Bake a soft chestnut cake with whipped cream

Serves 8

Prep time: 1 hour 25 minutes Bake time: 1 hour

Difficulty: Medium

Ingredients:

For the cake:

1 ½ cups sweetened chestnut purée ¼ cup butter, melted

1/3 cup m ilk

¼ cup chestnut flour, or all-purpose

or '00' flour

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest ¾ cup dark chocolate, grated ¼ teaspoon salt, plus a pinch

3 large eggs, at room temperature,

separated

¼ cup white sugar

¼ cup apricot preserves

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To serve:

1 cup heavy whipping cream 4 whole chestnuts

1 Tablespoon dried violets (optional)

Directions:

For the cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Grease and line a 9-inch spring form cake pan with parchment paper.

3. In a large mixing bowl, beat together chestnut purée, melted butter, milk, chestnut flour or 00 flour, and lemon zest.

4. Stir in the grated chocolate and ¼ teaspoon salt.

5. In a separate mixing bowl, beat together the egg yolks, sugar, apricot preserves and vanilla until thick and pale, about 3 minutes. Whisk into the chestnut purée mixture until just incorporated.

6. In a third bowl that has no trace of oil or fat, whip the egg whites with the pinch of salt to stiff peaks. Gently whisk about one third of the egg whites into the chestnut mixture before folding in the remainder in two additions.

7. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, gently tapping the pan

on a flat surface to settle it.

8. Bake until risen and dry to the touch on top, about one hour; a toothpick should come out clean from the center when ready. Remove the pan to a wire rack, letting the cake cool for 10 minutes before turning out and letting cool completely.

To serve: When ready to serve, whip the cream to soft peaks in a mixing bowl. Spoon it on top of the cake and top with the chestnuts and dried violets, if using, before slicing and serving.