Castagnaccio - Chestnut flour cake
Chestnuts have just come into season, so Guido wanted to share his preferred recipe for Castagnaccio, a Chestnut Cake.
This delicious dessert is also gluten free, so if you know anyone who is celiac or gluten sensitive, this is the perfect cake for them.
The castagnaccio or chestnut cake is a traditional dessert made with chestnut flour and raisins, pine nuts, walnuts, and rosemary. This recipe is made in Tuscany, Veneto, Piedmont, and Lombardy, all regions in which the chestnut is often used as an ingredient. There are many variations however all share the simple ingredients of chestnut cake itself: water, chestnut flour, and rosemary.
The chestnut cake was first written about in Venice in 1553. However, it was in the 19th century that the Tuscans exported the chestnut cake to the rest of Italy, and it was in this period that it was enhanced with raisins, pine nuts, and rosemary. Each family has its own chestnut cake recipe, but here we will share Guido's family version with you!
Ingredients:
INGREDIENTS FOR A 12-INCH (32 CM) CAKE MOLD
Chestnut flour 4 cups (500 g), Water 2 ¾ cups (650 g), Pine nuts ½ cup (100 g), Rosemary 1 sprig, Raisins 3 oz (80 g), Walnut kernels ½ cup (100 g), Extra virgin olive oil 5 tbsp (40 g), Fine salt 1 tsp (5 g)
Method: To prepare the Castagnaccio chestnut cake, first wash the raisins in fresh water and soak them in a bowl of cold water for 10 minutes to rehydrate them. Coarsely chop the walnut kernels with a knife. Then peel off the fresh rosemary needles. Sift the chestnut flour into a large bowl. Add the 2 3/4 cups (650,g) of water a little at a time, stirring with a hand whisk; when the mixture is smooth and homogeneous, add the chopped walnuts and whole pine nuts, making sure to set a small amount aside that will later be used on top of the cake before baking.
After 10 minutes, squeeze and dry the raisins, then add them to the mixture: adding a small amount at a time; mix well, and add salt.
Oil, with extra virgin olive oil, a 12 inch (32 cm) low round cake tin. Then pour the mixture, levelling it with a spatula. Sprinkle the surface of the cake with the pine nuts, walnuts and raisins set aside, distributing them evenly.
Lastly, add the rosemary needles and then a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Cook in a static oven preheated to 380° F (195° C) for approximately 35 minutes. When a crust forms cracks on the surface and the nuts have a nice golden colour, take the cake out. When cool, serve and enjoy Castagnaccio: Guido's preferred chestnut cake.
Storage Tip: You can keep the chestnut cake covered with a cloth outside the refrigerator for 3-4 days at most. Freezing is not recommended.
