I made Chestnut and Brussels sprouts last week. I made Chestnut mousse with apple and I loved that, so tasty, but this was the first time I’ve prepared whole chestnuts. I was delighted with their texture and taste, it is slightly different than the chestnut puree, as that one has sweetener in it. I thought they will be great in a cake too and I was right. This is how my Chestnut and Chocolate cake idea was born. I prepared the cake a few days ago, to celebrate my 5th anniversary of moving to UK.

Ingredients for the sponge:
– 300g plain white flour
– 3 eggs
– 100g demerara sugar
– 90g whole chestnuts
– 1 tsp baking powder
– 80g soften butter
– 80ml oil
– 50ml milk

Ingredients for the cream:
– 250g full-fat mascarpone
– 75g icing sugar
– 100g plain chocolate
– 50ml single cream
– 90g chestnuts

Preheat the oven at 180C or 160C fan. Make the sponge by mixing with a hand mixer the flour, baking powder, eggs, demerara sugar, the butter, the oil and the milk. Add the 90g of whole chestnuts and incorporate them with a spoon. Scoop the cake batter in an oiled baking tin. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Use a wooden skewer to make sure the middle of the cake is baked. It might be necessary to leave the sponge in the oven for a little more time. When it is baked, take the sponge out of the oven and leave it in the tin for a couple more minutes. Remove from tin and let it cool on a cooling rack.

Bring the single cream to boiling point. When it’s boiling, add the chocolate, cut in pieces and stir until the chocolate has melted. Leave the ganache to cool before using it in the cream. Meanwhile, make the cream by mixing with the hand mixer the icing sugar with the mascarpone. When the cream is ready, add the ganache and mix until it’s fully incorporated.

Cut the sponge in half. Put cream on the first layer and spread it evenly with a knife. Spread the chesnuts cut in 4-8 pieces. Place the second layer of the cake on top and cover it with cream.
The cake is ready to be served.

Did you use chestnuts in desserts before?