We are very lucky to live next door to very generous neighbours. They often drop us eggs, and let us forage their farms for all sorts of things. I was chatting with our lovely next door neighbour Ross last week, when he told me he had a massive chestnut tree on his property. The very next morning Heath and I set off with our basket to forage a few.
Im not sure if any of you have ever picked chestnuts, but they are spiky little buggers, so be sure to bring gloves!! - We weren't this smart, and I still have a spike stuck in my thumb. #joy
Chestnuts grow in Autumn, and grow in little spiky ball like packages. When your hunting for them, you need to look for the ones that have already dropped on the ground, which will mean they are ripe. Some of the nuts may have started to appear from within the little balls, but if they havent, a light tap with a hammer will reveal the nut in all there glory.
When we got home I decided to make a chestnut chocolate cake with our fresh haul.
Below is a recipe I adapted from a chocolate fudge cake I already had, enjoy!
L xx
Chocolate Chestnut Cake Recipe
Ingredients
300 g dark chocolate
6 eggs, separated
1 pinch salt
125 g butter, softened
440 g Chestnuts
3 cups of water
1 tsp vanilla extract
⅓ cup sugar
Icing Sugar for dusting
Directions
Preheat the oven to 230˚
Score the chestnuts with a knife.
Place the chestnuts on pan with baking paper and roast for 25 minutes.
While your chestnuts are roasting, melt your chocolate over boiling water.
Whisk your egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff.
Remove your chestnuts from the oven and quickly peel them from their shells. Turn your oven down to 180˚, and grease your cake tin.
Put the peeled chestnuts in a pan and 3 cups of add water.
Cook and stir the chestnut on high heat until the water has evaporated and chestnuts have softened.
Place the chestnut filling in a food processor, add in a touch of water and blend until smooth, transfer to a bowl.
Mix in butter and sugar with the chestnut puree. Gradually whisk in your egg yolks, vanilla extract and the melted chocolate.
Stir in a scoop of the egg white and whisk together, then proceed to fold the rest of the egg white in the chestnut mixture until fully incorporated.
Pour the batter into your cake tin and bake for 40-50 minutes. You could do the toothpick test, but it should not come out completely clean as this is a super fudgey recipe.
Let the cake cool in it’s tin on a rack before you unmold it on to a plate.
Dust with confectioners sugar and serve with thick cream and berries.
This recipe was adapted from a Nigella Lawson & Olive&mango recipe.
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