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Hungarian Chestnut Torte with chestnut cream, chocolate ganache, whipped cream rosettes and grated dark chocolate, ready to serve.

Hungarian Chestnut Torte

This Hungarian-inspired Chestnut Torte is my adaptation of the chestnut cake my grandmother used to make. A light, moist chestnut sponge is cut into three layers, spread with a thin layer of dark chocolate ganache and filled with silky chestnut cream made from unsweetened chestnut purée and butter. Finished with whipped cream, chestnut rosettes and grated dark chocolate, it’s an elegant celebration cake with a beautiful balance of earthy chestnut, bittersweet chocolate and fresh cream.
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Prep Time 2 hours
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 45 minutes
Servings: 10 people
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Baking
Ingredients Equipment Method Video Notes

Ingredients
  

Torte
  • 300 g Chestnut puree.- Note 4
  • 4 Eggs 70g -Note 2 yolks and whites separated
  • 75 g Castor sugar x 2 lots
  • 100 g Olive Oil
  • 100 g Milk
  • 100 g Plain flour
  • 15 g Baking powder
Filling
  • 400 g Chestnut puree.- 4
  • 300 g Unsalted Butter softened cut into cubes - 7
  • 200 g Icing sugar
  • 40 g Italian liquor
Ganache
  • 180 g Dark Chocolate. -6
  • 180 g Cream
Cream topping
  • 300 g Cream
  • 100 g Castor Sugar
Chocolate
  • 10 g Grated dark chocolate. - 3

Equipment

  • 1 22 cm spring form tin
  • 1 Oven
  • 2 Medium bowls
  • 1 Bowl
  • 1 Potato Ricer
  • 1 Flour Sieve
  • 2 spatulas
  • 1 Bowl scraper
  • 1 Stand Mixer
  • 1 Stand Mixer Whisk
  • 1 Oven
  • 1 Stand Mixer flat beater
  • 1 refrigerator
  • 1 stove
  • 1 double boiler
  • 1 Sauce pan
  • 1 Jug
  • 1 Serated Knife for cutting sponge
  • 1 step palette knife
  • 1 Comb Scraper
  • 1 Palette Knife
  • 1 8 Portion cake diver
  • 1 grater for chocolate
  • 2 Disposable piping bags
  • 1 Round nozzle 5mm
  • 1 Star Nozzle 9mm
  • 1 large spoon
  • 1 Oil Brush
  • 1 Scissors
  • 1 Cake Thermometer

Method
 

  1. Preheat the oven 160C
  2. Oil and line a 22cm spring form tin with baking paper both bottom and collar the sides
Torte
  1. Separate the eggs
  2. Put the chestnut puree through the ricer
  3. Beat the egg whites with stand mixer and whisk until silky and add the sugar in three stages whipping until medium peaks. Set aside
  4. Whisk the egg yolk and sugar until white and thick
  5. Slowly add the oil and milk and mix through
  6. Now add the chestnut puree into the egg yolk bowl and half mix through
  7. Sieve the flour and baking powder together
  8. Add the flour to the egg yolk bowl in two parts and mix until smooth on a low speed
  9. Fold through the egg whites in three portions
  10. Add to the baking tin and bake for 35mins until the temp reaches 85C -Note 1
  11. Cool completely before taking out of the tin
Filling
  1. Put the chestnut through the ricer
  2. Whip the butter and chestnut in a stand mixer with a flat beater until light and mixed through
  3. Add in the icing sugar and whip well
Ganache
  1. Boil the cream and add to the chocolate off the heat and mix until smooth
Putting the cake together
  1. Turn cake out the tin and cut into three portions with serrated knife
  2. Spread a thin layer of ganache on the first layer using a pallete knife
  3. Spread an even layer of chestnut filling over the ganache using the step pallet knife
  4. Top with another cake layer and repeat the process using the three cake layers
  5. Set in the fridge for 30 mins
  6. Run a thin layer of filling around the outside of the cake using the pallet knife
Cream topping
  1. Whisk the cream with the sugar until medium peaks
  2. Mask the top and sides of the cake with the cream using the pallet knife
  3. Run a comb scraper around the sides of the cake on a 45 degree angle
Dark Chocolate
  1. Grate dark chocolate and set aside
Decorating the cake
  1. Mark the cake into 8 portions with the cake divider only marking the cream
  2. Fill a piping bag with a small round nozzle. Cut the bag end and fill with the whipped cream. Twist the end to start piping.
  3. Pipe one long and one short line on each 8 marked slices
  4. Fill another bag with a small star nozzle and cut the end.
  5. Fill half the bag with fresh cream and half with the filling. Twist the end to start piping. Pipe a two-tone rosette on each of the slices.
  6. Run a line the grated chocolate around the bottom rim of the cake. you can use the bowl scraper to push it carefully up the sides
  7. Add the grated chocolate in the middle of the cake in a small circle
  8. Top each rosette with a small sprinkle of grated chocolate as well

Video

Notes

 1 – Don’t Over bake the Chestnut Cake
Chestnut purée helps create a beautifully moist cake, so take care not to overbake it. Bake only until the centre is set and a skewer comes out without wet batter. Once baked, allow the cake to cool completely before cutting it into three layers. A warm chestnut cake is delicate and can tear or compress when sliced.
 2 – Weigh the Eggs
For consistent results, use 70 g egg for each whole egg, weighed in the shell. Egg size can vary considerably, and because the eggs provide moisture, structure and aeration, weighing them helps maintain the correct balance in the batter.
 3 – Grating the Dark Chocolate
For the grated chocolate decoration, it is much easier to grate chocolate from a solid slab or block of dark chocolate rather than individual squares. Keep the chocolate cool and firm while grating for finer, more even shavings.
 4 – Choosing Chestnut Purée
Chestnut purée is available online and from many European and specialty delicatessens around Melbourne. I use Clément Faugier Chestnut Purée (439 g), although other brands will work well.
Most importantly, choose unsweetened chestnut purée. Avoid sweetened chestnut creams or vanilla-flavoured chestnut spreads, as these will alter the sweetness and consistency of both the cake and filling.
 5 – Using Fresh Chestnuts
During chestnut season, you can also prepare your own purée. Cook and peel fresh chestnuts, then process them until smooth. The finished purée should be soft and smooth, with a consistency similar to commercially prepared unsweetened chestnut purée.
Because homemade purée can vary in moisture content, you may need to adjust its consistency slightly before using it in the recipe.
 6- Couverture chocolate 45-55% is ideal but you will still get good results with dark baking chocolate
7--Cut butter  into small cubes and leave out the night to soften if possible or microwave 10 seconds at a time until finger soft (do not melt)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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