Yes. You read that right. Nutella Sans Rival. Starting off the blog post with something so audacious as Nutella Sans Rival will always catch any foodies attention. The idea came about because absolutely everyone loves Nutella and everyone’s love for sweets. Sans Rival is a very characteric filipino dessert although its origins is very french. Sans Rival which means “without rival” is a combination of meringue, buttercream, and cashew nuts. Its origins are certainly French. In the 1920’s to 30’s there were a lot Filipinos who went to France to study. They learned many French cooking techniques which they then brought back home. A Sans Rival is made with layers of dacquoise, typically using crushed cashews, with very rich French buttercream frosting. The dacquoise is allowed to bake and dry to a crispy layer so that there is the crunch of pastry and nuts with the buttery, silky frosting.

I’m pretty sure you’ve tried this out whether it be from Dumaguete, Latchi’s or Bacolod. It is a sinfully rich tasting dessert that just delights the sweet tooth of every Pinoy.

Now herein lies the power of Social Media. I was on Facebook the other day contemplating the idea of making a Nutella Sans Rival. When suddenly I see a post / picture of the exact same thing I was contemplating right there. I then clicked and it lead to a blog of Karotitay. (She’s hilarious btw!) I decided to just order and try it out instead of making it. I was too lazy to whip that buttercream.

I quickly sliced the the frozen cake and it crumbled. It showed promise.

I was ready to take my first bite when I realized my plate disappeared. It was my sister. She creeped up and stole my plate. I don’t blame her. Huge white box promised cake and nutella and I would be running too.

I quickly sliced another piece so I can finally dig in.

It was layers of meringue with nutella buttercream and crushed roasted cashew nuts in between and the toppings consisted of roasted hazelnuts. One thing I really liked about it is that she didn’t scrimp on them. I hate it when people scrimp on the little things.

I finally took my first bite. It was rich and I could certainly taste the nutella! I loved it. It pushed the Nutella flavor but not too much. It also didn’t lose the buttery taste of butter cream so closely associated with Sans Rival. But you might want to hold off on indulging, it is really sweet and rich. One slice should be enough for a dessert. I imagine this going well with black coffee. Hazelnut is absolutely good with coffee.

One note though I wish I could have sliced it cleanly so I could have a clean slice but its more towards aesthetics than anything else.

Thanks to Lovely for delivering the cake directly at my doorstep!

For those interested in ordering, send Lovely Palanca a message here: https://www.facebook.com/lovely.palanca

Will get clearance to publish her Mobile number first! You can reach her via SMS at 09283244051