I was born in a foggy region of Italy, I grew up eating castagnaccio which is an authentic Italian chestnut cake. Around this time of the year in my hometown, we celebrate our saint. Indeed, the 24th of November is San Prospero and the most typical food is indeed castagnaccio. This dessert is also well known in Tuscany.
This chestnuts cake is perfect for celiacs because it doesn’t have any wheat flour. In addition, it has no sugar added, either butter. And yes it’s completely vegan. You won’t have the problem to find any substitutes. Just make sure you are not allergic to nuts, because there are tons of them.
Castagnaccio is usually baked in the oven but it’s possible also to make “frittele” in english fritters. You should fry them in vegetable oil on medium heat on both side until dark brow.
Castagnaccio is an Authentic Italian Chestnut Cake and it is made of chestnuts flour, water and olive oil, pine nuts, and raisins. To enrich the cake I usually add a mix of different nuts. I love eating it on cold mornings with coffee and milk. Not only is gluten-free and completely vegan but it’s a super healthy cake that would give you the amount of energy to survive the cold days of November.
Preparation
Beforehand place the raisins inside a bowl with water. Let them rest and soak the water until soft. I usually leave them between 1 and 6 hours. Take a large bowl, add all your chestnuts flour. After that add a pinch of salt to balance the sweetness of the chestnut flour. Add 2-3 table-spoons of olive oil. After that pour the water a little at a time and whisk everything until having a homogeneous mixture. It’s time for the good part. Drop all the soaked raisins. Then add the pine nuts but keep some to garnish the top of the cake. Mix all together. Grab a circular baking tray and spread a spoon of olive oil around it so the cake won’t attach to the bottom. Pour the mixture inside, and tap a few times until it levels up. Pour a drizzle of oil. And sprinkle the rest of the nuts. And garnish with some rosemary.
Bake for 30 minutes at 180°C in a preheated oven. When the cake starts to crack it means that it is almost ready. Poke the cake with a toothpick and see if it’s dry inside it’s done! Set it aside to cool it down.
Serve warm or cold with your morning coffe and your favorite plant base milk. I’ll go with rice.
ingredients
500g of chestnut flour
3 spoon of olive oil
a pinch of salt
650 ml of water
Raisin
Pine nuts
Rosmary
Mixed Nuts optional
