Imagine the traditional Brazo de Mercedes in the form of a sandwich - a thick layer of custard in between meringue buns. It's such playful twist to an old favorite! Ces Lopez came up with this quirky idea when she got involved in her son's high school project, which eventually developed into a business. The brazo bars were custom-made and were actually not meant to be sold commercially. It turned out to be a huge hit! As they say, "the best things happen by accident."

The name Supreme Brazo Bars is undoubtedly an appropriate label to give the bars as they are nowhere close to being ordinary in terms of taste, quality and packaging. Among so many dessert choices out there, I asked Ces what stimulated her desire to "revamp" and sell the classic Filipino dessert, "Brazo de Mercedes was my late mom's favorite dessert and it's my homage and tribute to her, and I had fond memories of eating Brazo with her when I was young. Also, I wanted to promote Brazo because it's a traditional Filipino dessert, so that the younger generation would get to know brazo, in a modern and easy way of eating them." True enough, eating this custard dessert in the shape of a bar is presented in a more current and up-to-date fashion. Of course, its hallmark ridge pattern remains and so much flavor is packed into a single bar!

We're all so used to eating the plain brazo de mercedes, but Supreme Brazo also offers flavors such as Strawberry Sunrise, Toasted Coconut Kiss, Walnut Wander, Almond Shindig, Pecan Beach Party, Macapuno Summer Breeze, Hula Macadamia!, Pistachio Festival. Pretty funky names, wouldn't you say so? Growing up, Ces was surrounded by hot ovens and her parents were just as passionate about  baking as Ces is. Venturing into the food business was an all too familiar feeling. Supreme Brazo took off in 2009 and even landed a spot in Spot.ph's 10 Foods To Give and Top 10 Holiday Food Gifts list.