A Retort On A Tort Of A Torte

I learned how to bake first before I learned how to cook.  When I moved out of my parents' home to go off to university, my mother worried about my lack of cooking skills.   She used to say: "You can't live on cookies, brownies, instant noodles and Shirazi salad."  And Marlboro Lights for dessert.  Of course, she and Dad never knew that!    As a side note,  I quit when I was 28 and haven't touched a cigarette ever since.  My parents still don't know to this day that I belched smoke  for ten years.

Since I moved to the tropics where the average daily temperature is around 80-85 F  (26.7-30 C) for nine months of the year, ingredients such as  pure vanilla, lemon or almond extract and fresh dairy products are either unavailable and/or expensive, baking has been relegated between November-February, the coolest time of the year.  This also explains why you don't see too many desserts on this blog.   Being the frugal femme that I am,  I have to justify all my purchases to myself.   So, I tell myself: It's the holidays, cheapskate!  Christmas, unofficially, begins in September in this country! 

I figured I needed to expand my narrow repertoires in Indian, which is really non-existent, and Filipino cuisines.   So the gateau sans rival (French for "unrivaled") perfectly fit the bill.   Here in the Philippines, this is simply called "sans rival," which is found in just about every cafe and pastry shop.  In Goa, India, this is known as "bolo sans rival."

It's a dichotomy of  light and rich, smooth and coarse, crunchy and chewy  textures; reminiscent of those decadent nut-based Austro-Hungarian tortes in appearance.  The sans rival is composed  of layers  of  airy and thin cashew meringue wafers that are low in both fat and calories; yet, negated by liberal slatherings of rich and heavy buttercream frosting between each layer and  its periphery that will scandalize any cardiologist.  It ought to be called a "tort" rather than a "torte." 

How the sans rival came to the Philippines remains a mystery.  It is, however, assumed by most that it was brought by the Spanish conquistadores.   Most Goans will probably say it was brought to their area by their former Portuguese colonial masters.

So is the sans rival as unrivaled as its name suggests?  From what I have tasted, most do not live up to the namesake, unfortunately, as they tend to be cloying  But, it can be unrivaled, which is what I've been aiming for in attempting this torte.

Most of the recipes I found for the sans rival on the net weren't quite what I wanted.  Most of the recipes for buttercream frosting called for large amounts of egg yolks and sugar.  To make this tort torte lighter, a little more heart and waistline-friendly and reduce its overall cloying characteristic, I turned to one of my favorite chocolatiers, Francois Payard, by using his recipe for  buttercream frosting that uses egg whites.   

How any meringue-based dessert can be so popular in one of the most humid places on earth. is just beyond me.  Getting those egg whites to form stiff peaks or any kind of shape  here in the tropics is like making a fish do a pirouette on its tail on your dining table.  I was tempted to do just that after my second attempt.  Since I didn't have any live fish at my disposal, I somehow managed to whip my egg whites to satisfactory levels on my fourth attempt.

Gateau Sans Rival/Bolo Sans Rival

Meringue Layers
8 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1.5  cups cashew nuts, finely chopped

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 150 C (300 F).  Line 4- 8 x 12 inch cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. Beat egg whites until stiff and foamy.   Gradually add 1 cup of sugar, beating continuously, until soft peaks are formed.

2. Fold in the cashew nuts.

3. Divide the mixture among the 4 sheets and spread thinly, all the way to the edge. Bake for 30 minutes or until light brown in color.  Carefully remove from the cookie sheets.  Set aside to cool.

Buttercream frosting

Source: Chocolate Epiphany by Francois Payard

6 large egg whites

1 1/2 cups (300 g) sugar

1 lb. ( 32 tablespoons/500 g) butter, softened, divided into tablespoons

3-3.5 cup of cashew nuts, roughly chopped

Directions:

1. Fill a medium pot with water, 1/3 full.  Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat.

2. Place egg whites and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Reduce the heat to low and place the bowl over the pot, making sure that it isn't touching the water.  Whisk continuously until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is hot, 3-5 minutes.

3. Place the bowl in the mixer and beat on high speed until the egg whites hold stiff peak and are cool, about 5  minutes.  Feel the bottom of the bowl to check.

4. With the motor running, add the softened butter to the meringue, 3 tablespoons at a time. Keep mixing until all of the butter is incorporated and the mixture is light and fluffy.  Transfer it to a bowl, cover, and store at room temperature until ready to use.

 Assembly:

1.  Spread about 1/4 cup of frosting thinly between each layer of meringue wafers.  Smooth the sides with a spatula.

2.  Sprinkle the roughly chopped nuts on top and sides of the cake.  Refrigerate before serving.

Note:  Most recipes I've encountered call for the assembled cake to be frozen.  Biting into frozen butter isn't very appealing to me so I prefer to simply refrigerate it. 

Similar Recipe(s):
The sans rival's cookie version-silvanas