Keto Sansrival

Keto Sansrival

Sansrival is a Filipino classic – a crispy, chewy meringue topped with French cream and cashews. It translates as “unbeatable”. Aptly so, because it’s a crowd favorite.

The original recipe calls for a dacquoise, a meringue made with nuts that yields a crispy waffle when cooked long and slow. But the keto version won’t have the same texture. Instead it’s more spongy. The hygroscopic or moisture-absorbing nature of sugar provides the crunchiness that sweeteners clearly lack. Tradition calls for cashews, which isn’t bad, but we want as few carbs as possible, so we use almonds.

Buttercream is actually a cream made from fat – that is, butter and sugar. We make French Buttercream because of its silky texture, it just melts in your mouth. It’s by heating the sugar syrup to a soft ball stage (yes, you’ll need your candy thermometer!) Shiny and rich, gorgeously smooth – that’s what sugar dreams are made of! Most sweeteners won’t cut it because they don’t really dissolve even when heated – we have a choice, allulose! It is not a sugar alcohol (see ending in -ose instead of -tol) so it will not be granular. While there are some dissenters, allulose is a good sugar substitute. And it’s our best bet for keto French buttercream perfection.

One 8” round cake yields approximately 12 servings of Sansrival.

PREPARATION

dakuaz

135 grams of almond flour
79 grams roasted almonds, chopped
181 grams of egg whites
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
200 grams of allulose

Syrup

161 grams of allulose
59 grams of water
98 grams of egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

French Buttercream

330 grams butter, diced, softened
208 grams of syrup

EXECUTION

To make the daquoise:

1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Line sheet tray with silpat or parchment paper.

2. Mix almond flour and chopped almonds in a bowl. Mix well until blended. Set it aside.

3. Combine egg whites and cream of tartar in a mixing bowl.

4. Using a wire attachment, mix until moderately foamy. Increase speed, then gradually add allulose. Look for medium-hard peaks. Note that since we don’t use sugar, the meringue won’t be whipped up to stiff peaks.

5. Carefully fold the almond flour and chopped almond mixture into the meringue until homogeneous.

6. Distribute the mixture evenly in three ring molds or tubing in three 8” turns. Even the surface using an offset spatula.

7. Bake in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes or until golden. Cool and set aside. Note that this can be done in advance. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for storage.

To make the syrup:

1. Combine water and allulose in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.

2. Set up a candy thermometer, if using. Set the pot to low heat and let it cook to the soft ball stage, or 240°F.

3. Meanwhile, while the syrup is cooking, mix the egg yolk and vanilla paste in a bowl.

4. Using a whisk, beat until light and doubled in volume, about 8 minutes.

5. When the syrup reaches 240°F, remove from heat. Reduce mixer speed to low. In a slow, even stream, slowly pour the syrup away from the whisk. Continue until all the syrup has been added.

6. Transfer to another container and let cool. Note that this can be done in advance. Refrigerate in an airtight container for storage.

To make the buttercream:

1. Put the oil in a mixing bowl. Using a paddle attachment, cream the butter on low speed until smooth. Occasionally scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Increase speed to medium and continue whisking until volume increases.

2. Turn off the mixer. Add the syrup and continue mixing on low speed until the cream is light and smooth.

Assembly:

1. Fold dacquoise and buttercream alternately.

2. Decorate the entire cake with cream and garnish with chopped almonds.