How to make frozen Filipino Sylvanas Recipe.
Sylvanas Recipe. Try this yummy goodness, Filipino Sylvanas Recipe. This is a favorite cookie dessert in the Philippine Islands especially in the Visayas region. If you’re not in the Philippines you can make your own using this recipe. It is a super buttery cream sandwiched between two cashew-meringue wafers, coated with cake or cashew crumbs. It is often referred to as a cookie version of Sans Rival. Sylvanas is best served frozen because they become crunchy. It satisfies a totally different kind of food cravings. The type of dessert that would get you to forget your name, it is so good. So indulgent, you should try!
Sylvanas Ingredients:
Meringue Wafer:
- 1/2 cup egg whites
- 1 tsp. cream of tartar
- 3/4 cup caster sugar
- 1/4 tsp. almond extract
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour , sifted
- 1/2 cup cashew nuts, finely ground and sifted
Icing:
- 1/2 cup butter, softened at room temp.
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/8 cup milk
Coating:
- 1 3/4 cups cashew nuts, finely ground + 1/4 cup bread crumbs or
- 1 3/4 cups cake crumbs + 1/4 cup cashew nuts, finely ground
Cooking Procedure:
- Preheat oven to 300F. Grease and flour cookie sheet or use a good quality wax paper. Grind cashew nuts finely in a food processor with all-purpose flour. But if you don’t have you can do it manually with mortar and pestle as what I did. Sieve crushed cashew nuts and set aside. Sift all-purpose flour in a separate bowl and set aside as well. Combine egg whites and cream of tartar in a mixing bowl with wire whip attachment. Mix at medium speed for 1 minute while gradually adding the caster sugar. Switch the speed and add the almond extract, continue beating the egg whites until stiff peaks are formed and glossy.
- Fold in flour and cashew nuts together over a sieve and gradually cut and fold until well blended. Put mixture into piping bag and snip the end with a scissor. Pipe meringue onto the prepared cookie sheet lined with wax paper. To yield the same size of meringue wafer make a circle pattern using any size of round shape you got and trace it on the wax paper for an even outline. In this procedure I used a 2 inch cookie cutter, the size is just perfect for me.
- Pipe meringue evenly onto the sheet, this recipe makes 24 wafers; yields a dozen of decadent sylvana. Bake the meringue in the center of the oven for 25 minutes or until lightly brown. Let it cool completely before transferring to a wire rack to prevent the wafers from cracking. Meringue wafers are fragile when it’s hot and very easy to peel off when it’s completely cooled.
- Prepare icing while waiting for the meringue wafer to cool down. Cream the butter, add the sugar, then add the milk and set aside. In a bowl crumble leftover sponge cake, mamon or any plain yellow cake. In this recipe I’m using one of my Torta Mamon Cebuano that I made earlier. Crumble the cake finely and add the finely ground cashew nuts and mix well, then set aside.
- To prepare the other coating mixture mix finely ground cashew nuts and add the bread crumbs in a separate bowl and mix well, then set aside. If you don’t have bread crumbs that would be fine ‘coz it’s just an extender (cashews are expensive why not add a cheaper extender, that doesn’t compromise the taste anyway).
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To assemble the Sylvanas : Stir chilled butter lightly to soften and using a brush, brush icing on a meringue wafer and sandwich with another meringue wafer. Hence, that most of Sylvanas recipe procedures I’ve seen are sandwiched in reverse “flat-side-out”. I don’t really know why it has to be done like that but I guess to have a crunchy Sylvanas exterior and a soft and gooey interior. But I find it too buttery ‘coz I have to fill the center with lots of butter to make a flat and even sides, and I don’t like it, i want a woopie sandwich look.
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So since it’s my Sylvanas, I’m doing it my way, the old-fashioned way of making sandwich why not. Make the meringue sandwich one at a time, then lightly brush all over and coat evenly with your desired coating Cashew Crumbles or Cake Crumbles and place in a deep dish or container. Keep on making until you’re done with all the rest.
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Store with cover and freeze or refrigerate to firm up and crisp, then it’s ready to serve. I got this Sylvanas recipe from Uncle Phaedrus site, thank you very much. I gave you a 2 thumbs up for this recipe Sir!
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i live in the visayas region but this is not available in our local market but as far as i know, this is available in dumaguete city.
