Sansrival is a Filipino classic – crispy, chewy, meringue layered with French buttercream and cashew nuts. Translates to, “without rival.” Aptly so, as this is hands down a crowd favorite.
The original recipe calls for a dacquoise, a meringue made with nuts that when cooked long and slow yields a crispy wafer. The keto version, however, will not have the same texture. Instead it’s more sponge-y. Sugar’s hygroscopic, or moisture absorbing, nature lends to the crunch that sweeteners obviously lack. Tradition calls for cashews, which is not bad, however we want as little carbs as possible hence the use of almonds.
Buttercream is essentially a frosting made from fat – aka butter and sugar. We are doing French Buttercream because of its silky texture, just downright melts in your mouth. This is achieved by heating sugar syrup until it reaches a soft ball stage (yes, you will need your candy thermometer!) then whipping it into pâte à bombe, a egg yolk and butter foam. Shiny and rich, gorgeously smooth – it is what sugar dreams are made of! Most sweeteners won’t cut it because they don’t really dissolve even when heated – we do have one option, allulose! It is not a sugar alcohol (see how it ends with -ose instead of -tol) therefore it will not be granular. Albeit some naysayers, allulose is a good sugar substitute. And, it is our best bet for keto French buttercream perfection.
Yields one 8” round cake, about 12 servings of Sansrival.
The Preparation
Dacquoise:
- 135 grams almond flour
- 79 grams roasted almonds, chopped
- 181 grams egg white
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 200 grams allulose
Syrup:
- 161 grams allulose
- 59 grams water
- 98 grams egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
French Buttercream:
- 330 grams butter, cubed, softened
The Execution
To make the dacquoise:
1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Line sheet tray with Silpat or parchment paper.
2. Combine almond flour and chopped almonds in a bowl. Mix well until blended. Set aside.
3. Combine egg whites and cream of tartar in a mixing bowl.
4. Using a wire attachment, on medium, mix until foamy. Increase speed then gradually add allulose. Look for medium stiff peaks. Note that because we are not using sugar, the meringue will not whip to stiff peaks.
5. Carefully fold the almond flour and chopped almonds mixture into the meringue until homogeneous.
6. Evenly distribute mixture into three-ring molds or pipe into three 8” rounds. Even the surface using an offset spatula.
7. Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes or until golden. Cool and set aside. Note that this may be made ahead of time. To store, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
To make the syrup:
1. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine water and allulose.
2. Set up a candy thermometer, if using. Set the saucepan over low heat and allow to cook to soft ball stage or 240°F.
3. Meantime, while the syrup is cooking, combine egg yolks and vanilla paste in a bowl.
4. Using a wire whisk, whip on high until light and doubled in volume, approximately 8 minutes.
5. When the syrup reaches 240°F, remove from heat. Reduce mixer speed to low. In a slow, even stream, away from the whisk, gently pour in the syrup. Continue until all the syrup has been added.
6. Transfer to another container and let cool. Note that this may be made ahead of time. To store, refrigerate in an airtight container.
To make the buttercream:
1. Place the butter in a mixing bowl. Using a paddle attachment, cream butter at low speed until soft. Occasionally scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Increase speed to medium and continue to whip until volume increases.
2. Turn mixer off. Add the syrup and, on low speed, continue to mix until the buttercream is light and smooth.
To assemble:
1. Layer dacquoise and buttercream alternately.
2. Frost the entire cake with the buttercream and garnish with chopped almonds.
This makes a total of 12 servings of Keto Sansrival. Each serving comes out to be 338 calories, 33.6g fats, 2.3g net carbs, and 6.9g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 135 gram almond flour | 782 | 67.5 | 29.7 | 17.6 | 12.2 | 28.4 |
| 79 gram roasted almonds | 472 | 41.5 | 16.6 | 8.6 | 8 | 16.6 |
| 181 gram egg white | 94 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 0 | 1.3 | 19.7 |
| 1 teaspoon cream of tartar | 8 | 0 | 1.9 | 0 | 1.8 | 0 |
| 200 gram allulose | 80 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 161 gram allulose | 64 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 59 gram water | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 98 gram egg yolk | 316 | 26 | 3.5 | 0 | 3.5 | 15.5 |
| 1 teaspoon vanilla extract | 12 | 0 | 0.6 | 0 | 0.6 | 0 |
| 330 gram butter | 2366 | 267.7 | 0.2 | 0 | 0.2 | 2.8 |
| Totals | 4194 | 403 | 53.7 | 26.2 | 27.6 | 83 |
| Per Serving (/12) | 350 | 33.6 | 4.5 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 6.9 |
Keto Sansrival
Ingredients
Dacquoise
- 135 gram almond flour
- 79 gram roasted almonds chopped
- 181 gram egg white
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 200 gram allulose
Syrup
- 161 gram allulose
- 59 gram water
- 98 gram egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
French Buttercream
- 330 gram butter cubed, softened
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300F. Line sheet tray with Silpat or parchment paper. Chop almonds if not already prepared.
