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Gâteau à la farine de châtaigne
Chestnut flour cake
Corsican chestnut-flour cake (torta castagnina)
In the Castagniccia, the chestnut forests of north-east Corsica, the chestnut was called the bread tree, and its sweet, smoky flour went into polenta, fritters and cakes. Every December the village of Bocognano holds a chestnut fair where this simple cake is sold by the slice. Made only with chestnut flour, it is dense and moist, with no wheat at all (check the flour packet if you avoid gluten), and has a flavour somewhere between cocoa and toasted nuts. Serve it with fresh cheese, a spoon of jam or a cup of coffee. Chef's tip: sift chestnut flour twice; it clumps in the bag, and lumps stay as dry pockets in the cake.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
- 7 oz chestnut floursifted twice
- 1 pinch salt
- 3 eggs
- 4 oz caster sugar
- 4 oz buttermelted and cooled, plus a little for the tin
- ½ cup milk
- 1 tsp orange zest
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 350°F (325°F fan). Butter a 22 cm round tin and line the base with baking paper.
Step 2: Whisk 3 eggs and 4 oz caster sugar with an electric whisk for 4 minutes, until pale, thick and doubled in volume.
4 minStep 3: Whisk in 4 oz butter, ½ cup milk and 1 tsp orange zest on a low speed.
Step 4: Mix 7 oz chestnut flour with 2 tsp gluten-free baking powder and 1 pinch salt, then fold it gently into the batter with a spatula until no dry streaks remain.
Step 5: Pour into the tin and bake for 30–35 minutes, until the top springs back and a skewer comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Common mistake: baking until the skewer is perfectly clean; chestnut flour has no gluten and the cake dries and crumbles if overbaked. Start checking at 30 minutes.
35 minStep 6: Cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a rack. It keeps for 3 days wrapped, and gets moister on the second day.
15 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 290 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 37 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
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Good to know
- How long does gâteau à la farine de châtaigne take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of gluten-free baking powder?
- ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda + ½ tsp cream of tartar per 1 tsp.
- What can I use instead of eggs?
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water per egg, left for 5 minutes (baking only; vegan).
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