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




(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…

How do these even taste? Like butter?

what is this made out of or what is it a brownie?

Because chewy, crispy, gooey are tastes lol... From the ingredients I can imagine it tasting like buttered nuts

looks great

a close-up view

Go find the recipe!

Ingredients:
Dacquoise
10 large egg whites, room temp
1 cup white granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 cups chopped, toasted cashews (divided)
Parchment paper, butter and flour for pan(s)


Butter cream frosting
5 large egg yolks, room temperature
1 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1¼ cup (2½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1½ teaspoon vanilla extract (I would add another 1/2 tsp next time)


Method:
Dacquoise
Note: You will need four layers which, depending on how many pans you have, you may have to bake in batches. Be sure to use fresh parchment paper and cooled pans for each batch or use disposable pans as I did (still with parchment paper and butter/flour).
Preheat oven to 325°F.
Line cake pan bottoms with parchment paper and butter and flour the sides really well.
In a large clean, dry glass or metal mixing bowl, beat egg whites on medium until foamy (2 mins.).
Sprinkle with cream of tartar. Gradually add sugar, a couple of tablespoons at a time, continuing to beat now at high speed until stiff shiny peaks form. (about 7-10 mins.)
Fold in 1 1/2 cup of ground nuts, reserving the remainder to use for decoration.
Divide meringue into four equal parts. Spread in pans, evenly to edges.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the meringue from the baking pans while still hot; allow to cool slightly. Peel off the parchment paper while it is still warm.
When cool, trim edges so that all 4 meringue layers are uniformly shaped (serrated knife works best).


Butter cream frosting
Beat egg yolks at high speed until the yolks have doubled in volume and are a lemon yellow.
While yolks are beating, put the sugar and water in a heavy pan and cook over medium heat, stirring the sides down until all the sugar is dissolved and the syrup reaches 235°F on a candy thermometer (or thread stage).
With the mixer on high, very slowly pour the syrup down the sides of the bowl into the egg yolks. Continue beating on high until the mixture is ROOM TEMPERATURE (about 15 mins).
Still on high, beat in the soft, room temperature butter a tablespoon at a time.
Add flavoring after you beat in the butter.
Refrigerate the buttercream for at least an hour, and whip it smooth just before you use it.



Assembly
Set bottom meringue on serving plate with a dab of butter cream to hold it in place.
Spread a thin layer of butter cream and then place another meringue on top. Repeat with a thin layer of butter cream, meringue, thin layer of butter cream, meringue, and finally butter cream the top and sides.
Decorate with reserved nuts
Store in fridge.
To freeze, slice into thin pieces, wrap in wax paper and then place in freezer bag. Stays fresh at least 2 weeks. Remove from freezer to come to room temp prior to serving.

looks not tasty

and much work

This post was edited by AriG0Ld on Nov 18 2012 01:19am