How to Make the Best Sans Rival Cake

Name: The Best Sans Rival Cake
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 210 min
Ingredients: 10 pcs egg whites from large eggs (room temperature); 3/4 tsp cream of tartar; 1 cup granulated sugar; 1 cup cashews (toasted and roughly chopped); 10 pcs egg yolks from large eggs; ⅔ cup granulated sugar (+ 2 tsp); 1 tbsp vanilla extract; pinch salt; 2 cups unsalted butter (cubed and softened); 2 cups cashews (toasted and roughly chopped)

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Sans rival is a Filipino cake made of buttercream, meringue and roasted cashews. It’s chewy, crunchy, sweet and salty in one glorious bite.

(If you love sans rival, you would love its cookie cousin, silvanas. Meringue cookie sandwiches filled with luxurious French buttercream and coated with cookie crumbs. Delicious. Check it out!)

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What is it?

Ingredients

Baking tools

How to make (with step-by-step photos)

Tips when making meringue

Tips for making French buttercream

Recipe FAQs

The Best Sans Rival Cake

Sans rival is not your ordinary, everyday cake. It’s usually reserved for special occasions and celebrations like Christmas, Easter or a loved one’s birthday.

I used to make sans rival with American buttercream (butter and confectioner’s sugar) but a reader mentioned that Nora Daza (a popular Filipino baker and chef) made it with French buttercream (egg yolks and butter).

I tried that and never looked back. This cake is one of the most delicious cakes I make and is everyone’s favourite.

With rich, creamy French buttercream sandwiched in between layers of chewy cashew meringue, sprinkled with crunchy, chopped cashews throughout, it is a cake so sublime a single bite will make your tastebuds sing.

Let’s get to it.

What is it?

Sans rival literally means “without rival”. And how appropriate that this cake is called that.

It’s very much like, and can probably trace its origin back to, the French Dacquoise (yes, very fancy).

A dacquoise is a meringue made with finely chopped nuts folded into the mixture before baking.

It’s then piped or spread into shapes and baked until crisp in a low temperature oven, then layered with buttercream, whipped cream or even ice cream.

Unlike a dacquoise though, sans rival can be crunchy or chewy depending on the recipe. My version is more chewy than crisp. It gets its crunch from the roasted cashews.

In the Philippines, you can find the best sans rival cakes in Dumaguete, a city on Negros Island, in the southern Philippines.

Although the ones from Goldilocks or Red Ribbon, which you can find nationwide, are pretty good too.

Ingredients

To make this delicious Filipino cashew cake at home, you’ll need simple, easy-to-find pantry staples:

Eggs
Cream of tartar
Granulated sugar
Cashews
Unsalted butter
Vanilla extract
Salt

Baking tools

A stand mixer would make the process of making your cashew meringue and your buttercream that much quicker and easier. An electric handheld mixer works great too; it’ll just take a little more time.

Other things you’ll need include:

Parchment paper
Cookie sheets or baking sheets – I use a commercial size baking sheet
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Spatula
Instant read thermometer — to ensure you’ve cooked the egg yolks properly

These are nice-to-haves, especially when you’re decorating your cake:

Piping bag
Piping tips
Offset spatula
Cake turntable
Bench scraper

How to make (with step-by-step photos)

There are 3 components to making this easy sans rival recipe: the roasted cashews, the meringue and, finally, the buttercream.

Roasted cashews

First, prep your cashews because you need it ready before you can make your meringue.

Just toast your cashews on a skillet until they’re a light golden brown and fragrant.

Then roughly chop and set aside. You want it at room temperature.

You can use a food processor to make chopping easier but be careful not to chop the nuts too finely; you want to feel that crunch in every bite.

Cashew meringue

Next, you can work on your meringue.

1 PREP. Preheat your oven to 320F. Line a cookie sheet or baking sheet with parchment paper, lightly grease and set aside.

It’s helpful to create a guide or template to help you pipe your meringue later. Simply trace 4 rectangles that’s roughly 8×5 inches each on your parchment paper and flip it over, then lightly grease.

