This Sans Rival Macaron is the perfect size to avoid over eating this very decadent and addictive Filipino dessert.
Origins of Sans Rival
One of the special deserts I grew up with in the Philippines was the Sans Rival. It translates to “No Rival” and yes it sounds very French.
I found it hard to pinpoint who invented this dessert, and from my research it seems that it was invented between the 1920’s-30’s by Filipinos who studied in France. The brought back the techniques of the dacquoise and made it their own.
It’s a cake made of cashew meringue disks layered with butter cream and covered with crushed cashews. Oh so simple, but heavenly. It’s one of those cakes where you think nah, it’s too much sugar and butter. But then the cashews bring you in and you can’t stop eating it. It’s freaking addictive.
My Aunt made it for special occasions only because of how decadent it was.
Sans Rival Macaron
I wanted to bring it back, but in a smaller portion size and really, it’s perfect as a macaron. It works with either using cashew or almond flour in the macaron shells. It’s harder to find cashew flour, so it’s more than acceptable to use the traditional almond flour.
I topped the shells with some crushed salted cashews to cut through the sweetness and my version of the buttercream is made with vegan butter mixed with some cassava syrup.
Nostalgia
Biting into one of these brought back memories of watching my Aunt make them when I was much younger. When you do make them I would highly suggest leaving them in the freezer overnight after sandwiching them in the buttercream. It gives it the key chewy texture.
Now what are you waiting for. Try it out. Oh and if you need any macaron tips you can read up on some on my previous post about macaron making right here. It also has a full list of what kind of equipment you will need to make them.
When you do make them, don’t forget to tag me at @rezelkealoha on Instagram. Happy baking!!
Sans Rival Macaron Recipe
This Sans Rival Macaron is the perfect size to avoid over eating this very decadent and addictive Filipino dessert.
Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Filipino, French, Gluten Free
Servings: 20 Macarons
Sans Rival Macaron Shells
- 3 Egg Whites
- 55 g Super Fine Sugar
- 110 g Almond or Cashew Flour
- 200 g Powdered Sugar
- 1/4 Cup Crushed Roasted & Salted Cashews
Buttercream
- 3/4 Cup Vegan Butter
- 1/4 Cup Cassava Syrup
Make the Sans Rival Macaron Shells
Place the almond flour and powdered sugar in the food processor and process for 30 seconds to mix. Set aside.
In a stand mixer whip the egg whites until they are stiff and add in the superfine sugar and whip until the egg whites are stiff and shinny and it no longer feels grainy when you rub it in between your fingers.
Take the bowl out of the stand mixer and scrape down the sides careful. In 3 batches add in the flour mixture. At this stage carefully fold in each batch until fully incorporated keeping the volume of the eggs intact.
Once the flour mixture has been folded in using the spatula press the batter against the side of the bowl to flatten out the batter. Do it once and check the flow of the batter. Keep repeating and checking until the batter is slowly dripping down the spatula.
Place in a piping bag with the 1/2 inch piping tube and pipe into 1 1/2 inch circles on your silpat making sure they are 1 inch apart.
Once you finish piping bang the trays on the counter to take out any bubbles and sprinkle with the crushed cashews and let sit to dry for 30 minutes.
While it’s drying pre-heat the oven to 280 degrees F.
The macarons are ready to bake when you tap the top of the shell and no batter sticks to your finger.
Bake the macarons for 20 minutes. To check if the are done they should peel off the silpat easily. Leave the shells to dry on the tray completely.
You can replace the cassava syrup with either date syrup or maple syrup. I used cassava so that the color of the buttercream would still be white.