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Le Gateau Sans Rival

April 30, 2011 By Delia

True to its name, this cake is certainly “ without equal “! I’ve loved this cake for many years, and I have to say that it deserves a special occasion to have this on the table.

Although it has a French name, because it was adapted from a French cake called Dacquoise, it is an all-time favourite Filipino cake. A Dacquoise cake is made of almond and hazelnut meringue layered in between luscious butter cream frosting and some fruit. Another variation of this dessert cake is the Marjolaine, which uses chocolate butter cream and chocolate ganache.

Sans Rival on the other hand is made with the same principle of its French counterpart, but uses ingredients readily available in a typical Filipino pantry and supermarket. So instead of almonds and hazelnuts, a Sans Rival cake would have cashew nuts or plain ole peanuts used in the recipe and just layers of butter cream.

The cake is a bit tricky to prepare especially on high humidity days and can be a quite a challenge to cut. Even so, almost every coffee shop and cake shop in the Philippines serves this. Don’t be discouraged with the word meringue, as every cook and chef knows how delicate making meringues can be. With a little practice, I’m sure you can get the hang of it and proud yourself with this gateau. It’s worth every drop of sweat because it is just tres deliceux!


SANS RIVAL CAKE

Ingredients:

Meringue:

6 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1 ½ cups cashew nuts, chopped
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

• With a pencil, draw 2 rounds on a piece of parchment paper each round measuring 9 inches. Turn the parchment paper on its reverse side and place on lightly greased cookie sheets. Whip the egg whites until it form stiff peaks. Slowly add the sugar a little at a time, while continuously whipping. Carefully fold in the nuts and vanilla, making sure not to flatten the meringue mixture. You may choose to put this in a icing pipe bag and pipe the mixture thinly onto five 9 inch rounds . Bake it at 350 deg F until it is golden brown. Turn off the oven but leave the baked meringues in the oven for another 2 hours until they are dry and no longer sticky.

Butter cream Filling

Ingredients:

¼ c water
2/3 c sugar
6 egg yolks
1 c butter, room temp
½ c cashew nuts chopped or slivered almonds

Instructions:

• Bring water and sugar to boil until it spins a thread. Pour the sugar mixture gradually over well beaten egg yolks and continue to beat until it forms a thick consistency. Transfer to a bowl and let it chill for about an hour. Cream the butter and add in the chilled egg mixture. Take out your meringue rounds from the oven and start assembling layers.
• Start with the first layer of meringue and fill it with butter cream, repeat with the next meringue layers. Finish the cake by frosting it from top and sides with butter cream and sprinkle it with chopped nuts all over. Chill the cake for another 2 – 3 hours before slicing and serving.

 

Photo Credit: museinthecity

Photo Credit: gtrwndr87

Photo Credit: rbjbrothers

Filed Under: Baking, Cake Recipes, Dessert Recipes, Guilty Pleasures Tagged With: butter cream, Cake, cashew, dacquoise, dessert, filipino, french, frosting, marjolaine, meringue

Coq Au Vin Blanc

February 1, 2011 By Delia

Traditionally this dish is made with Red Wine, but with this recipe, the flavours appeal more to a broader audience, and still has the French Tastes to it.

Coq Au Vin Blanc

To change it to the more traditional dish, simply replace the White Wine with Red, and add one or two tablespoons of Brandy just after adding the Cornstarch to the meal.

To Serve 2
2 Chicken Leg Quarters
90g Lean Back Bacon, derinded
2tbsp Olive Oil
125g Button Onions, or 1 Large Onion
1 Garlic Clove, peeled and crushed
150ml Dry White Wine
300ml Chickn Stock
1 Bay Leaf
1tsp Dried Oregano
1tbsp Cornflour (Cornstarch)
60g Small Button Mushrooms, trimmed
Salt and Pepper

1. Cut each Chicken Leg into two pieces, and season well. Cut the Bacon into strips about a centimetre across, and heat the Oil in a large Saucepan.
2. Fry the Chicken off until Golden Brown all over, and remove from the pan. Add the Bacon, Onions and Garlic to the pan, and fry until lightly browned. Drain all fat from the pan. Add the Wine, Chicken Stock, Bay Leaf and Oregano, season to taste, and then add the Chicken, bringing the mixture back to the boil.
3. Cover the Saucepan with a tight fitting lid, then simmer gently for about forty to fifty minutes – until the Chicken is very tender. Mix the Cornflour with a tablespoon of cold water, before adding to the pan with the Mushrooms. Bring the pan back to the boil, and simmer gently for five more minutes.
4. Taste, and adjust the seasoning, remove the Bay Leaf, and serve with Rice or Mashed Potatoes.

Photo Courtesy of: Drab Makyo

Filed Under: Chicken, Make it Yourself Tagged With: au, chicken, coq, dish, formal, french, posh, vin, Wine

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