The Montebianco (Montblanc) is a dessert that most likely has French origins, known especially in Piedmont and Lombardy, like the original Piedmontese Bonet recipe. It is a spoon dessert, a dessert prepared with chestnuts cooked in milk, which once soft, flavored with rum and enhanced with cocoa, are transformed into a delightful cream that gives the dessert its characteristic brown color. For this simple yet elegant dessert it is advisable to use marroni, chestnuts of a larger, sweeter and fleshier variety, but large chestnuts can also work. The name Montebianco (Montblanc) refers to the shape this dessert takes, which when decorated with a generous amount of whipped cream really looks like a snow-capped little mountain. This dessert is fairly easy to make; you will only need some patience to peel the chestnuts. Follow me in the kitchen and make it together. If you feel like preparing other chestnut desserts, try the Tart with chestnut cream and dark chocolate or the Chestnut cream and dark chocolate, and if you have some of the chestnut base left over, try making Chestnut truffles. I almost forgot: to make the Montebianco even more indulgent you can garnish it with marron glacé before serving — what a delight! Before moving on to the recipe, remember that if you want to stay updated on all my recipes you can follow my Facebook page (here) and my Instagram profile (here).
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Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Moderate
Rest time: 1 Hour
Preparation time: 2 Hours
Cooking methods: Stovetop
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: Autumn

Ingredients to make Montebianco

26 oz chestnuts (marroni) (or large chestnuts)
2 cups whole milk (about)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
1 pinch salt
2 3/4 tbsp rum
4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups cold heavy cream for whipping (not non-dairy)
1 tsp vanilla extract
as needed marron glacé
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Tools

Pots
Bowls
Potato ricer
Food mill
Hand mixer

Preparation

To prepare Montebianco (Montblanc), start by rinsing the chestnuts or marroni under running water. With the help of a knife make a cross incision on the rounded side, place them in a pot, cover with water and cook for 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and let them cool slightly.
While they are still warm, peel them, removing also the thin inner skin. Many will break, but that’s fine. Put the peeled chestnuts in a saucepan, cover with the milk and let them cook over low heat until the milk is almost completely evaporated and the chestnuts begin to fall apart.
You should be able to do this in about 30 minutes. Turn off the stove and let cool slightly. You will soon notice the cooked chestnuts darkening a bit — this is normal. Pass them through a food mill or sieve with medium holes and strain them; it will be a bit tiring but don’t give up.
Add to the sieved chestnuts the salt, sugar, rum, cocoa and vanilla extract. Mix the mixture with a spatula; if it seems too dry, add a little milk. Refrigerate to cool completely if the mixture is still warm.
Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract to the cold cream, then whip it with cold beaters in a chilled bowl (the cold will help it whip better). Place a good portion of the whipped cream in the center of a dessert plate, fill the potato ricer (or large-holed press) with the chestnut cream and press it out over the cream, forming a little mound that covers the whipped cream. Garnish with cream dollops, a light dusting of cocoa and marron glacé.