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

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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.


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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.


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