My first Daring Bakers November Challenge! Finally I’m participating! and luckily, the objective wasn’t too scary to get finished.
I took on a the task of mastering the “Sans Rival” cake. A traditional Philippine dessert, that doesn’t call for a bunch of exotic, difficult to find, nor expensive ingredients. Yay!
The Sans Rival cake.
“Sans rival” means “without rival” and any Filipino will argue with you that this is true. Although it’s one of the most popular desserts in the Philippines, its origins are certainly French. In the 1920’s to 30’s there were many Filipinos who went abroad to study. A good number went to France and learned many French cooking techniques which they then brought home.
A Sans Rival is made with layers of dacquoise, typically using crushed cashews, with very rich French buttercream frosting. The dacquoise is allowed to bake and dry to a crispy layer so that there is the crunch of pastry and nuts with the buttery, silky frosting.”
Update: The cake turned out delicious, however, I definitely didn’t get a meringue base, it came out more soft like a thin Sponge cake with slightly crunchy edges. Hahahahah I wonder if that’s due to over mixing?
I had never made buttercream made from yolks before. I’ve always used whites, but the end result was very very nice. The frosting is super silky with a deep & smooth flavor and consistancy. I really liked it.
I added the melted chocolate to the frosting because I don’t like the flavor of butter :-p
The non-rival cake is a Filipino cake made from layers of “French” butter cream, meringue and chopped cashew nuts or almonds.
It is one of the most popular desserts in the Philippines. “Sans rival” or “without a rival” was created by Filipinos who studied in France in the 1920-1930’s where they learned many French cooking techniques, including making dacquoise dessert cake. The Sans Rival shares many similarities with the dacquoise. Due to the availability of certain ingredients in the Philippines, cashew nuts have been preferred.
Difficulty level: easy
Preparation time : 30 min
Cooking time : 50 min
Portions: 6 people
Meringue:
- 8 egg whites
- 200 g white sugar
- 3/4 tsp. cream of tartar
- 200 g roasted and chopped cashew
- Butter cream :
- 275 g butter
- 8 egg yolks
- 250 g white sugar
- 225 ml of water
- 4 c. c. rum
- 225 g roasted and chopped cashew
Preparation of the meringue :
- In a bowl, add the egg whites and beat until foamy.
- Add the cream of tartar.
- Gradually add the sugar, continue beating until the egg whites form firm peaks.
- Stir in the cashew nuts or almonds.
- lightly butter three 23 cm cake molds or pots.
- Distribute the meringue evenly.
- Preheat the oven to 160° C.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the top of the meringue is golden brown.
- Turn off the oven and leave it to cool in the oven without opening the oven door between 30 min (soft meringue) and 2 h (crunchy meringue).
Preparation of the French buttercream:
- In a bowl, beat the butter you left at room temperature with spatula until it gets light and bubbly.
- In another bowl, beat the egg yolks until light.
- In a saucepan, add sugar and water and bring to a boil.
- Continue to boil until the mixture becomes thick like a syrup.
- Beat the egg yolk vigorously while adding a very fine stream of the sugar mixture.
- Whisk in the butter and the rum.
- If the butter cream is a little too liquid, put it in the refrigerator to spread it on the cake later.
Assembly:
- Take the meringues out of the oven.
- Place a first layer of meringue on a dish, then spread a layer of buttercream on top.
- Sprinkle 75 g of chopped cashew(or other nuts).
- Lay the second layer of meringue on top and spread a layer of buttercream on top.
- Sprinkle 75 g of chopped nuts again.
- Lay the third layer of meringue.
- Cover with the butter cream, smooth out the sides with the spatula and sprinkle with the remaining cashew nuts.
- Freeze for at least 4 h before serving.
- Meringue:
- 8 egg whites
- 200 g white sugar
- 3/4 tsp. cream of tartar
- 200 g roasted and chopped cashew
- Butter cream :
- 275 g butter
- 8 egg yolks
- 250 g white sugar
- 225 ml of water
- 4 c. c. rum
- 225 g roasted and chopped cashew
- Preparation of the meringue :
- In a bowl, add the egg whites and beat until foamy.
- Add the cream of tartar.
- Gradually add the sugar, continue beating until the egg whites form firm peaks.
- Stir in the cashew nuts or almonds.
- lightly butter three 23 cm cake molds or pots.
- Distribute the meringue evenly.
- Preheat the oven to 160° C.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the top of the meringue is golden brown.
- Turn off the oven and leave it to cool in the oven without opening the oven door between 30 min (soft meringue) and 2 h (crunchy meringue).
- Preparation of the French buttercream:
- In a bowl, beat the butter you left at room temperature with spatula until it gets light and bubbly.
- In another bowl, beat the egg yolks until light.
- In a saucepan, add sugar and water and bring to a boil.
- Continue to boil until the mixture becomes thick like a syrup.
- Beat the egg yolk vigorously while adding a very fine stream of the sugar mixture.
- Whisk in the butter and the rum.
- If the butter cream is a little too liquid, put it in the refrigerator to spread it on the cake later.
- Assembly:
- Take the meringues out of the oven.
- Place a first layer of meringue on a dish, then spread a layer of buttercream on top.
- Sprinkle 75 g of chopped cashew(or other nuts).
- Lay the second layer of meringue on top and spread a layer of buttercream on top.
- Sprinkle 75 g of chopped nuts again.
- Lay the third layer of meringue.
- Cover with the butter cream, smooth out the sides with the spatula and sprinkle with the remaining cashew nuts.
- Freeze for at least 4 h before serving.
Enjoy !
