Today we talk about this soft and delicious cocoa cake, filled with chestnut cream. It’s a very, very easy dessert, for the whole family, gluten-free, made with rice flour and easily available starches. It’s a typically autumnal cake, characterized by the chestnut cream and its delicate flavor and fragrance, not at all cloying, easy to make, perfect for filling even cream puffs and eclairs.
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 2 Hours
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 13
- Cooking methods: Boiling, Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients
- 4 Whole Eggs
- 160 g Sugar
- to taste Grated Zest of One Orange
- 2/3 cup Light Seed Oil
- 2/3 cup Greek Yogurt (plain and lactose-free)
- 2 cups Rice Flour
- 1/2 cup Potato Starch
- 1/2 cup Cornstarch
- 2 tbsps Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (gluten-free)
- 1 tsp Fine Salt
- 1 packet Gluten-free Baking Powder
- 2 tbsps Fresh Orange Juice
- to taste Unsweetened Cocoa (to sprinkle on the cake)
- 500 g Boiled Chestnuts
- 1 Orange (to grate)
- 1/4 tsp Vanilla Paste
- 150 g Robiola (lactose-free)
- 1/2 cup Lactose-free Milk
- 1 pinch Fine Salt
- 1 tsp Strega Liqueur (or orange liqueur)
- to taste Granulated Sugar (only if necessary)
- 1 leaf Bay Leaf (for cooking chestnuts)
- 1 pinch Coarse Salt (for cooking chestnuts)
Tools
- 1 Hand Whisk
- 1 Springform Pan
- 1 Spatula
Steps
Let’s prepare the chestnut cream
To make this delicious cream, we’ll use boiled chestnuts.
I recommend choosing chestnuts of the same size for even cooking.
Peel the chestnuts, put them in a pot, in cold water, with a pinch of coarse salt and a bay leaf.
Cover and bring to a boil. From the first boil, lower the heat a bit and let them cook until they are tender enough to be pierced with a fork (about 15-20 minutes).
Be careful not to overcook them, otherwise they will become mushy and it will be impossible to remove the skin still attached to the fruit.
In the meantime, grate all the orange zest. We’ll use some in the chestnut cream and some in the cake batter.
Once warm, remove the skin (set aside ten chestnuts) and transfer them to a traditional or immersion blender with all the other ingredients to make the cream.
We need to obtain a smooth, firm cream. If you find the cream is too hard, you can add a teaspoon more of orange juice or milk until you reach the right consistency, which is that of a filling cream that should not flow out of the cake.
My chestnuts were very sweet, and the cream, when tasted, was just sweet enough that I didn’t have to add sugar. Taste the cream and adjust based on your preferences and the sweetness you want to achieve.
Let’s prepare the cake
In a separate bowl, sift together the flours, cocoa, and baking powder.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
From the orange we previously zested, extract 2 tablespoons of juice
Line a 9.5-inch diameter springform pan, with sides 2-2.5 inches high, with parchment paper, or butter and flour it.
In another large bowl, crack the eggs, add the sugar, and beat them with a hand whisk for a couple of minutes (that’s plenty)
Then add the Greek yogurt and dissolve it perfectly in the egg and sugar mixture, still with the help of the hand whisk.
Add the oil, the juice, and the grated orange zest and mix.
Now add all the sifted dry ingredients, salt, and mix just enough to obtain a smooth, creamy, lump-free batter.
Immediately pour the batter into the mold, using a spatula, gently tap it on the table to fill any gaps between the mold and the batter, and bake the cake at mid-height for 30-35 minutes, depending on your oven. My oven is gas, static and cooks only from below. If yours cooks from both above and below, pay attention to the cooking times, which may be shorter.
To check the cake’s doneness, pierce it with a skewer; it should come out perfectly dry. If not, extend the cooking time until you reach the right consistency.
Immediately remove the baked cake from the oven and let it cool for about ten minutes before removing it from the pan and letting it cool on a rack, if possible.
Let’s fill the cake.
Cut the cooled cake in half or in three parts and fill it with the chestnut cream. On each layer of cream, crumble 3 or more of the chestnuts we set aside.
Reassemble the cake, sprinkle it with some unsweetened cocoa, and enjoy its deliciousness.
An extra idea. Robiola can be replaced with another lactose-free spreadable cheese.
If you don’t want to use lactose-free products or if there are no specific dietary needs, you can use any dairy products you like.
Bon appetit
