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!