Chocolate Chestnut Cake Recipe (2024)

Oh dear, like others I have not located chestnut flour (not at Whole Foods in Ann Arbor, FYI) and it is too late to order online. I have the whole chestnuts and understand the cake is not the same without the flour but at the 11th hour…mix chestnuts with another flour? Hazelnut? Almond? Help! no time to test!

Delicious cake; just grind chestnuts finely in the food processor if you cannot find chestnut flour. I put some parchment paper on the bottom of my springform pan, and the cake came out very easily. You do need to run a knife around it before opening the pan, otherwise the cake will break.

Absolutely Divine!! I'm making it again for a supper party and expect the same rave reviews as last time. I used vacuum packed roasted chestnuts for both the flour and chopped chestnuts. I just ground the 55 grams in a food processor for the chestnut flour and it worked out fine. Your recipes are the best! We're still eating the leftovers from the vegetarian mapo tofu; which my husband is still raving about.

Bittersweet.

I want to make this but I am a little leery about the unbuttered springform pan as instructed. Has anyone made this and not buttered the pan with good results? Thanks.

I recommend boiling, as it's easier to peel the inner skin (the thin membrane that clings to the nuts) with boiled chestnuts. Keep the chestnuts in hot water as you work--this also helps.

And while we're at it, please specify if sweetened or unsweetened chocolate.

This cake is wonderful - very moist and springy. Made chestnut flour from fresh nuts off our trees, amazing flavor!

I recommend coconut oil. I'm not sure, but it might make a difference that coconut oil (like butter) is solid at room temperature. Plus it's delicious!

Lovely idea.

Forgot to mention, Costco has the vacuum packed roasted chestnuts. I nuked the butter and chocolate at 70% power for 2 minutes. The first two times I used 51% chocolate and the last time 60%.

This has become one of my all time favorite recipes! I use finely ground chestnuts instead of the flour to no ill effect and serve withwhipped cream sweetened with chestnut puree. Divine and well loved by all, gluten free or not. Thank you for adding such deliciuosess to my standard holiday repertoire!

I couldn't find chestnut flour so I used hazelnut flour, and the cake was delicious. I did find whole chestnuts - next time I'll use the food processor to grind them into flour. That would likely make the cake more moist, though really no complaints on that front even with the hazelnut flour.

I was able to find the chestnut flour at my local specialty supermarket (Draegers) in Los Altos, California. I just made the cake and it looks delicious. Can't wait to try it later today!

Whole family really enjoys this moist cake which I've baked annually during the winter holiday season for many years. I use an ungreased 8" springform pan (definitely run a knife around the inside of the pan before removing cooled cake); I use a 4 oz Ghiradelli Premium 60% Cacao bar and also Calleris chestnut flour. This year I added chopped marron glasé, instead of plain cooked chestnuts-it was an excellent addition. I've also made it without any chopped chestnuts, and that's great too.

I had my bag of Italian chestnut flour, but not whole chestnuts, so I used a full cup of flour and 1/2 cup chopped jarred cherries. Used the largest eggs in the box, so they were likely extra-large or jumbo, for maximum lift. It well filled a 9” springform and was done in 25 mins. Served with the cream, and fresh cherries on the plates. Rich, beautiful texture. Guests surprised and ecstatic.

This was my first attempt at a gluten free dessert. It was marvelous and much appreciated by my gluten-free guests. I made it as directed and had no problems. I wound up with an excess of chestnut flour but I will make it again, even for those who are not challenged by gluten.

I have made this cake several times, since we have two Chinese chestnut trees in our yard that give us an overabundance of chestnuts and I needed more ways to use them. For the flour, I toast the chestnuts a bit in the oven, then grind them in a coffee grinder. It is a godsend for when I need a gluten-free dessert and travels well if you omit the whipped creme. Very rich and chocolatey. Just be careful not to overbake it.

Way too dry. I used about half cocoa powder because I didn’t have enough solid chocolate. Would that have been enough to account for the dryness? Also - I used chestnut flour but subbed hazelnuts for chestnuts, which had gone bad. Also a culprit for a dry cake? Trying to figure out if a glug of whiskey might help. NB: I really do try to make the recipes as they are written but couldn’t this time out.

Would it be OK to use cocoa flour instead of a bar of chocolate?

Easy, luscious chocolate and gluten free so was perfect fit dessert for people who can't eat gluten. Fresh chestnut season is over here so we used Matiz (Spanish) brand vacuum sealed (always in baking aisle) to chop. For chestnut flour we chose Molino Zanone (Italian) brand (we store it tightly sealed in freezer). Using weights provided to scale down by half and used a 6" springform. Perfect fit, done in 23'ish minutes, 4 generous servings, could have been 5 if needed. Keeper!

Light, very moist and delicious after a holiday meal. Loved the texture that the chopped chestnuts provided. Good even without the whipped cream. I baked in a regular round 8” cake pan lined with parchment. Cooled it for 25 minutes or so and turned it out onto a serving plate. Came out perfect. A quick and easy dessert.

Made this with an unbuttered springform pan with surprisingly no issue. In future I may adjust chestnut flour to chocolate ratio to make it just that much more rich, less “cakey”. And a dash of cinnamon or other spice. I had to opt for a too-expensive chestnut flour online, would appreciate any other more affordable sources other bakers have found.

Finally found a pack of vacuum sealed chestnuts at Trader Joe’s after Thanksgiving. Used nearly half of it to make the flour and the other half to fold into the batter.

I only had a 10 inch springform so I baked it a total of 19 minutes. Like other commenters, I made my own chestnut flour by putting chestnuts in the food processor until a fine crumb. Other than that, I followed the recipe as is and I thought it was good but probably wouldn’t make for company since it’s not the prettiest thing. As mine was thinner, it tasted similar to a brownie. I added a teaspoon of cardamom to the topping whipped cream as well, which I recommend if you like the taste.

I did the recipe with hazelnut flour (couldn't find chestnut ) and roasted hazelnuts in mix with chopped chestnuts and hazelnuts on top. I put most of the sugar in the whipped eggs (zabaglione + chocolate + hazelnut flour) Worked out great yes doing it again. Accompanied by chocolate covered cold apple slices with chopped hazel nuts sprinkled on them. 8 person dinner party LOVED it.

- For the chopped chestnuts and the chestnut flour, I use vacuum-sealed chestnuts blended in a NutriBullet blender (~5 pulses). Some of the chestnuts end up pureed (kind of), and I make sure to leave big chunks too, because those taste great in the cake.- I use milk chocolate, about half as much as the recipe calls for.- Last time I cooked it, I used an extra egg and a little extra chestnuts, but kept the sugar the same (my attempt to make it healthier).- Good as a post-workout snack.

I usually top the cake with milk or dark chocolate mousse (or both). Make chocolate mousse according to French chocolate mousse recipe, but add some gelatin to melted chocolate before incorporating it in the mousse. Spread on cake and refrigerate. Comes out good.

Delicious recipe. I followed the recipe, using hazelnut in lieu of chestnut flour. Baked for 30 minutes and it was perfect, not dry but not gooey. The cake is not too sweet neither.It had the perfect texture to be served with a home made creme anglaise, heavenly pairing that i highly recommend. I will also try David serving suggestion. Thank you for this recipe, a keeper for all lovers of chestnut-chocolate combination.