Sans Rival - Daring Bakers' November Challenge

I'm not usually a procrastinator, but I certainly was for this month's Daring Bakers' Challenge.  

I started this morning, and finished just in time to get the kids to the movie I promised.  

Catherine of Munchie Musings was our November Daring Bakers’ host and she challenged us to make a traditional Filipino dessert – the delicious Sans Rival cake! And for those of us who wanted to try an additional Filipino dessert, Catherine also gave us a bonus recipe for Bibingka which comes from her friend Jun of Jun-blog.

As you can probably tell from the pictures, I chose not to do the Bibingka.  I'm not sure the kids would have appreciated me cancelling our movie date for some additional baking.

  

This cake definitely challenged my baking skills as I had never made meringue before.  Really??  I know...I'm certain I didn't in culinary school.  Although it seems like something we should have learned.  Maybe I skipped that day.  (Just kidding, Mom!  I never skipped.)

My meringues did not turn out as crispy as they should have been.  And I think that certainly altered the overall results of the cake.  Mine was kind of chewy.  Not in bad way, but I think it would have been better if the layers were crisp.  It was a very rich dessert.  And probably not something I would take the time to make again, but it was fun to try!  

I should note that I also departed from the french buttercream the recipe called for.  My candy thermometer is broken, and I wasn't going to risk it without one.  So I used my own chocolate buttercream recipe.  

Thanks for another great challenge Daring Kitchen...looking forward to December!