SANS RIVAL RECIPE

SANS RIVAL (makes a four-layered 8"x6" cake or 2 layed 8”x12”)

For the meringue wafers:

Ingredients:

1 cup eggwhites, (from 7 large eggs) room temperature

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 cup granulated white sugar

1 cup coarsely chopped unsalted roasted cashews

 

Preheat oven to 150C (300F).

Cut two pieces of baking paper about the same size as the underside of a large baking tray.

In the center of each, draw an 8"x12" rectangle.

Lightly grease the underside of two baking trays. Stick each baking paper to a greased tray, drawn

side down. Just to make sure it would be easier to take off the baking paper later on, you can also

grease the tops which is optional.

 

 In a mixing bowl, combine eggwhites and cream of tartar. Starting from a low speed gradually

increasing to medium, beat until frothy. Slowly add in sugar, then increase mixer speed to high and

beat until eggwhites are stiff but not dry.

 

 Gently fold in the chopped cashew nuts.

 

 

 

Divide the meringue equally between the two lined trays. With an offset spatula, spread the

meringue out using the drawn rectangle as a guide but go slightly past the lines. Make it as level as

you possibly can.

 

 

 

Bake meringue in preheated oven for about 1  to 1 1/2 hours, or until the meringue is dry, crisp and a

light brown colour. (baking time may varies in different ovens) always be sensitive about the smell of what you are baking in order to avoid burning of the wafer.

 

The important thing is that the wafers are crunchy - soft and soggy wafers are not good!

 

While still hot, use a long, sharp knife to carefully trim the sides of the meringue to make the edges

straight (and aligned with the drawn rectangle on the baking paper). Cut each meringue in the center

to make four 8"x6" pieces (or two 8x12 pieces).

 

Do this slowly. If you accidentally crack the meringue

don't worry about it as you will be able to "repair" this with buttercream later.

 

 

For the French buttercream:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup granulated white sugar

1/4 cup water

2 eggyolks

1 whole egg

1 cup soft butter

 

 

 

In a small saucepan, mix together the sugar and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Clip a

candy thermometer onto the side of the saucepan. Once the temperature reaches about 90C (200F),

start beating your eggs.

When syrup reaches 115C (240F), take it off the heat. With mixer at low speed, slowly pour the hot

syrup into the eggs. Aim for the area in between the mixer and the beaters. If your syrup hits your

beaters, it will splatter to the sides of the mixing bowl instead of combining with the eggs.

Beat the egg/syrup mixture until thick and light in colour. Set this aside in the fridge to cool.

 

 

 

When cool, return bowl to the mixer, beat at medium speed while gradually adding in the soft

butter. Scrape down the sides to make sure all the butter is incorporated.

Once all the butter is in, increase mixer speed to high and beat until buttercream is light and fluffy.

 

 

 

 

To assemble Sans rival:

You will also need: 1 cup or more of coarsely chopped unsalted roasted cashew nuts (or whatever nut

you used in the meringue).

 

On a cake board or the same baking pan if for personal consumption, alternate layers of meringue wafer and buttercream. As the buttercream is very rich spread thinly only. If you have any cracked

 Wafers use a little buttercream to "glue" them together. Cover the entire cake with the rest of the
Buttercream.

 

As with the cake pictured at the very top of this page, you can finish your sans rival off by piping

borders (if you still have leftover buttercream) and by covering the top generously with chopped

cashew nuts.

 

Or if you absolutely love nuts, you can cover even the sides with more cashews!

Keep the sans rival in the freezer in a box or in an airtight container until time to serve to keep the

meringue crunchy. Use a very sharp knife to slice.

 

Remember to cut into small pieces only!

 Special thanks to Corine for sharing this recipe.