Chestnut Gateaux

Gateaux aux Marrons

A fantastic tea-time treat or festive delight!
(or Birthday Cake!)

This Chestnut Gateaux or Gateâu Aux Marrons is quite special and would be a real tea-time treat for your family and friends.

It would also compliment any table for parties or special occasions and is a welcoming change at Christmas instead of the usual cakes and pastries.

What better way to use those beautiful seasonal chestnuts than in a dreamy chestnut cake!

Chestnuts can be cooked in different ways and this is just one way to use them in a lovely chestnut puree.

If you want to make your own puree, or indeed want to know other ways to enjoy them take a look at how to cook chestnuts.

Chocolate Chestnut Gateaux Recipe

Ingredients
 
3 eggs (separate the whites and the yolks)
 
½ cup (4oz) light golden caster sugar (See note 1.)
 
½ cup (2oz) plain or all purpose flour
 
(scant) ¼ cup (1oz) cornflour (See note 2.)
 
1 level tsp baking powder

 
For the filling:
 
1 cup (8oz) sweetened chestnut puree
 
¼ cup (2oz) butter

 
For the Chocolate Icing:

½ cup (3oz) plain chocolate broken into pieces (See note 3.)

1 tbsp rum or coffee

¼ cup (2oz) unsalted butter

 
Method
 
Preheat your oven to 350°F/180°C/Gas 4
 
Mix the egg yolks with the sugar until light and creamy.
 
Sift together the flour, cornflour and baking powder.
 
Whisk or beat the egg whites until stiff (make sure your bowl is completely clean with no traces of grease, or egg yolk, or they will not become stiff).
 
Gently fold in the flour and the egg white, alternatively into the creamy yolk mixture.
 
Pour into your prepared tin and bake for about 30 – 40 minutes or until it is firm to the touch.
 
Cool on a wire tray in the pan.
 
Prepare the filling by creaming the chestnut puree with softened butter.
 
Slice the cake when cold into three horizontally and spread each layer and the top if you wish, with the chestnut filling.
 
Now prepare the chocolate icing by melting the broken chocolate in a small dish over a pan of hot water.

Add the rum and remove from the heat and beat in the softened butter.
 
Pour this lovely chocolate icing over your cake. 

NOTE 1: For homemade golden caster sugar: substitute caster sugar which you can make yourself by grinding in a blender or food processor briefly to make a finer consistency. To make a truer golden caster sugar process a light brown sugar mixed with a little white sugar together for a golden mix to substitute for the golden caster sugar.

NOTE 2: Cornflour should not be mistaken for cornstarch. Cornflour is ground dried corn kernels and is yellow in colour. Cornstarch is white because it is just the starch that has been removed from the corn kernels. They each produce a different use in cooking and should not be substituted one for the other.

NOTE 3: Plain chocolate is unsweetened dark chocolate with no milk or sugar added.

And there you have it – a really dreamy Chestnut Gateaux!
 
Bon Appétit

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