Chocolate & Chestnut Torte, Mascarpone Cream with a Candied Chestnut Brittle (v/gf)
I always have several bags of vacuum packed chestnuts and chestnut purée in my store cupboard at this time of year, which I usually use to accompany our traditional sprout dish. I’m not a great dessert lover, and always opt for savoury starters and choose the cheese board instead. However, the occasional bit of dark chocolate is a treat and this cake isn’t too sweet at all. It can be made that little bit more luxurious too by pouring over a smooth and unctuous chocolate ganache.
This version is a combination of the traditional Italian Castagnaccio Pugliese and the French dessert Mont Blanc, with the addition of sweetened chestnuts and a bar of the Swiss dark chocolate Toblerone. It’s gluten free as well as a simple dessert to whip up during the festive period. This light and airy cake, with a hint of brandy, and a soft light whipped mascarpone and cream filling is complimented by the chestnut brittle and its toffee nut crunch. For an even more extravagant touch, you can add more more chocolate from the smooth pouring ganache.
You can serve the Torte as whole cake, topped with the cream and brittle, giving you 8/10 slices, or if you require fewer servings, say four, cut it into star shapes layering them according to size to create a little Christmas tree shaped dessert.
Merry Christmas, and happy baking, N x
Prep time: 20-30 minutes | Baking time: 40-50 minutes
Ingredients
Chestnut & Chocolate Torte
275g dark chocolate Toblerone or (70% minimum cocoa solid dark chocolate) chopped
400g or x2 vacuum packed chestnut purée, sweetened slightly with icing sugar to taste
6 free range eggs separated
125g unsalted butter
Pinch of salt
2 tbsps of brandy (optional) or 2 tsps of vanilla extract
Filling
125g mascarpone cheese
250ml double cream, softly whipped
125g chestnut purée, sweetened with icing sugar to taste
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsps Icing sugar, for decoration and taste
Candied Chestnut Brittle
100g vacuum packed cooked whole chestnuts, chopped
120g caster sugar
35ml water
Small knob of unsalted butter
Ganache
125g dark Toblerone chocolate
125g double cream
1 tbsp of brandy or Maple syrup
Method
Start by making the chestnut brittle.
Melt the sugar, water and butter in a pan on the hob, swirling until caramelised and it turns to a nutty brown colour. Toss in the chestnut pieces and coat, swirling the pan until all pieces are covered. Be very careful as this molten sugar is very hot.
Tip out onto a piece of parchment paper, leave to cool and harden.
Next, make the chocolate ganache. Break up the Toblerone pieces and melt over a double burner (au bain-Marie) or in the microwave. Remove from the heat to cool. Mix in the cream and brandy and pour into a serving jug until required.
To make the cake, separate the egg yolks and whites into two bowls.
Melt the chocolate Toblerone pieces over a pan of boiling water (au Bain-Marie) or in a microwave. Once melted, leave to cool slightly. Add the brandy or vanilla, if using.
Whisk, (either by hand or in a mixer) the egg yolks with the softened butter, sugar and chestnut purée until pale and creamy in colour. It should be light and fluffy and whiter in colour when ready.
Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until light airy and fluffy, don’t over mix as they will become too dry.
Combine the melted chocolate with the egg yolk mixture throughly, and fold in a heaped spoonful of the egg whites, until folded in completely. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites, trying not to knock out any of the air. Take your time with this, leaving no flecks of egg white showing.
Pour the batter into a parchment paper lined 23cm springform cake tin.
Bake in the oven for 40/50 minutes.
Using a skewer, pierce to check if cooked through. The skewer should come out clean.
To make the mascarpone cream, whisk together the mascarpone, double cream, chestnut purée, vanilla extract, adding a little icing sugar to taste, in a bowl until light and fluffy. Don’t over whisk as you don’t what it to be too thick and become solid.
Remove the cake from the tin once cooled. At this stage you can slice the cake in half and shape using your cake cutter shapes. Cut out, if making individual Christmas tree shaped desserts.
You can serve as the whole cake with the mascarpone cream and the candied chestnuts, giving you 10/12 portions.
If shaping, use three different star shaped cutters to make each dessert three layers, interspersed with the mascarpone cream filling and top with the candied chestnuts. Dust with icing sugar.
Serve with the chocolate ganache in a separate pouring jug, either hot or cold for an extra bit of indulgence.
Enjoy N x
