Wednesday, 16 November 2011

Torta di Castagne

Not to long ago is was still sunny and warm for the time of year, over here in Holland. Autumn is still showing it's face in so many ways. It's getting more cold every day, but there are still leaves on the trees in the most gorgeous colours!
Just recently I went to the forest with my family and we enjoyed a long walk, with Autumn showing it's face everywhere in beautiful ways...


As we do every year, we looked for chestnuts. We found them allright! We always look for Chestnuts near the same tree. A tree near the caste of Zypendeal. My grandmother and my mother always looked for chestnuts at this same tree. It makes me happy to be there with my family now. We took the chestnuts home to bake this delicious cake, but we left enough there for the animals in the forest....


This cake is Italian and not to sweet. I love the moist texture and the delicate taste of good chocolate in it. It has all the flavour of Autumn in it.



Torta di Castagne

250 gr peeled chestnuts
100 ml cream
125 gr brown sugar (bruine basterdsuiker)
35 gr sugar
6 eggs, yolks and whites separated
50 gr butter, room temparature
50 gr chocolate, melted (I love real bitter chocolate in this cake!)

A cake tin of 20 cm / 8 inches, sides brushed with butter and floured

Prehate your oven on 200 degrees, celsius.
With a sharp knife,make a cross in the flat side of every chestnut. Place them in the oven in a roasting tray and leave them there for about 20 minutes.

Let the chestnuts cool a few minutes, not too long though! If they cool they get more difficult to peel.
Now just take a seat and peel away...

When you have 250 gr of peeled chestnuts, bring them to a boil in the cream on low heat. The cream will be taken in by the chestnuts. When they are soft and mushy, let them cool for a moment.
Placed the mixture in a kitchen machine and ground them until you have chestnut flour (simulair to almond flour in texture).

Mix sugar and egg yolks until you have a light yellow creamy mixture. Add butter. When the butter in incorperated, add chocolate and chestnut flour.

Wisk egg whites with the white sugar until a soft peak stage. Carefully fold the egg whites into the chestnut mixture.
Pur the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake in a preheated oven for about 35-45 minutes. Check if the cake is done by placing a skewer in the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. Don't overbake this delicious cake, because it will get to dry.

Mascarpone frosting

Ofcourse you need a real good frosting to serve your cake with. Because the Torta di Castagne is not very sweet, you can add a little bit more sugar to the mascarpone if you prefer.

250 gr Mascarpone
75 gr butter
150 gr icing sugar, sifted

Place mascarpone, butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and at medium speed mix until you have a smooth frosting like concistency.
Place frosting in the fridge and allow it to set a little bit, for about two hours.

Serve your Torta di Castagne with frosting on top and sprinkle a little bit of finely chopped chocolate on it.

Enjoy and taste the Autumn!

Sunday, 13 November 2011

Life is good.

Get yourself a lovely cup of tea and sit back....To watch this wonderful movie made by Unicorn Wedding Films Ryan and Mascha don't just make weddingvideo's. They make a film in which you and your loved ones are captured in a way, you will share with your grandchildren over years to come. During the workshop of Christine Meintjes I was amazed about how invisable Ryan and Mascha were with their camera's. Somehow they captured all the beautiful moments of that day and amazed me with the end result. Without me seeing the camera.

When the movie was finished I was in Italy. And although I loved the little village where we stayed (in the middle of sunny, gorgeous Tuscany) , I got a bit frustrated when I received an email from Ryan and Mascha. I could only read the mail on my phone. Internet was something not really available together with our dolcis and cappucino....So I had to wait until we arrived at the house of our friends in Pisa before seeing the movie.
After dinner I rushed to the computer. There, in the old centre of Pisa, after having dinner in an Italian city garden underneath a heavenly smelling Wisteria, I watched this movie for the first time and was happy. Just plain happiness, that I get to work with so many talented, sweet, kind and inspiring people....Life is good. Just watch the movie :)

Christine Meintjes Photo Workshop -THE MOVIE- from Ryan de Wit on Vimeo.

Tuesday, 1 November 2011

Eye Candy

What do you get when you fill a room with lot's of talented photographers? First of all a brilliant picture taken by Gerhard Nel.


And lot's of yellow and sunny eyecandy! From Inge Jong-Van Tiel I received these gorgeous photo's!



Or how about these from Corinne Delis? With dinner after the workshop I sat at the table with Corinne and Inge and I had a wonderful evening. Almost missed my train home. These ladies are so kind and passionate about weddingphotography!



And I couldn't let you miss out on these pics by Jennifer Hejna!


And last but definitely not least!! Feast your eyes on this eye candy, by Anouschka Rokebrand




I'm sorry for the overload on pics but they are all so gorgeous, I can't let you miss out on one of them.

The amazing vendors working together on this shoot:

Photo's on this blog: Christine Meintjes
Behind the scenes photographer: Gerhard Nel Photography
Photolocation: Landgoed Te Werve
Organisation: Anouschka Rokebrand and
Jo-Anne van der Lelij
Styling: a collaboration between Jo-Anne , Nancy and Brigitte
Ceremoniemeesters van der Lelij: Jo-Anne van der Lelij
Hair and Make-up: Cynthia Heydra for Hey Beauty
Flowers: Pink9Design, Nancy & Edwin
Weddingdress and shoes: Victors Wedding Design
Stationery (by Envelopments): MarryWise, Brigitte Mes
Cake, cupcakes: My Sweet Appetite, Marieke de Korte
Outfit groom: Roka
Videography: Unicorn Wedding Films, Ryan de Wit