1 Cup of sugar in a small sauce pan until it becomes melts to a caramel.
   
3. Immediately pour into a 9 inch pan. I used a Bundt pan the first time.  Set aside.
   
4. While the caramel cooked, take the egg whiles,  cream of tartar, and sugar into a mixing bowl.  Let it sit for 5 minutes.
   
5. Start whipping the egg whites until it becomes soft peaks.
   
6. Put the egg whites into the prepared pan and cook it in the Bain-Marie for an hour to an hour and a half.
   
7. While that is cooking, cook the custard.
   
8. Cook the egg yolks, vanilla, and condense milk in a double broiler.
   
9. Continue mix until it thickens.
   
10. Remove for the broiler and let it cool
    
11. When the meringue is cooked, let it cool and remove the meringue from the pan.
    
12. Serve with the custard.

I made a smaller version of this for us.  This is the cake when I took it out of the oven.  The Husband said it looks like a mushroom. 

This is what it looks like once it is flipped.

I was trying to make it nice have the custard on top of the slice but as I took the pic, it kinda fell