Castagnaccio (Tuscan Chestnut Cake)
Amongst many other treasures, Tuscany is known for an abundance of chestnuts. Once considered a food of the poor, who foraged the fallen nuts in the forests, dried them and ground them into flour, chestnuts are nowadays considered somewhat of a luxury. And as such, this dessert has long conquered the heart of many Italians, while still remaining fairly unknown elsewhere.
Ingredients
- 50 g raisins
- 60 g walnuts
- 2 sprigs of rosemary
- 300 g chestnut flour
- 1/3 tsp salt
- 420 ml water
- 50 g pine nuts
- 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.
- Add the raisins to a small bowl, cover with warm water and leave to soak for 10 minutes. In the meantime, roughly chop the walnuts and strip the rosemary leaves. Grease a 25cm cake tin with 2 tbsp of the olive oil.
- Sift the chestnut flour into a large bowl, add the salt and gradually whisk in the water until the flour has dissolved evenly. Whisk in 2 tbsp of olive oil, then drain the raisins, squeeze out the remaining water and stir them into the batter along with about half of the walnuts and pine nuts. Pour the batter into the cake tin and top it with the remaining nuts and the rosemary. Then drizzle over the remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top feels firm and just begins to crack. Then leave it to cool for 10 minutes, before removing it from the cake tin and cutting it into slices.
Notes
Storage: Keep any leftovers in an airtight container for 1-2 days.