My Easy Chestnut Purée

So healthy and delicious at the same time. Reminds me of winter days, snow and Christmas markets. The smell of roasted chestnuts – a perfect dessert not for little ones only. A luxurious taste of the chestnuts is awesome, just by itself.

Today, I present you The Hungarian special – My Easy Chestnut Purée. Incredibly wonderful dessert of my youth. It also provides a great base for cake fillings. Let’s get little messy and have some blast!

Total Time: 30 minutes for The Roasted Chestnuts and 1 day for The Chestnut Purée

Shopping List

1 kg of chestnuts: I used 300g for the roasted ones, 700g for the purée

The Chestnut Purée:
700g of unpeeled chestnuts (makes approximately 550g of clean chestnuts)
50g of butter, soft in cubes
50g of icing sugar, sifted

1 cup of double cream, whipped into snow peaks
2 packages of vanilla sugar
1 tablespoon of crème fraîche
1 tablespoon of a strong coffee mixed with a splash of hot boiling water

Instructions

The Roasted Chestnuts:

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

Cross all the chestnuts with a nut cutter and place them onto a baking tray lined with a baking paper. Sprinkle with water and bake in the oven for about 25 minutes until they darken and open a bit.

Make a test by trying one. If they are ready, let them cool down for a bit and serve warm in a paper cone.

The Chestnut Purée:

Place all the remaining chestnuts in a large deep pot filled with cold water. Bring it to boil and simmer for about 20 minutes.
Make a test by trying one of them. If it is cooked through, take off the heat and take them all out.
Crack with a nut cutter and take out the flesh into a clean mixing bowl.

Next, blend it until you get a smooth texture.

Add softened butter and icing sugar. Knead with hands until you get a nice and doughy texture.

Freeze until further processing wrapped in aluminium foil like a candy.

Whether you want to enjoy it straight away, wrap a part of the amount in an aluminium foil and refrigerate for couple of hours or overnight. Only this way you get a beautiful refreshing taste.

Once the purée is chilled nicely, prepare the double cream.
Pour the cream in a hand blender with 1 tablespoon of crème fraîche and 1 tablespoon of a coffee mixed with hot boiling water. Whip until snow peaks.

Place a good amount of whipped cream into the bottom of a serving glass and grate a good amount of the chestnut purée all over it. Repeat and finish with the chestnuts.

It is lovely just like that, but I can imagine a great adjustment of sour cherries soaked in rum. You can also sprinkle the top with a desirable liqueur (e.g. Amaretto or Eggnog). Enjoy with a cup of coffee.

Note that my topping adjustments are suitable for adults only. Babies are happy with the chestnut purée mix only. You can also add them fresh fruits in it. Yummy!

Makes 300g of the Roasted Chestnuts + 650g of the Chestnut Purée.