Fudgy Chocolate Chestnut Cake with Orange Ganache
The holiday season is all about letting decadence and joy take the front seat for a little bit, and this chocolate dessert is no exception!. My fudgy chocolate chestnut cake recipe is so rich and flavorful with toasted chestnuts and dark chocolate. The orange ganache glaze make it extra luscious for a cozy winter bake.
About This Chocolate Chestnut Cake Recipe
One ingredient that tends to get overlooked during the holiday season is chestnut. It has a fantastic flavor with a nutty profile that is slightly sweet. This recipe is play off a Pain de Genês which is a rich, French cake typically made with almond paste. In this case we are replacing the almond paste with chestnut and adding chocolate to make it even more of a delight. It is rich with butter and eggs and contains very little flour, so it has a very dense texture and a little goes a long way. I cannot think of a more holiday dessert than a rich cake with chocolate and chestnut topped with a luscious chocolate ganache.
The Origin Of Pain de Genês
Pain de Genês translates to Genoa bread and is a rich cake made of almonds, butter, eggs, and minimal flour. Despite the Italianess, the cake came from Parisian pastry chef, Fauvel, in the 1840s. It also went by a different name at first: Ambrosia Cake. By why call it Genoa bread if it came from France? The city of Genoa was prosperous in almonds and was also under siege by French forces during the 1800’s. The Genoa bread commemorates that siege. History is definitely weird but you can read more off of wikipedia here.
Chocolate Chestnut Cake Ingredients
- Chestnuts: I would get the cooked, peeled, and ready to eat chestnuts. If not, you have a lot of work ahead of you. FYI that chestnuts are considered a tree nut.
- Dark chocolate: I would go anywhere from 68% – 78% for this chocolatey recipe! Anything darker will hide the beautiful chestnut flavor.
Major Allergens Present: Gluten, eggs, dairy, nuts (chestnuts are a tree nut!)
Equipment Needed
- 8-Inch cake pan: While this cake doesn’t need a mixer, it does need a pan for baking! Make sure to spray with pan spray and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- Food processor: Used to grind the chestnuts in. Blend in your food processor until super fine.
How to Make Chocolate Chestnut Cake:
What is Chocolate and Chestnut Cake Made Out Of?
This chocolate chestnut cake recipe is a high fat, minimal flour type of French dessert. With a good amount of eggs and butter, this recipe gets its signature flavor from the chestnuts and chocolate. Toasting the chestnuts beforehand will give a light smoky flavor. Also, I prefer dark chocolate but not too dark as roasted chestnuts already have a light bitterness to it.
Make the Chestnut Cake Batter
If you already have ready to eat chestnuts, this batter is super easy. Start off by lightly toasting the chestnut which will help give off a smoky flavor. Once roasted and cooled, blend in a food processor until super fine. Next, mix the remaining ingredients in the right order. Bake until a knife inserted comes out clean and allow to cool completely.
Make the Orange Chocolate Ganache
There are multiple methods to making ganache, but I prefer the simplest one which is boiling the liquid and pouring over the chocolate. Boiling the zest with the cream helps infuse the orange flavor. However, if you’re not a fan of orange or citrus, you can omit it all together. Make this shortly before spreading on top of the cake.
Finish and Serve the Chocolate Chestnut Cake
While the ganache is still liquid pour on top of the cake and spread evenly; it’s okay if it drips down the side. Decorate with additional chestnuts or orange zest, and serve the best chocolate chestnut cake at room temperature with a cup of coffee.
Getting hung up or lost on all the baking terminology? Study up here.
Help Making Chestnut and Chocolate Cake:
How to make chocolate ganache:
- Boil the cream but don’t let it boil for too long. Boiling takes the liquid out leaving behind fat. Since a ganache is essentially an emulsification, any alteration in fat to water ratio may make your ganache separate.
- Pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and not vice versa. I find that adding chocolate to the pot can cause some of the chocolate to just stick to the sides and burn instead of melting with everything. Once poured, let it sit for about 60 seconds before you start whisking.
- Whisk vigorously. If you whisk too lightly you will not emulsify your ingredients together. You can use a stick blender if you have one.
- Sometimes the liquid is just not hot enough to melt all the chocolate. If this happens to you, just pop it in the microwave for 20-30 seconds then whisk it up.
Enhancing This Chocolate and Chestnut Cake Recipe:
- Add in a couple packets of instant coffee for added espresso flavor!
- Fold in chestnuts for a textural difference.
How to Store and Freeze Chocolate Chestnut Cake
- Store wrapped and covered for up to 5 days at room temperature or 2 weeks in the fridge.
- Store wrapped in the freezer for up to two months.
Troubleshooting Chocolate Chestnut Cake:
- I have big bumps on my cake! Just large air pockets from mixing, and nothing to worry about! You can straighten out the top by either slicing or covering with ganache.
Something else going wrong? Reach out and we will troubleshoot together!
Chocolate Chestnut Cake
Equipment
- Food processor
- 8" Cake pan
Ingredients
Chestnut cake:
- 284 g Chestnuts Peeled and ready to eat
- 76 g Granulated sugar
- 40 g Honey
- 3 ea Whole eggs
- 100 g All purpose flour
- ½ tsp Baking powder
- 1 pinch Kosher salt
- 90 g Dark chocolate
- 110 g Butter, unsalted
Chocolate ganache:
- 72 g Heavy cream
- 1½ Tbs Butter, unsalted
- 1 ea Orange zest
- 56 g Dark chocolate
Instructions
To prepare the chestnut cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line an 8" cake pan with parchment paper and pan spray the sides.
- Lightly toast the chestnuts for about 10 minutes and allow to cool completely. Blend in a food processor until fine.
- Mix the ground chestnuts and sugar together followed by the eggs and honey.
- Whisk in the dry ingredients until fully incorporated.
- Melt together the butter and chocolate then whisk in.
- Pour into prepared cake pan, and bake for 20-25 minutes until the center is springy and a knife inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.
To make the ganache:
- Bring the cream, butter, and orange zest to a boil. Pour over the chocolate and whisk until smooth.
- Pour and spread ganache over the cake and decorate with orange zest, shaved chocolate, or additional chestnuts.
Nutrition
