Castagnaccio
(Chestnut Cake)
from Italian Traditional Food

Castagnaccio has a unique flavour

Castagnaccio is made from sweet chestnut flour. Castagnaccio is a classic Italian (Tuscan) dessert cake. It is dense, not too sweet and full of flavour. The classic, basic castagnaccio, tastes slightly sweet with most of the sugar coming from the sweet chestnuts themselves.

Castagnaccio, although eaten as a sweet, is probably not exactly everyone's idea of one. This chestnut cake is very similar to the more basic Pattona cake.

Serves: 6-8

Cooking Time: 55 minutes

Oven Setting: Preheat to 220C (425F) or Gas Mark 7

Ingredients:

400 grams sweet chestnut flour
100 grams raisins
50 grams pine nuts
sprig of rosemary
1 litre of water
2 tablespoons of sugar
1/4 cup of olive oil
pinch of salt

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 220 C (425F) or Gas Mark 7.

2. Soak the raisins in a bowl of warm water. Drain, dry, and dust them in flour

3. In a large mixing bowl, add water to the flour and mix well. It should be a smooth liquid but not too liquid and must not have any lumps.

4. Add the oil, sugar and salt and continue to mix well.

5. Lightly grease an ovenproof dish (or cake tin) with the olive oil.

6. Strain the batter into the ovenproof dish. This will get rid of any remaining flour lumps in the mixture.

7. Sprinkle the pine nuts and raisins over the top of the batter.

8. Scatter some fresh rosemary leaves over the mixture.

9. Drizzle some olive oil over the mixture.

10. It is now ready for the oven.

11. Bake the cake at 220C (425F) or Gas Mark 7 for about 10 minutes and then lower the heat to 200C (400F) or Gas Mark 6 for another 45 minutes.

12. The castagnaccio is done when the top begins to have cracks in its surface and the sides are coming away from the sides of the ovenproof dish.

Tip:

1. If you don't soak the raisins before cooking, they draw out moisture as they cook, making whatever you're cooking very dry.

2. If you don't flour the raisins, they sink to the bottom of a cake batter as it cooks.

3. When adding the water to the flour, don’t use all of the water at once: it is best to see how the batter is forming before using it all.

4. The chestnut cake mixture should not be higher than about 1 to 2 inches in the ovenproof dish or cake tin. If it is too high, the cake will be too dense.

Locate another Italian Traditional Food recipe here

To discover more about Italian food visit the Italian Traditional Food webpage