Silvanas with meringue wafers, French buttercream filling, and ground cashew or cracker crumb coating are the ultimate cookies! Creamy and buttery, they’re seriously addicting!
Hello, again! I am Sanna, and I am back with another delicious dessert recipe for you. Remember the Sans Rival cake I shared a few days? Well, these Silvanas are like its baby cousins, a miniature version of the cake with no rival.
The ingredients and procedure are almost identical, but instead of one elegant round cake, we’re baking things up in cookie form. You get all the flavors and textures you love in a fun and portable size!
Silvanas are a personal favorite of mine, and I can seriously devour a dozen of these frozen treats in one sitting. I fondly remember walking the malls back in the day when I was a college student; I would spend the afternoon staring at the lovely sylvanas showcased behind the glass shelves of a confectionary shop and wishing I had enough allowance to afford them.
It’d be a lucky day if I were able to buy one, but then, the sweetest revenge happened. I became a baking nerd, and now I can make them any time, and how many I want. Which is often, and a lot.
What are Silvanas
Like Sans Rival, Silvanas or sylvanas are based on the French Dacquoise dessert cake. The meringue wafers are filled with French buttercream to form a sandwich cookie, and then coated with more buttercream and rolled in ground cashews or cracker crumbs to add extra flavor and crunch.
Due to the use of buttercream, these Filipino treats are served frozen for best texture.
How to Make Sylvanas
Making The Meringue Cookie Wafers
- To ensure even sizes, use the rim of a glass or a cookie cutter with 2.5 inches diameter to trace circles on the parchment paper. Line baking sheet with the stenciled paper and set aside.
- Combine the flour and 1 cup of the cashews in a food processor and process together into fine crumbs. Set aside.
- Make sure the bowls, beaters, and utensils used are very clean and free of yolk or fat particle which can interfere with proper whipping. Yolks and whites are easy to separate when the eggs are cold but bring the egg whites to room temperature for 30 minutes before beating to ensure volume.
- In a bowl of a stand mixer, beat egg whites on medium-high speed until frothy. Sprinkle in cream of tartar and continue to beat until soft peaks form.
- With the mixer running continuously, gradually add the sugar. Continue to beat until the egg whites form stiff peaks. To test, tip the bowl, and if the meringue doesn’t slide off, it’s ready.
- Add the vanilla extract and about ⅓ of the flour/cashew mixture. Gently fold them into the meringue using a rubber spatula, making sure not to deflate the whipped egg whites. Fold the rest of the flour/cashew mixture in two more additions.
Whew! All this writing makes me crave these sylvanas again. I can still taste the nutty, creamy and sweet flavor of the cookies in my mouth!
I hope you try these special Filipino cookies and find the tips above helpful in making them at home. The process is pretty elaborate, but I promise each buttery piece is worth the work. In fact, I am getting ready to make another batch to enjoy; I just can’t get enough!
