sans rival cake recipe

hey everyone! so a couple days ago, i decided to film myself making a classic filipino dessert called sans rival. the cake is made out of cashews and egg whites, while the frosting is actually a french buttercream, which consists of egg yolks, unsalted butter, and liquid sugar that needs to have a specific temperature before being fully incorporated with the rest of the ingredients. i decided to do some research before starting this recipe, and i used a combination of these videos:

1. https://youtu.be/SY2VRde7co0

2. https://youtu.be/yvd6ulN6rdw

since both of these videos are actually pretty long, i've decided to condense everything and upload my take/experience of making this recipe. for a quick 4-minute overview, here's a short video that i made:

music by: prod. lee - rain

overall experience

so this is actually my second time making this recipe, but it's been so long that i've forgotten all of the steps. all i remember is that when i tried to make the buttercream, it was so watery and runny that the cake looked unappetizing. the taste was all there, but the buttercream...i just couldn't get right.

after researching, i realized that with some things, you just can't wing it. the first time, i thought that i could just eyeball boiling the sugar-water, but you actually need to be very very precise when it comes to the temperature. if aren't careful, you could end up overcooking the egg yolks, which causes the frosting to lose its natural fluffy consistency. you can't save it after you made this mistake. trust me, i've tried.

for the difficulty of this recipe, i'd give it a 2.5/5. it's not too hard to make. it's really just a matter of patience and following every step from the book; no sudden tricks or turns. again, the only thing to be aware of will probably be the buttercream.

ingredients

for the cashew meringue

1. egg whites

2. 3 cups toasted cashews

3. 1 tsp cream of tartar

4. 1 cup granulated sugar

for the french buttercream

1. 10 egg yolks (room temp)

2. 1 cup granulated sugar

3. 6 tbsp water

4. pinch of salt

5. 2 tsp vanilla extract

6. 2 cups unsalted butter (room temp)

for decorations (and extra taste)

1. 1/2 cup of crushed (roasted) salted cashews

instructions

1. take out some parchment paper, and outline cut-outs of your cake shape. in the video, i used my planter's cashew container as a guide for perfect circles. put those aside.

2. pre-heat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. line a baking baking pan with fresh sheet of parchment paper. evenly lay out three cups of the salted cashews, and place in oven for 10 minutes.

3. while cashews fully cool, crack ten room temperature eggs into a bowl. separate egg whites from egg yolks. i used my hands in the video, but the eggshell method is a perfectly fine too. although, i've found that using my hands is a better and more effective alternative since you don't run the risk of puncturing an egg yolk or dropping a piece of shell into one of the bowls.

4. once separated, set egg yolks aside. using a stand-mixer or hand-mixer, whisk egg whites on low. when egg whites are frothy, add 1 tsp cream of tartar. after about three minutes, gradually add in 1 cup granulated sugar. gradually increase whipping speed to medium, and continue to whisk until meringue has formed stiff peaks.

5. using a blender or food-processor, pulse roasted cashews until they form small crumbs. i've found that the cashews tend to stick together at the bottom because of the oil, so in between pulsing or whenever necessary, make sure to scrape the bottom to ensure that all the cashews are being equally cut. transfer cashew bits to a bowl.

6. using the fold-in method, gently and gradually fold in the cashew bits into the meringue. be sure not to over fold as this can cause the meringue to lose volume.

7. transfer meringue into a piping-bag or gallon-size ziplock (i used the latter). take out some baking pans. before placing parchment paper with cake outlines onto pans, place a small amount of meringue on all corners. this will help keep the parchment paper in place while piping out meringue and baking.

8. make sure to flip the parchment paper so that you won't be placing the meringue on the side with the ink/lead/marker that you used to do cake outlines. slowly pipe out meringue onto the parchment paper. try not to over-pipe the meringue as this will cause them to bake unevenly. after piping, use a spoon to flatten out any sharp bumps on the top and to even out the batter.

9. preheat the oven to 300 degrees fahrenheit. let the cashew meringue bake for a good 30-40 minutes (usually until tops are somewhat golden brown). be sure not to over-bake the meringues as this will cause them to dry out. to test if batter is correcrly baked, the meringues should be crunchy around the sides, and somewhat softer in the middle. you should but still able to touch center without having any residue on fingers/silverware.

10. once meringues are cool enough to touch, immediately peel from parchment paper. to make things easier, flip the parchment paper, and peel from the back. be careful as the cake is both fragile and sticky, and will break if peeled too quickly. set separate meringues aside.

11. to start the french buttercream, whisk the 10 room temperature egg yolks until light yellow and thick in consistency. while yolks whisk together, which can take a good 3-5 minutes depending on the speed of the mixer, turn on stove to medium heat. using a pot, add 1 cup granulated sugar and 6 tbsp water. do not mix.

12. once sugar has dissolved, add a candy thermometer and monitor heat. once temperature hits 235 degrees, which is called a soft ball temperature in sugar terms, remove sugar-water mixture from the heat and slowly pour into light yellow, fluffy yolk while simultaneously whipping everything together.

13. whip together for ten minutes or until mixture has become a thicker consistency. once fully incorporated and fluffy, let mixture sit for at least 40 minutes, depending on your ambient temperature. this step is very important as the mixture needs to be exactly at room temperature or else the buttercream will be too hot when adding in the butter, which can cause it to become permanently runny.

14. once egg yolk mixture is at room temperature, set mixer to low and slowly add in chunks of room temperature butter (2 cups room temp. butter). make sure that each chunk is fully incorporated into the yolk mixture before adding the next one. after all the butter has been fully incorporated, add in 2 tsp vanilla and a pinch of salt. you should see that the buttercream has started to become a thick and fluffy consistency.

15. place a small smudge of buttercream onto a cake-stand to ensure that the cake won't move while adding on frosting/decorating. it's really free reign from here. like putting pb&j on a sandwich, take cooled meringue disks, place some buttercream on top, and layer until you've reached your desired height. place buttercream on sides and top of cake.

16. take 1/2 cups of (roasted) salted cashews and gently add to the sides of the cake, and you're done!

thank you to everyone who watched my video and read this recipe post! more to come so stay tuned!

January 15, 2021

Noelle Escobal