Sansrival

Today I am giving you the recipe of one of my all time favorite cakes in Philippines, The Sansrival. This is a special cake mainly made in Pampanga, but one can find it in other places too. It is a very labor intensive cake that requires a lot of love in the preparation, but the result is so delicious. The cake is rich, don't eat too much of it as it is basically just butter, sugar, a bit almonds and some eggs, then everything is layered so one has the crunchiness and the sweetness.

This Recipe is from our Pastry Chef Jamie who took the time and made this cake for my Birthday. We had a little drink after service in the galley with more Filipino food, some Sisig, yummy and some Pancit, a couple of beers and everybody was happy

My Galley Team and me having a Birthday Drink

Sansrival, Japonais Sheets

850 g Egg white

850 g Sugar

560 g Almonds, ground

Beat the egg whites to soft peak, then add the sugar slowly and beat till the sugar has dissolved and you have a firm Meringue. Then add the ground almonds and fold them into the Meringue. Spread the mix on baking sheets, makes squares of about 40 x 30 cm (13 inch x 10 inch) and about 5 to 6 mm in height (0.25 inch)

The batter here is called Japonais batter in the pastry world, so if you want to use a fancy word, like I like to to, you just got a new one!! The moment the Japonais Batter is baked it simply becomes a Japonais

Bake the sheets at 180 C till golden brown and slightly crisp. Take the Japonais out the oven and cool to room temperature

Sansrival, Filling

300 g Water

900 g Sugar

30 ea Egg yolk

1.125 kg Butter, soft

Bring the water together with the sugar to the boil, take off the stove and cool down slightly. Put the egg yolks in an electric beater , put on high speed and pour in the hot sugar syrup slowly. Beat the eggs till the batter reaches room temperature.

The mix the egg batter with the soft butter.

Now the layering of the cake starts. First take one sheet of the Japonais, then spread the butter cream on it, followed by a Japonais. This goes till you have used up all the ingredients. Always press the Japonais sheets carefully, but firmly on to the Butter Cream.

Then chill the cake in the fridge till the butter cream is hard, only then cut the edges of the cake in a straight line and top the cake with toasted almond slivers

Here you can see the layers of the Cake clearly