Torta di castagne

Chef and baker Domenica Marchetti generously allowed us to share this recipe with you all. We encourage everyone to check out her substack Buona Domenica or her many cookbooks for other delicious chestnut + chestnut flour recipes.

Recipe from Buona Domenica:

Antica Osteria Luchin, in the Ligurian seaside town of Chiavari, has been serving simple food since 1907. It is famous for its farinata—a flat chickpea flour pancake of sorts that is baked in a wide, shallow cast-iron or copper pan. But those in the know never leave without enjoying a slice of Luchin’s torta di castagne. It is the plainest of cakes, made with chestnut and all-purpose flours, butter, eggs, and sugar. But it is special. The chestnut flour gives it a warm color and complex sweet and slightly smoky flavor that reminds me of maple syrup. If you garnish it with a dollop of whipped cream, you’ll see that the chestnut flavor really shines through.

A couple of years ago, one of the waitress at Luchin provided me with a list of ingredients in the cake. I found this recipe online and reworked it a bit. It comes close to the original.

Makes one 9-inch (23-cm) cake, to serve 8-10.

**The smoky flavor she describes is specific to smoke-dried Italian chestnut flour; cake made from our flour will not have a smoky flavor but it will still be delicious!*

Ingredients:

12 tablespoons (160 g/1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature; plus more for the pan
Scant 1/2 cup (60 g) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
1 1/4 cups (140 g) chestnut flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (120 ml) whole milk
Confectioners’ sugar, for serving
Freshly whipped cream, for serving

Instructions:

1. Heat the oven to 350° F (180° C). Butter the inside of a 9-inch (23-cm) springform or cake pan. Fit a round of parchment in the bottom of the pan and butter the parchment. Coat with flour, tapping out the excess.

2. Sift the chestnut flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter and sugar and beat with the whisk attachment until it is fluffy and lightened in color. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then beat in the vanilla extract.

3. Add half the dry ingredients and beat on low until incorporated. Beat in the milk, followed by the rest of the dry ingredients. The batter will be somewhat thick. Scrape it into the prepared pan, spreading it out and smoothing out the top.

4. Bake the cake for 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out mostly clean (it’s ok if a couple of crumbs cling to it). You can also test for doneness by listening to the cake; if you can hear it bubbling vigorously, it’s not ready; if the bubbling is barely noticeable, it’s done.

5. Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Then remove the ring (if you used a springform pan). Place a plate or a cooling rack on top of the cake and gently invert it. Remove the bottom of the pan (or the whole pan) and peel off the parchment. Re-invert the cake onto a cooling rack and let it cool completely.

6. To serve, sprinkle the cake with confectioners’ sugar. Slice and dollop each serving with softly whipped cream.