- Combine almond flour and chopped almonds in a bowl. Mix well until blended. Set aside.
- Combine egg whites and cream of tartar in a mixing bowl.
- Using a wire attachment, on medium, mix until foamy. Increase speed then gradually add Allulose. Look for medium stiff peaks. Note that, because we are not using sugar, the meringue will not whip to stiff peaks.
- Carefully fold the almond flour and chopped almond mixture into the meringue until thoroughly combined.
- Evenly distribute mixture into three ring molds or pipe into three equal rounds. Smooth the surface until even using an offset spatula.
- Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes or until golden. Cool and set aside. Note that this may be made ahead of time. To store, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
- In a heavy bottomed saucepan, combine water and Allulose.
- Set up a candy thermometer, if using. Set the saucepan over low heat and allow to cook to soft ball stage or 240F.
- Meanwhile, while the syrup is cooking, combine egg yolks and vanilla in a bowl.
- Using a wire whisk, whip on high until light and doubled in volume, approximately 8 minutes.
- When the syrup reaches 240F (softball stage), remove from heat. Reduce mixer speed to low. In a slow, even stream, away from the whisk, gently pour in the syrup. Continue until all the syrup has been added.
- Transfer to another container and let cool. Note that this may be made ahead of time. To store, refrigerate in an airtight container.
- Place the butter in a mixing bowl. Using a paddle attachment, cream butter at low speed until soft. Occasionally scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Increase speed to medium and continue to whip until volume increases.
- Turn mixer off. Add the syrup and, on low speed, continue to mix until the buttercream is light and smooth.
- Layer dacquoise and buttercream alternately.
- Frost the entire cake with the buttercream. Additional chopped almonds can be added for garnish, if desired.
Can I replace alulose with Stevia/Erythritol or Monkfruit/Erythritol? Would the ratio be the same? Thanks.
You could but the ratio usually changes and the final product may not be able to hold up the same without the allulose due to the re-crystalization in the erythritol. We have some basic guidelines here: https://www.ruled.me/comprehensive-guide-to-keto-sweetener-substitutions/
You could but the ratio usually changes and the final product may not be able to hold up the same without the allulose due to the re-crystalization in the erythritol. We have some basic guidelines here: https://www.ruled.me/compre…
I love Sans Rival and have made it often. Makes sense to do keto since there is so much butter!
Just OMG….For decades I have made a cashew dacquoise for my Cashew Meringue Torte…and NEVER thought it would be possible to achieve without sugar…This ‘saves’ a classic family dessert in our home. Is allulose available in France? The less oily nut of almond is likely to make the meringue that much lighter and croquante…or I might give noisette/hazelnut/filbert a chance as they have the least carb load and are a ‘dryer’ nut to keep the integrity of the crunchy meringue intact! Thank you so very much for this offering!
I’m not sure if allulose is available in France, as it’s a pretty new sweetener here. Xylitol may work well in its place since it bakes very similar to sugar (careful as it’s toxic to animals). I hope that you’re able to make some different versions of this to suit your tastes. If you do get the chance, please post a photo!
Is there an easy way to convert these measurements? It is not that I’m opposed to this type of measurement system, it’s just that I don’t have the tools and going out and buying new stuff is out of the question. I have spent over an hour working line by line in a very cumbersome process and guesswork. HELP! I want to try this recipe but I give up!
We’re working on adding a mass conversion tool to the website, but for now a quick google on the weights of each ingredient should provide an imperial counter-part. I’d highly recommend a food scale as they are much more accurate, though.
I honestly don’t even like almond that much, or meringue, but I saw the photos of this and it was so beautiful I had to make it! It came out beautifully, the recipe is super easy to follow (never made a French buttercream before but I definitely will again, it tastes so much better than regular buttercream!)
I thought it was too sweet, but everyone I served it to (including people who normally eat sugar and people who are also keto) thought it was perfect. I suppose I have less of a sweet tooth than others, still maybe cut the sugar on either the frosting or the meringue itself if you don’t like your desserts cloying.