Yes try the Sans Rival silvanas in dumaguete, available in butter and chocolate flavors, the best!
Wow the chocolate sans rival sounds great kaya lang ang layo ng Dumaguete hehe. You remind me of Felicias here in Bacolod they also offer Sans Rival in 3 flavors the original Butter, Mocha & Chocolate. yum 🙂
Hi, I was wondering if the meringue is supposed to come out crispy, chewy, or soft?
When I made mine, it becomes this and one time crispy because the oven was too hot, then one time chewy.
Would like to know, thanks.
Hi Ann, Sylvana should come out crispy in the outside, a bit chewy and soft in the inside at the same time. And I find that stale Sylvanas becomes more chewy, so refrigerate it to preserve its crunch. Actually Sylvana is a mini version of Sans Rival Cake, a layers of crunchy meringue, butter cream and nuts. I think your Sylvanas are fine as long as they are not burnt lol…
How long should I bake the wafer? Salamat
Hi Rose, bake the wafer approximately 25 minutes until the meringue is firm and crisp on the outside but still soft and chewy inside.
Some people are allergic to nuts, if I delete the cashew and just replace it with biscuit crumbs does my sylvana will come out good?
Hi Cel, haven’t tried biscuit crumbs and I’m not sure if it works. It’s easy to substitute nuts if your making bars and cookies but for a meringue wafer it’s totally different. Because the ground nut gives the wafer a crunchy texture. But if you prefer to use biscuit crumbs, I would really like to know if it works. Good Luck and Happy New Year Cel ïŠ
Tried this recipe, but steps can be deceiving. I am new at baking so if you are not familiar with steps on how to make a meringue, you will not achieve the “peaks” for the egg whites. This recipe also said “dissolve the sugar in 1/8 cup milk, then add to butter”. This made the butter very watery. you should have said “cream the butter, add sugar, then add milk.” Anyway, practice makes perfect and now I have perfected this recipe!
Thanks for the advice dear, my butter didn’t become watery because I refrigerated it while preparing other stuff, but you’re right, I should have said that simple and clear. I really appreciate it, now i’m going to edit my procedure thanks and God Bless.
can i use salted peanuts instead of cashew nuts for the meringue?
Hi Nikki, sorry for the late reply honestly I haven’t tried using salted peanuts for meringue. But if you wish to use peanuts please let us know if it works fine. Happy baking and hope it will turn out fine 🙂
Hello! I came across your recipe when i searched for silvanas.. I wanna ask what type of milk did you use for the icing, is it whole milk? Evaporated milk?
You can use evaporated milk or fresh milk 🙂
And after making the icing pala, we chill it first? Since in the directions it says stir chilled butter. Shouldnt it be icing instead of butter?
Yes I chill my icing while preparing other stuff, and stir it again to soften the icing. You also leave it at room temperature if you want.
Some pf the recipes i found is not using a flour for the meringue..would it be possible?
Hi Ed sorry for the super duper late reply, I know because original silvanas recipe doesn’t have flour in it. But in my recipe I added a little flour so I can lessen the ground cashew nuts which I find it expensive :). A little flour substitute for this recipe won’t affect its taste and texture and it cost a little cheaper. But if you want the real thing omit the flour and add another half cup to make it 1 cup of ground cashews 🙂
Hi!! Thank you for sharing this recipe! I can’t wait to make this. I’m
From Bacolod City & I grew up eating it.
Quick questions:
1st: Most of the silvanas recipe I found doesn’t have flour in the meringue. What does the flour do?
2nd: Is it possible to make 2 half sheet layers & cutting the meringue to 2″ round using the cookie cutter after baking & cooling it?
Hope to hear back from you. Thank you!!
Ann
Hi Ann, actually I use flour to replace some ground cashews para maka save kay kamahal sang Kasoy. Its still good and doesn’t affect the taste and texture of silvanas. I haven’t tried cutting it because its to fragile ang meringue wafer madali ma crack. I like your idea though, para perfect round shape and flat. Pero may nakita ko they use mini round pans siguro mga half inch high, they cover it with foil tapos they use to mold and bake merigue, it came out flat and perfect. Haven’t tried it yet i’m still looking for that mini round pans 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe. followed everything except we used vanilla extract instead of almond . The sylvanas tasted so good !
Hi, what do I use as an alternative if I don’t have a wire whip? Thankyou po!
