This week's French Garden recipe

People who know me would tell you that it's hard to tell which I like more: gardening or cooking. I'd say it depends on which I'm doing at the moment. Anyway, French cooking and French gardening go hand in hand. For me, cooking is an on-going adventure. Join me here on my culinary explorations, where I share with you both my old favorites as well as new inspirations. It's my fondest wish that these recipes serve as a springboard for your own new creations.

11/08/2001
Chestnut cake in the style of Ardeche (Gateau aux marrons d'Ardeche)

Ingredients:

3-4 dozen fresh chestnuts
3 c. milk (2% or whole)
2 vanilla beans
3/4 c. sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 T. butter, room temperature, plus additional to grease pan
2 T. dark rum
4 oz. roughly chopped candied chestnuts (optional)

To serve:
1 c. heavy cream, whipped, slightly sweetened
Curls of dark chocolate, shaved yourself from a block or purchased from a chocolate maker

This flourless cake has a very moist texture without being heavy or dense. It is absolutely delicious, full of the delicate perfume and inimitable sweetness of the chestnut, subtly underlined by the vanilla and rum. This cake makes a fantastic alternative to the traditional holiday desserts. Note: Do not substitute precooked, vacuum-packed chestnuts or chestnut puree. The ordeal of peeling the chestnuts is worth every minute.

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cut a slit at least half an inch long across the round side of each chestnut with a sharp knife. You need to end up with at least 3 dozen sound nuts. Working with 4 dozen gives you some leeway for replacing wormy or moldy nuts, and any extras can be added in with absolutely no change in quality of the results. Boil the chestnuts for 3 minutes, drain them, and peel off the shells. The interior skin will still cling to the nuts. This job will take you about half an hour to complete. I do it using a combination of small knife and fingernails. I prefer to wear surgeon's gloves because peeling the nuts stains my hands and often destroys my nails.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Bring another pot of water to a boil, dump in the peeled nuts, boil for 10 minutes, and drain. Now remove the inner skins; you'll find they slip off easily. Place the peeled nuts back in the empty casserole, add the milk (which should just cover the nuts), and the two vanilla beans, sliced in half lengthwise. Simmer gently until the nuts are tender and have absorbed almost all the milk. Stir often with a wooden spoon to avoid scorching, especially toward the end.

Remove and reserve the vanilla beans, and dump the chestnuts and any milk into a food processor. Scrape the interior of the vanilla pods and add the scrapings to the chestnuts. Process until smooth. Add the sugar, egg yolks, butter and rum. Process briefly until smooth and scrape into a large mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until just barely stiff but not dry. Mix 1/4 of the whites into the chestnut mixture. Gently fold in the rest of the whites, adding in the candied chestnut pieces if you have them at the end.

Butter a 8- or 9-inch springform pan, and line the bottom with baking parchment. Scrape the batter into the pan and place it in the center of the oven. Bake for 40-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 1 hour, then remove onto a platter.

Serve with a generous dollop of whipped cream and bittersweet chocolate curls or shavings. A cup of espresso is perfect alongside. Elegant and delicieux!

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Try some of our past French garden recipes:

Appetizers and small dishes

Basics

Beef, pork, lamb, and veal