Sans Rival
This is a special treat prepared mostly during special occasion especially on Christmas time. It is an involved recipe with intricate procedures to attain a right texture of the mixtures for the best looking result. I have failed a lot of times before I finally get more familiar with the process. Nevertheless, my family still enjoys this rich and crunchy cake smothered with a roasted cashew nuts no matter how it looks.
Sans Rival
Ingredients
- 1 cup Coarsely grounded roasted cashew nuts
Wafer
- 4 pcs Egg white
- 1/2 tsp Cream of tartar
- 2/3 cup Granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp Cornstarch
- 1 cup Grounded roasted cashew nuts
Buttercream icing
- 1/3 cup Water
- 1 cup Granulated sugar
- 4 pcs Egg yolks
- 1 1/2 cups Butter
- 1 tsp Vanilla/Rum
Toppings
Instructions
To make the wafer:
- Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare 8" inch or 6" circle parchment paper or silicon liner.
- Beat the egg white using stand mixer. Make sure the bowl is clean and free of any type of fat.
- When it starts to bubbles add cream of tartar. Continue beating and add sugar when it volumes starts to thicken. Beat until soft peaks.
- On a separate bowl, mix to combine the cornstarch with cashew nuts.
- Slowly fold the cornstarch mixture to the meringue until just fully combined. Do not over mix as you will lose the volume of the meringue.
- Divide the meringue into 4 equal parts for 8" cake or 6 equal parts for 6" cake to make a circle.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes depending on the desired crunchiness. The longer you bake the crunchier the wafer and the less baking time makes the wafer more chewy.
- Remove from pan and lay it on a flat surface. Let it cool down before removing each in the parchment paper/ silicon liner to prevent the wafer from breaking. Store in a tight container to make sure it retains the crunchiness while waiting for the buttercream.
To prepare the buttercream
- Add the sugar and water in a sauce pan. Boil until 240 degrees Fahrenheit. Do not mix, just slowly tilt the pan to distribute the sugar to emerse the sure in the water.
- On a separate mixing bowl, beat eggs for at least 3 minutes. Continue beating until the syrup has attained the desired temperature
- Slowly pour the hot syrup into the egg while continue beating. This process will tend to cook the egg yolks.
- When the batter is back to room temperature and bottom of the pan is no longer warm, add half of the butter. Beat for another 5 minutes, then add the remaining butter and continue beating for another 4 minutes.
- Add vanilla/rum and beat for another 5 minutes or until the batter mixture is similar to a cake icing.
Assembly
- Cover one wafer with the batter and sprinkler some cashew nuts.
- Layer the next wafer and do the same until the last wafer. Be cautious on the desired thickness to make sure you have enough batter to cover the whole cake.
- Cover the cake with the remaining batter and distribute evenly including the sides.
- Sprinkler the coarsely grounded cashew nuts all over the cake. Press gently to stick it in the batter.
- Freeze for at least an hour before serving.