Hello po.. Can I use unsalted peanut instead of cashew nuts? Mahal kc ang cashew nuts dito.. Thanks in advance..☺️☺️
Hi Anne, sorry pero hindi ko pa na try gumamit ng peanuts sa paggawa ng Sylvanas. It could be a cheaper substitute, pero i’m sure na ma-apektuhan yung lasa nga Sylvanas mo. But if you really want to take some risk making it using peanuts, please let us know if it works well :). Thanks for visiting and have a nice day Anne!!
Greetings Ping! first of all..thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe of yours. I tried it the other day and it was good! Although a few mishaps here and there but the taste was “without rival” for sure! hehehe! Family loved it so much! Although in me mind “damn! i will never do this again…it was so hard and laborious!” hehehe! but kidding aside, the important thing is that it tasted good! Maybe i just need more practice. 🙂
Several question in mind here hoping that you can answer:
1. Since there is no video of you making the recipe..i would just like to ask…What did it look like when you piped the meringue mixture on your pan. was it like dollops with peaks on it, like marshmallow-like? Did you began to squeeze from the center of your circle and let the mixture ooze out until it came to your markings? Wouldn’t that make the wafers too tall and thick and would make cooking the center difficult? You said in your post that this recipe yields 24 wafers(12 when sandwiched) but mine exceeded it. So having only two pans that may fit on my oven..i had a second batch…
2. In connection with number 1…Would it be fine(or have you experienced) to have a second batch sitting and waiting on the table top as the first batch bakes?…my concern is deflation of the meringue mixture.
3. I baked mine for 30min and it seems that the centers were still white and soft. So i added another 10 min and still some white color can be seen and was soft foamy-like when held. Is this natural for the meringue? Will/Should it really not be as crisp as a biscuit? the outer part of the circle was already brownish and crisp but the center was off white and soft. Also, i was poking the centers of it and it was STICKY as hell. hahaha! I had difficulty removing them for the parchment cause the top side were sticking to my fingers. Is this normal? should it be crisp and biscuit like or was my result as same as yours?
4. For the icing….i opted to use the yolks and make French buttercream instead. It was a waste not to use the yolks so i used it…hehe! 😉 The only problem i encountered on it, besides having many left over icing hehehe! was the part when you coat the sandwiched wafer with the icing so that the crumbs would stick on it. What i did was just dump the wafers on my icing, turn it either side, then dump it to the crumbs. My question is…from the pictures that you have here…it seems that your icing is fluid like and almost runny…so i am guessing you melted some of your icing so you can easily brush the sides of your wafers? would that make things more easier? correct me if i am wrong here. 🙂
Well…it was a challenging task i tell you…but maybe i would still make another trial of this recipe(it was tasty am pretty sure of it) I mean…there are sellers out there that makes thousands pieces of this babies…so why cant i right? hehehe!
Much appreciated again Ping! I hope i can hear from you soon! God Bless!
🙂
Hi Turnip, it’s nice to hear from you and I’m so sorry for super duper late reply :). With regards to your question #1, yes I piped mine from the center and let it ooze out until it reaches the edge of my markings. Using different size of patterns or piping too thick or too thin can vary how pieces you can make 🙂 Yeah, having second batch waiting on your counter top will deflate the meringue wafer a little bit but not too much, since it has a ground nuts unlike the plain meringue it will deflate totally.
Actually the baking time really varies, these Sweet Lovies need extra time and attention haha… I find baking meringue desserts unpredictable most of the time. Maybe the weather affects the baking time too hmm… Mine wasn’t too sticky in the center and comes out dry and crisp with a little browning in the edges. Let it cool down first before taking it off so the bottom will dry and easy to peel off from the parchment.
Wow nice frosting, it’s a good thing not to waste those precious yolks 🙂 hmm.. sounds yummy 🙂 Yeah mine a little too runny but i chilled it and the consistency becomes spreadable.For the filling I wanted to be spreadable and for coating it’s better runny for easy coating. Me too had extra frosting leftover but you can use it to jazz up a simple homemade donuts hahaha or fruit tarts.
Girl, as they say practice makes perfect, woohoo!! I know you can do it and I know you’ll be making more of these Sweet Lovies better than mine or theirs. May you end up with a perfect Sylvana Recipe ever.. to bake and enjoy and of course make $$ from it haha…. God Bless you too Turnip 🙂