I am sure you all have experienced a situation, when you buy a product to use it in a particular sweet or savory dish and eventually it lingers in your closet or fridge for numerous days and when you open either of them, it just stares at you, making you feel guilty for not utilizing it.
Every time I opened my fridge, I had this little vase of glazed chestnuts looking at me with disgrace and disappointment, for not using them at making the Mont Blanc sweet, I was planning during winter. The last couple of weeks when I opened my fridge, I avoided looking towards their direction. I even put some toast bread in front of them, so as not to feel ‘the looks’.
As I was searching my countless cooking books to see what I was going to make for the family and the site, I stumbled upon this recipe by Stelios Parliaros a very famous Greek Pastry Chef in his book Sweet Alchemy Lessons. I have made quite a few from his recipes and he has never disappointed me.
When I saw this recipe, I was sure that this was the one to utilize these poor little chestnuts. The recipe called for pears and pistachios. I didn’t have either of the two, but even if I did, I was determined to use the chestnuts and that was it. I made a few other minor alterations and the result was a beautiful spiced chocolate cake with so many flavors alternating one after the other, that you couldn’t really decide which one tasted the best. An extra bonus was that it was really very easy and very fast to make.
I will certainly make this cake again without changing a thing, that good it was!
Spiced Chocolate Cake with Glazed Chestnuts and Dried Nuts
Ingredients
150 gr. flour
150 gr caster sugar
1 tsp baking powder
A pinch of salt
150 gr. margarine at room temperature
3 eggs
150 gr. semi-sweet chocolate 55% cocoa, melted
10 glazed chestnuts cut in half
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp cinnamon
A pinch ground cloves
60 gr. dried nuts, different kinds slightly grinded
Instructions
Preheat oven to 180° C.
In the mixer bowl put the margarine, the sugar, the eggs and mix well.
Add the flour, the baking powder and the salt and continue to mix.
Pour the melted chocolate, the nuts, the chestnuts and the vanilla extract and mix with a spatula.
Add the spices and mix once more.
Pour the batter in a buttered and floured spring form and bake for about 50 minutes or until the knife comes out clear.
Take it out of the mold and serve.
- 150 gr. flour
- 150 gr caster sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- A pinch of salt
- 150 gr. margarine at room temperature
- 3 eggs
- 150 gr. semi-sweet chocolate 55% cocoa, melted
- 10 glazed chestnuts cut in half
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- A pinch ground cloves
- 60 gr. dried nuts, different kinds slightly grinded
- Preheat oven to 180° C.
- In the mixer bowl put the margarine, the sugar, the eggs and mix well.
- Add the flour, the baking powder and the salt and continue to mix.
- Pour the melted chocolate, the nuts, the chestnuts and the vanilla extract and mix with a spatula.
- Add the spices and mix once more.
- Pour the batter in a buttered and floured spring form and bake for about 50 minutes or until the knife comes out clear.
- Take it out of the mold and serve.
