Three Nut Sansrival and a Giveaway for PiTCC's 1st Anniversary

In the afternoon of January 14, 2011, while I was snacking on the Pancit Palabok that I made the day before, I suddenly thought of posting my recipe and photo of it via Blogger. Though I've long been wanting to have a space of my own which will serve as my recipe journal and at the same time allow me to share my passion for food and cooking, starting my own recipe blog on that day wasn't planned. I didn't even have any idea of how much work is involved in it. That time, all I had were unwritten recipes from my Mom which I have memorized in my mind, and a few photos of some Filipino food that I frequently cook. I got no blogging nor photography background or whatsoever...in short, I was not prepared for it. But for some reasons, I started typing my first post and published it though I knew that it would be just a waste of time and effort because I got no one to read it. 

A year after, I no longer see Pinay In Texas Cooking Corner as a waste of time and effort. With all the emails and comments I got, saying either they are thankful to find my blog or they like my recipe, I feel proud of myself! Nothing beats the feeling of knowing you have helped someone even in the simplest possible way! And with all the existing food blogs in the web, who would have thought that a Filipino recipe blog like mine would get readers? I know I don't have that much...but with more than 35,000 unique visitors in my first year of blogging, I couldn't ask for more! Though I'm not good and don't have time to put much effort on social networking, I was able to gain almost 700 followers on Facebook, and more than 600 on Twitter. That's really much more than I expected. I thought I would only have my family and friends as followers! :)

Today, as I celebrate my blog's 1st anniversary, I would like to thank each and every one of you who has left a comment, written encouraging e-mails and showed your support to me! Without you, I wouldn't have the inspiration to share a total of 162 recipes in my first year of blogging! And to the wonderful, kind, supportive and encouraging people in the food blogging community, I am so grateful to all of you too! I know I could never thank you enough for making me feel that I have a place in the blogosphere.

To show my gratitude to you my dear readers and blogger friends, I'm giving away these cute "Be Brave" coasters and Food & Wine Chef Recipes Made Easy Cookbook which I personally chose.

With over 100 recipes which includes everything from starters and salads to main courses and desserts from star chefs like Daniel Boulud, Mario Batali, Bobby Flay and Wolfgang Puck, this book is truly a must have..so be sure to enter the giveaway through the Rafflecopter plugin at the end of this post!

~~~000~~~

To celebrate PiTCC's first anniversary, I am sharing with you the Sansrival that I made yesterday. This is a favorite Filipino meringue based cake filled, topped and iced with butter cream which is of French origin. It came from the words sans rival which means without rival. It is found in many coffee shops in the Philippines and comes in different versions. My most favorite of which are Figaro's My Little Oscar and Goldilocks' Cashew Sansrival. 

This very delightful dessert has been my favorite since the first time I had it at Goldilocks' Bakeshop. I love it with lots of nuts that's why I came up with my own version of it which has three of my favorite nuts in it: pecans, almonds and cashews. I call it Three Nut Sansrival. 

Check out and enjoy this delicious dessert as you wish me more wonderful years of blogging via Pinay In Texas Cooking Corner! :)

Ingredients:

Meringue:

• 7 egg whites
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup chopped cashew 
• ½ cup chopped almonds
• ½ cup chopped pecans
• ½ tsp vanilla extract 

Filling/Frosting:

• ½ cup water 
• 1 cup sugar
• 7 egg yolks
• 1 ½ cup butter, room temperature
• ¼ cup chopped cashew
• ¼ cup chopped almonds
• ¼ cup chopped pecans

Procedure:

Meringue:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare baking sheets/pans. I usually make rectangular sansrival so I make use of two cookie sheets. But this time I want to make round Sansrival. I didn't have enough round pans so I still made use of cookie sheets. I made templates for 7-inch circles and put it between the cookie sheet and the non-stick parchment paper that I line it with. (I got this technique from Adora's Box last year.)

2. In a bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until thick and fluffy. Add the sugar gradually and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Fold in nuts and vanilla.

3. Pour mixture into the prepared baking sheets or pan. Use a spatula to smooth the surface.

4. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. 

5. Remove from oven and allow to completely cool down. Carefully peel off the parchment paper from the meringue.

6. On one layer of meringue, spread the filling mixture evenly. Sprinkle with. Repeat layers.  Smooth sides with spatula. Spread some filling mixture on the sides too. Sprinkle top and sides with chopped nuts. Freeze for at least 2 hours before slicing.

Filling/Frosting:

1. Combine nuts. Set aside.
2. Boil water and sugar over medium heat until it thickens into syrup, about 15 minutes. 

2. In a bowl, cream butter. 

3. In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks. Pour syrup and continue beating until thick.

4. Gradually beat into the whipped butter until smooth. Chill while waiting for the meringue to cool down.

 

Don't forget to join the giveaway! This is open to everyone, and it's so easy to join...just enter through Rafflecopter below. The giveaway will run until January 22, and the lucky winner will be announced on January 23.
a Rafflecopter giveaway