Silvanas

Cashew Wafer Cookies Rolled in Buttercream and Cake Crumbs

Silvanas, the Filipino wafer cookie dessert, is a pair of cashew meringue wafers covered with simple buttercream and rolled in cake crumbs.

I remember buying them to give away as gifts from the CVC supermarket along Rizal Ave in Caloocan City in the '90's.  I wonder if they still sell them there.

The wafer is like that of the Sans Rival, except that it is more of a bite size and with cake crumbs all around it.

There are 3 separate processes :  make the cake,  then the wafer and lastly, the buttercream.

And just to simplify,  I use the boxed cake for the 'cake' part,  making use of only 1/3 of the mix since they are just for dredging.

As for the wafer part --  well, don't worry... it is not as hard as it seems.

Impress your friends and family with this easy to make cookies,  perfect as homemade gifts or just to enjoy as dessert!

YOUR SHOPPING LIST:

• Yellow or White Boxed Cake Mix
  
• Cream of Tartar
  
• Cashew Nuts
  
• Confectioner's or Powdered Sugar
  

IN THE PANTRY:

• Egg whites
  
• Granulated Sugar
  
• Butter

INGREDIENTS

        Cake : 

• Any Yellow or White Boxed Cake Mix (use 1/3 of the package only, and follow package instruction)

       Wafer : 

• 3 Egg whites, at room temperature
  
• 1/4 tsp. Cream of Tartar
  
• 1/3 cup Granulated Sugar
  
• 1 cup toasted and ground Cashew Nuts
  
  Buttercream : 
  

• 1/4 cup Butter, at room temperature
  
• 1/2 cup Confectioner's Sugar (Powdered), sifted
  
• 1 Tbsp. Milk or Water
  
  

Silvanas

1    Make the cake :  Bake 1/3 of the cake mix according to package instruction.  Cool down and crumble.  Set aside.

2   Make the wafer :  Beat the egg white with cream of tartar until frothy.

3   Add the sugar a little at a time while continuously beating, until stiff peaks. (You are at stiff peak if once the bowl is tilted or inverted, the meringue stay stuck in the bowl).

4  Fold in the cashew nuts using a spatula, being careful not to deflate the meringue volume.

5   Pipe according to the shape you want, be it round or a 3-inch long wafer.

Silvanas

6   Bake at 275°F for 20 to 25 minutes or until slightly browned, then set aside to cool down completely.

7   Make the buttercream:  Beat or whip together the butter, powdered sugar and milk.

8 Assemble :  take a matching pair of the wafers,  spread buttercream in between to sandwich them together.

9  Spread buttercream all around it and dredge in cake crumbs.  Refrigerate.

10  Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

BENG'S TIPS

• For the cake part, if you don't want to make the cake, you could buy 2-3 plain, regular cupcakes(vanilla flavor), remove any icing and crumble the cake, or you could use pound or butter cakes, too.


• Very Important : When whipping egg whites to make meringue, make sure the bowl and whip are oil-free. If you were separating eggs and accidentally had a tiny drop of egg yolk in the batter, you have to discard (or use the eggs for omelet, instead) and start over again.


• Toast and grind the cashew nuts first before measuring. If you do it the other way around, you would hardly taste the nuts.


• This recipe is for a trial run, once you are comfortable with the process, you could double the recipe to make a bigger batch.


• Once you have perfected your Silvanas, try experimenting by adding flavors, like Lemon (add lemon zest), Pandan, Raspberry, or any other flavor drops used in candy making.

Return to Filipino Baking Recipes

Return to Home Page

Return to Silvanas Top page