Sans rival template for piping meringue.

If your rectangles don’t fit in one baking sheet, use 2 pans.

2 WHISK. Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or a handheld electric mixer), whisk egg whites on medium high speed until foamy.

3 SOFT PEAKS. Add cream of tartar and continue whisking until soft peaks.

4 STIFF PEAKS. Gradually (about a teaspoon at a time) add the 1 cup sugar until stiff peaks form.

5 FOLD. Remove the bowl from the mixer and gently fold your toasted cashews.

6 PIPE. Transfer your meringue to a piping bag and pipe 4 rectangles onto your prepared cookie sheet/s. Space them out evenly, at least 2 inches apart, and smoothen the tops.

cashew meringue piped on parchment paper

7 BAKE. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the top turns a light golden brown. Once that happens, turn the oven off but leave the meringue in the oven with the door closed for another 20 minutes.

8 COOL. Take the meringue out of the oven and leave on the cookie sheet until it’s cool enough to handle (don’t leave on the pan for too long or they will become too brittle and break).

9 PEEL. Carefully peel the meringue off the parchment and trim the sides if needed so they’re even. Cool completely before assembly.

French buttercream

While your cookies are baking, you can work on your buttercream.

1 BOIL. Start by boiling water in a large pot, then bringing it to a simmer.

2 COMBINE. In a large stainless steel bowl (I like using the bowl of my stand mixer), whisk egg yolks, granulated sugar, vanilla extract and salt until combined.

3 COOK. Place bowl over simmering water and constantly stir and scrape the sides so the egg yolks don’t scramble. You need this egg sugar mixture to reach 155F/68C to make sure the yolks are cooked through.

4 WHISK. When it’s ready, transfer the bowl to your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk at high speed until it’s light and smooth (6-8 minutes). If you touch the bottom of your bowl it should not be hot anymore.

5 BUTTER. With the mixer still on, start adding your butter one piece at a time and continue whisking until your buttercream is thick and creamy.

6 CHILL. If you’re not using the buttercream right away, transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate. You’ll need to re-whip before using.

Assembly

Now for the most exciting part, assembling your cake!

1 LAYER. Place one meringue layer on a cake stand, platter or turntable and spread about ¼ of your buttercream evenly on it.

French buttercream spread on cashew meringue.

2 SPRINKLE. Sprinkle with toasted cashews and continue to do the same thing for the rest of your layers. For your last one, make sure to put the smooth side up so your cake looks nice and even on top.

Toasted cashews on top of French buttercream.

3 DECORATE. Then you can go decorate! Frost your entire cake with buttercream and slap on the rest of your cashews on the sides or tops or both.

4 CHILL. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to allow the cake to set. Leave on the counter at room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving.

Tips when making meringue

Meringue is a little finicky to make but with lots of practice, you’ll be a meringue master in no time. Here are some of the things I’ve learned to make meringue successfully every time:

Make sure your egg whites are room temperature. They whip better and are more stable. It’s easier to separate the yolks from the whites when the eggs are cold though so what I do is separate the yolks and whites right when I take the eggs out of the fridge, place the whites in a bowl and leave them on the counter for about 30 minutes to bring them to room temperature.

Everything must be grease-free. You need to make sure that your bowl and whisk are dry, clean and oil-free. So it’s better to use glass, stainless steel, or ceramic bowls because plastic has a tendency to hide traces of oil in it.

Add sugar gradually. It takes a lot of restraint to only add a teaspoon of sugar at a time when you have a cup of sugar to add but this really makes all the difference. You want the sugar to dissolve into your meringue properly.

Don’t make meringue on a very humid day. Meringue has a tendency to absorb moisture so if it’s humid or rainy, your meringue has a bigger chance of falling apart.

Tips for making French buttercream

Unlike American buttercream, which is made with butter and confectioner’s sugar, French buttercream is made with egg yolks so you have frosting that’s richer, smoother but not as sweet.

