Quote (ski @ 13 Nov 2012 16:39)

someone posted this delicious mouth watering in facebook
It's so unfair that we dont have this dessert in the U.S.

http://www.marketmanila.com/images/aasans2.JPG
http://mangankapampangan.com/index.htm/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/390000_2822955137713_1374004902_3098780_1668570082_n.jpg

(copy and pasted from facebook)
The name alone, Sans Rival or “without rival” says it all. It is without rival one of the most pain in the rear desserts to make properly, in my silly opinion. Getting nostalgic close to Christmas, I figured I would attempt another of my mom’s favorite desserts (although she never made it herself). How hard could it be? Layers of meringue with nuts and a sickly sweet, buttery and rich filling… It sounded simple enough. Well, first of all let’s start with the meringue. I have never been a master of baked egg whites so my first mistake was to make the meringue too thick and thus would not cook through. Second, it just sticks to the bloody pan no matter how much you grease it. I tried silpat silicone mats, foil, parchment paper, oil and it still was an incredible mess. Really annoying. At any rate, I managed to make about 4 layers worth and after much angst getting this ready we (a friend and I) spent agonizing minutes trying to extract the layers without breaking. Worse, if its really humid, it affects the meringue.

Then I prepared the filling that is made up of melted butter, sugar, egg yolks and more toasted almonds. Spread this all over and make several layers. Put in the freezer and serve cold. Frankly, in the end, the taste was superb and the texture as I remember it should be. Chewy, crispy, gooey, rich, nutty, sweet, unique mouthfeel… The photos above and here belie all the expletives that were used to describe the dessert while I was making it. Now I know why people buy this stuff…it’s just not amateur baker friendly, that’s all… So I am curious if other folks have fond memories of this dessert as well and where oh where does one buy a good sans rival these days so I don’t have to undergo meringue torture ever again??? Below are more photos of the excruciating process…I don’t even put the recipe as I am certain so few of you would attempt it…