What can rival Sans Rival ?


I know Sunday's suppose to be laid back. But this is what one gets when you're used to wake up in the wee hours of the morning every day :) And I am very happy to oblige to my biological clock when I know I have a handful of ingredients to wake up to-- evidently, it only rings a bell for productivity. Ding! 

Sans Rival is a popular Filipino dessert. When I tried it for the first time, it transported me back to my childhood when my Tita Alma who has a very expensive taste for all things fancy brought this to my grandparents' house. It was love at first bite for me back then, and instantly classified into my 'folder' of favorites at the back of my mind, and since then I can not forget about this awesome dessert.

As the name implies, Sans Rival is a two-French word meaning 'NO RIVAL'. Honestly, no dessert can rival Sans Rival. How could there be? The contrast of the somewhat crunchy meringue layers sandwiched in between with rich & smooth texture of French buttercream and sprinkled with ground cashew nuts, what more could you ask for? 

The recipe I made yield to 5-inch diameter, 3-4 layers of meringue.




Ingredients

**Meringue
4 eggwhites (room temperature) 
115 g of sugar
3/4 cup ground cashew nuts

**French buttercream
160 g unsalted butter, softened
4 eggyolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 tsp rum
1 cup ground cashew

1) Mise en place. Preheat the oven to 300 F. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper, traced with 3-4 circles, 5" in size.
2) Whip egg whites until foamy. make sure it is foamy, otherwise sugar will just melt into eggwhites and won't whip into peaks at all if you add it early on.
3) Gradually add sugar, continue whipping until stiff peaks form, about 8-10 minutes. Do not overbeat.
4) With the use of a spatula, fold in 3/4 cup of ground cashew. Transfer into ziplock bag, trim one end, and pipe into prepared discs. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Turn the oven off and leave unopen for about 10-15 minutes for chewier meringue. And 30-40 minutes for crunchy meringue. Let it cool.

5) For French buttercream, in a stand mixer, whip egg yolks until thick and lemon colored.
6) Bring water and sugar to a boil until it reaches 132-142 C. Carefully pour the hot syrup in a slow, steady stream into egg yolks while whipping. 
7) When the bottom of the mixing bowl is cool enough to the touch, add butter one tablespoon at a time until all is incorporated. 

Assembling Sans Rival--

Add a dollop of buttercream at the bottom of the cake board, so the meringue disc stays put. Alternately, sandwich the meringue with the buttercream in between. Lastly, coat the outside of the cake with the remaining buttercream. Sprinkle with ground cashew nuts, and chill before serving.



xoxo

Mademoiselle Vanilla














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