Chestnut cream is a very versatile preparation, gluten-free, egg-free, and, if desired, also lactose-free. It can be used as a dessert, as a filling or topping for cakes, pies, cookies, ice cream, and cream puffs. I will indicate two preparations: one made with boiled fresh chestnuts (perhaps leftover from previous recipes, so we don’t waste anything) and one made with chestnut flour (ideal when this autumn fruit is no longer in season). Both are simple, very easy, and delicious recipes. Additionally, chestnut flour will give the cream a more pronounced rustic aromatic note compared to the fresh fruit.
Recipes with fresh chestnuts and chestnut flour
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Cooking methods: Boiling
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Fall, Winter
Ingredients
- 2 cups milk (also lactose-free)
- 1/3 cup gluten-free chestnut flour
- 1/3 cup gluten-free unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 pinch fine salt
- 2 teaspoons Strega liqueur
- 1 packet vanillin
- 7 oz peeled fresh chestnuts
- 1 g coarse salt
- 1 leaf bay leaf
- as needed water
- 5/6 oz cream cheese
- 1/2 cup cold milk
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup gluten-free unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 packet vanillin
- 1 teaspoon Strega liqueur
Preparation
Method with Chestnut Flour
Warm up the milk in a saucepan. Meanwhile, in another saucepan, place the sugar, sift the chestnut flour with the cocoa, vanillin, and pinch of salt. Stir to combine the flours, pour in the hot milk, the liqueur, and with a steel whisk, stir, place over low heat, and let it thicken, continuing to stir. It will take just over 5 minutes. As soon as the cream thickens, turn off the heat, strain it, and place it in a container to cool. The eggless chestnut flour cream is ready to use.
Method with Boiled Chestnuts
After removing the outer skin from the chestnuts, place them in a saucepan with 1 gram of coarse salt and a bay leaf and cover them with water.
Cover and cook them for about 35-40 minutes or until they are tender when pierced with a fork. Be careful that they do not become mushy, as it would become impossible to remove the skin attached directly to the fruit.
When the chestnuts are cooked, wait half an hour before touching them to remove the remaining skin.
After peeling them completely, put 150 grams in a blender with all the other ingredients, except the cocoa, and blend until you obtain a smooth and very fluid cream.
Now add both the cocoa and the remaining 50 grams of boiled chestnuts (cut into pieces); incorporate them with a whisk with the rest of the ingredients. The eggless chestnut cream will immediately take shape, becoming the right consistency, neither liquid nor hard, perfect for a thousand uses.
At this point, you can decide whether to enjoy the chestnut cream with a dusting of unsweetened cocoa, shortbread cookies, madeleines; or add whipped cream to make this cream even softer and more delicious. In this case, 100 ml of very firm whipped cream will be enough to incorporate into the cold chestnut cream.