Traditionally, French buttercream is made by slowly pouring hot sugar syrup (238F/114C) while you whip the egg yolks.

I have two issues with this: one, I’m deathly scared of hot sugar syrup drizzling into a running mixer. And two, I have reservations about the syrup fully cooking the egg yolks.

My favourite frosting is Swiss meringue buttercream and I wondered if French buttercream can be made the same way, i.e. cook the egg yolks with sugar in a double boiler then whip it with butter.

Happy to report that yes, it can be made using the same method! It’s not the classic, traditional way to make French buttercream but it works for me and I’m confident the yolks are cooked through.

A few things to remember when making this cooked French buttercream:

Constantly stir your egg yolk-sugar mixture so it doesn’t turn into scrambled eggs.
Watch the temperature of the egg yolks — once you reach 155F / 68C the egg yolks should be fully cooked.
Make sure you use cubed, softened butter. Butter must easily give way when you gently press your thumb onto it. But it should not look greasy or oily like it’s about to melt.

Recipe FAQs

Making sans rival has more steps than the usual cake but trust me, each step is worth it. Here are answers to some of your most frequently asked questions.

Are sans rival and silvanas/sylvanas the same?

I like to think of silvanas as sans rival’s cookie-sized cousin because they are made of the same delicious ingredients. The flavour profile is similar, although silvanas get an extra dose of sweetness from their graham cracker crumb coating.

Can I make this a round cake?

You can definitely make this sans rival recipe any shape you like. I prefer a rectangle because I find it easier to frost. But if you want a round cake, you can do 6 or 8-inch round meringue layers.

Can I make sans rival ahead of time?

You can certainly make some of the components of this cake ahead of time.

French buttercream — up to a week ahead, kept in the fridge. You’ll need to re-whip before using. You can also freeze French buttercream up to 3 months. Make sure it’s in an airtight container and when you’re ready to use, bring down to the fridge to thaw and re-whip to get back that lovely consistency.

Roasted cashews — toast your cashews up to a week before and keep in an airtight container so they don’t go stale.

I recommend making the meringue the same day you’re assembling your cake.

How long does sans rival last?

Once frosted, sans rival will keep up to 3 days in the fridge. If you want to keep it for longer, keep it in the freezer.

Can I make the buttercream without a thermometer?

A thermometer is absolutely necessary in this recipe. It makes sure you cook the egg yolks through. You can easily get one for less than $15.

Why is my meringue puffy?

Don’t worry if you see your meringue puffing up in the oven. It will flatten and deflate is it cools.

What to do when meringue cracks

When peeling the meringue off the parchment paper, carefully lift it so it comes out in one piece. Don’t peel it to early, it will break. Or too late, it will definitely crumble.

Test it — lift one corner a little at a time. You’ll know when it’s ready because it should give pretty easily.

And if it cracks, no worries. You will cover it with buttercream and cashews and nobody will ever know! It will still be a very delicious cake.

Why is my meringue sticky?

Meringue absorbs the moisture in the air. So if you’re making meringue on a rainy or humid day, you most likely will have a very sticky meringue.

Leaving it in the oven to dry after baking is one way to combat stickiness.

If they’re still sticky and unmanageable, try baking them for another 5-10 minutes at 200F. Watch that they don’t burn or turn too crispy.

To avoid this sticky situation altogether, avoid making meringue on a humid day.

How to make pistachio sans rival

Interested in making pistachio sans rival? Good news is you can use this exact same recipe, just replace the cashews with pistachios. It’s that easy. And equally delicious.

You can also make sans rival with almonds and even macadamias.

I’ve even seen ube, chocolate and mango sans rival. So many delicious variations.

How can I make crunchy sans rival?

Like I mentioned before, sans rival can be chewy or crunchy, depending on the recipe. My recipe makes a chewier cake but you can add a little crunch to it by keeping it in the freezer instead of the fridge to set.

If you’d like to keep it chewy, keep it in the fridge.