This chestnut chocolate cake is rich, dense, and deeply flavored - the kind of classic Italian chestnut cake you find in Northern Italy during fall. Made with chestnut purée and dark chocolate, it's naturally flourless, incredibly moist, and perfect for holiday baking.
If you're making this Chocolate and Chestnut Cake, be sure to also check out my Orange Bundt Cake with Orange Glaze and Sicilian Orange Sweet Bread for more traditional Italian baking inspiration.
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If you're looking for the best chestnut cake recipe, this one balances sweet chestnut and bold chocolate beautifully. It's elegant enough for Christmas dinner and simple enough for Sunday dessert.
The combination of chestnut and chocolate creates a soft, truffle-like texture that feels somewhere between a flourless chocolate cake and a traditional Italian torte..
Why This Chestnut Cake Works
- Naturally flourless chestnut cake
- Made with real chestnut purée
- Rich chocolate flavor
- Gluten-free friendly
- Traditional Italian flavor profile
If you enjoy rustic Italian cakes like my Italian Lemon Ricotta Cake or my Torta Caprese, this chestnut chocolate version will feel right at home in your kitchen.
I baked this awesomeness for my little sweethearts. They thanked me and asked me to hurry and bake another one. It's luscious and it's easy to make. They weren't too excited when they saw I was cooking chestnuts to put in it. They exclaimed, "We don't like chestnuts!". But once the cake was finished, they didn't remember their chestnut issue.
It's an amazing gluten-free cake. The kind of cake you take tiny slivers of and say, "This is the last bite." Then you hope there is still some left and you come back for another sliver. Make this for your love. Make this for yourself!
Ingredients
1 cup pre-cooked, peeled chestnuts
2 tablespoon sugar (I used organic)
½-3/4 cup milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)
7 tablespoon unsalted butter
¾ cup dark chocolate chips
3 large organic eggs
½ sugar (I used organic)
cocoa powder for dusting
How to make chestnut cake
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease the inside of a 10-inch springform pan and line the base with a disc of buttered parchment paper. Dust with 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder and tip out the excess.
Toss the chestnuts into a medium sized frying pan.
Add in the sugar and milk and cook over a medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes until the chestnuts start to soften. Remove from the heat and spoon it into the bowl of a food processor; pulse until smooth. Add more milk if needed until you achieve a smooth consistency. (I started with ½ cup in the frying pan and then added about another ¼ cup into the food processor.)
Place the dark chocolate chips and unsalted butter in a microwave safe bowl and melt on a low setting or over a pan of barely simmering water. If melting in a pan over simmering water, remove from heat when melted; add the vanilla and stir until smooth.
Let cool slightly. In the bowl of a mixer, whisk together the eggs and sugar until pale, fluffy, and doubled in volume (about 6 minutes). On medium-low speed, mix in the chestnuts until thoroughly combined. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl to incorporate all the chestnuts. Gently fold in the melted chocolate until smooth.
Carefully pour the batter into your prepared pan. Spread the batter evenly on top with a spatula and bake on the middle rack of the oven for about 30 minutes or until the top has formed a light crust. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool on a cooling rack to room temperature. The cake may sink and the crust may crack as it cools or when you remove from the springform pan. Dust with cocoa powder and serve with crème fraiche.
Variations (Targets Long-Tail Keywords)
Chocolate Chestnut Layer Cake
Bake in two thinner pans and stack with lightly sweetened whipped cream between layers.
Chocolate Chestnut Mousse Cake
Chill the baked cake and top with a whipped chocolate ganache layer.
Vegan Chestnut Chocolate Cake
Replace butter with plant-based butter and eggs with flax eggs. Texture will be slightly denser but still delicious.
Storage
Room temperature: 2 days
Refrigerator: 5 days
Freezer: 2 months
Did you make this and love it? Please RATE THE RECIPE below:)
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Chestnut Chocolate Cake (Flourless Chestnut Cake Recipe)
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F).
- Line the bottom of a 20 cm (8-inch) springform pan with parchment paper. Lightly grease the sides.
- Place the chopped dark chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl.
- Melt over a pot of gently simmering water (double boiler method) or microwave in 20-30 second intervals, stirring each time, until smooth.
- Set aside to cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until pale and slightly thickened (about 2-3 minutes).
- Add vanilla extract and salt. Mix.
- Stir the melted chocolate mixture into the egg yolk mixture until smooth.
- Fold in the chestnut purée until fully incorporated and creamy.
- In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. The peaks should gently hold their shape but still look glossy.
- Gently fold the whipped egg whites into the chocolate chestnut mixture in three additions.
- Use slow, sweeping motions to keep the batter light. Do not overmix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the center is just set but still slightly soft. A toothpick inserted should come out with a few moist crumbs, not wet batter.
- Let the cake cool completely in the pan.
- It may slightly sink in the center - that's normal for a flourless chestnut cake.
- Remove from the pan. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
- Slice and serve at room temperature.
Nutrition Disclaimer
Please keep in mind that the nutritional information presented below is an approximation and may vary depending on the exact ingredients used.
Notes
- Do not overbake. This is meant to be moist and dense.
- Use room temperature eggs for better volume.
- If your chestnut purée is thick, loosen it slightly before mixing.
- For deeper flavor, add 1 tablespoon espresso or rum.
- Chill for 1 hour before serving for cleaner slices.
This has been quite the week. A tragedy to see someone so talented not only gone too soon but to be reminded of how drugs impacted her life and maybe her death too.
I'm with Mom...I just love Bruno Mars...oh my Stars. 🙂
What a fabulous looking cake. Finding chestnuts would be hard but I'm thinking toasted walnuts would work for me.
Thanks for this recipe for chocolate and chestnut cake. It sounds wonderful. Beautiful photos.
SIMPLY beautiful! Gorgeous photos too, Lora.
Your chocolate and chestnut cake looks scrumptious! I wish I had this for dessert on Valentine's!
"Happy Cooking"
I had my hands on chestnuts today and I put them back! I am deeply regretting it now. This looks incredible! Rich and decadent. Happy Valentine's Day Lora! xoxo
I love desserts where you just take a little taste then keep going back for more! This looks wonderful, chestnuts and all 😉
Oh my goodness. What an absolutely gorgeous cake!
happy Valentines day!! <3 <3
this looks simply amazing - delicious! I love this recipe and use of chestnuts!
I've confessed to my love for chestnuts before, here, but mmmmm, this may take the prize. Looks amaaazing!
What a perfect cake to make for Valentine's Day! BTW, I like Bruno Mars, too. 😉
I would love a piece of this chocolate chestnut cake. It looks delicious. Have a wonderful day 🙂