The Castagnaccio is a traditional rustic Italian cake. The top should be crispy and resemble the top of a dried out pond and it should be soft on the inside. Traditionally it was cooked in a rectangular tin and should be about 2cm thick.
I used 2 x 24 cm spring form pans for this quantity. Each cake was about 2 cm thick
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup sultanas (golden if you can get them)
Vin Santo( if you can get it) otherwise any sweet dessert wine
500gms chestnut flour….check that it is fresh
2 tablesp soft brown sugar
Pinch salt
1 litre cool water
3 tablesp olive oil
Grated zest of 1 orang
2/3 cup pine nuts
1/3 cup walnuts if desired
1 tablesp finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
Extra rosemary leaves to garnish plate
METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 200C
2. Soak sultanas in vin santo or dessert wine for 20-30 mins
3. Line cake tins with baking paper and spray with olive oil
4. Sift chestnut flour into a bowl
5. Add salt and sugar and mix well
6. Slowly add water a little at a time whisking well to avoid lumps
7. Add strained and dried sultanas, half pine nuts and orange zest.
8. Place 1 tablesp olive oil in each of the springform pans
10. Pour half chestnut batter into each pan. It should be about 2 cm thick
11. Sprinkle top with pine nuts
12. Drizzle the remainder of olive oil over the top of each cake
13. Bake at 200C for 10 mins
14. Turn oven down to 180C and bake for a further 20 to 30 mins
15. Top should be crisp and cracked and inside soft
16. Allow to cool in the pan
16. Sprinkle with pine nuts and dredge with snow sugar to serve
