Chocolate Chestnut Gateau

Ingredients

• ½ lb chestnut puree [or make your own using whole shelled chestnuts poached in a little milk and then mashed until smooth]
• ½ lb castor sugar
• 4 eggs, separated
• 3 oz [100 gm] fine chocolate melted in bain marie

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180 degrees C.
2. Beat egg whites until stiff… set aside…
3. Beat egg yolks and sugar together until white…
4. Add melted chocolate…
5. Fold in chestnut puree…
6. Fold in egg whites.

Line 2 x 8 inch cake tins with greaseproof paper…

[or use silicone – see below]

Pour mixture into the 2 tins…

Cook at 180 degrees C. [gas mark 4], for 30 – 40 minutes.

When cool, carefully remove from the tins and peel off paper. Be careful as the cake will crumble otherwise.  OR SEE BELOW

Tip. Because there is no flour this cake is very fragile. I bake it in 2 silicone cake moulds and freeze them in the moulds for at least 24 hours.

A couple of hours before required remove from the moulds and assemble as below whilst still frozen.

Whip 1 pint cream until stiff, spread over bottom layer. Push a layer of fresh [or frozen] raspberries into the cream. Place top layer over and sprinkle with icing sugar. Allow to defrost naturally. Serve with more raspberries, cream, crème fraiche or yoghurt.

The beauty of this cake is that it can be made well in advance and frozen. Then if you have visitors at short notice it can be assembled quickly.

adapted from a recipe given to me by Jean Pearson

Added by: Michael Kemp