Sweet chestnut ravioli are delicious filled cookies made with shortcrust pastry and enriched with chocolate. The recipe is original and, although a bit laborious, I assure you it will surprise you. When I prepare this recipe, I use half of the ingredients to make the chestnut and chocolate tart and keep it for myself, while I give the sweet ravioli with chestnuts and chocolate to my friends and family during the Christmas holidays. The shortcrust pastry recipe is the one I’ve been making for 30 years, and I use it for everything, from the almond pastiera, to the cudduraci, I also use it to make cookies, my daughter loves it.
For the recipe of shortcrust pastry ravioli filled with chestnuts and chocolate, prepare the shortcrust pastry and, while it rests in the refrigerator, prepare the filling by boiling the chestnuts in milk and then adding a cocoa cream with dark chocolate. Once the bases are ready, roll out the pastry, cut it, and fill it with the chestnut cream. Shape into ravioli and then proceed with baking in the oven. At the end of the recipe, you will also find how to make sweet ravioli in the air fryer, in this case, either make different batches or halve the quantities to make 10 ravioli.
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Moderate
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 20
- Cooking methods: Oven, Air Fryer
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Fall, Winter
Ingredients for making sweet ravioli with chestnuts
- 4 cups all-purpose flour (+ for dusting)
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 cup butter
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup sweet vermouth
- Half packet baking powder
- 1 lemon zest (untreated)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 egg (and a little milk to brush the ravioli)
- 1.5 lbs chestnuts, boiled
- 2 cups milk
- 1.5 cups sugar
- 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3.5 oz dark chocolate 60-69%
- 1/2 cup Strega liqueur
What you need
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Plastic wrap
- 1 Pot
- 1 Food mill
- 1 Pastry board
- 1 Rolling pin
- 1 Pastry cutter or a tart mold
- 2 Baking sheets
- 1 Parchment paper
- 1 Brush
Method
Cut the butter into pieces, place it in the bowl, and melt it for 2-3 minutes at 300 watts in the microwave. Alternatively, you can melt it in a small pot. Pour the flour into the bowl and add the baking powder, grated lemon zest, and salt. Make a well in the center and crack in 2 eggs, add the yolk, and sugar. With the help of a fork, mix the eggs with the sugar, then add the butter and the Vermouth. Quickly knead the shortcrust pastry, until all the ingredients are combined into a homogeneous mixture. Form a ball and wrap it in cling film. Place it in the refrigerator to cool.
Put the cleaned chestnuts in the pot and add 1 2/3 cups of milk and 3/4 cup of sugar, place over the heat, and, stirring often, cook the chestnuts in milk for 30 minutes. Then, pass the chestnuts through a food mill into a bowl. Pour the remaining 1/3 cup of milk into the small pot, add the 3/4 cup of sugar, and, while stirring, the unsweetened cocoa. Place over the heat and, stirring, bring to a slight boil. Break the dark chocolate into pieces and add it to the hot milk, stir well until melted, then turn off the heat.
Pour the chocolate cream over the milled chestnuts, along with the Strega liqueur, and mix very well. Let the chestnut and chocolate filling cool.
Beat the egg with a little milk in a small bowl. Dust the pastry board with a little flour and place the shortcrust pastry on it. With the help of the rolling pin, roll out the pastry to a thickness of 1/5 inch. Using a pastry cutter or mold, cut the pastry into discs about 4 inches in diameter. Fill the center of each disc with a spoonful of chestnut filling, brush the edges with beaten egg, and fold the pastry to form a half-moon. Press the edge slightly. Continue until all the ingredients are used.
Preheat the oven to 340°F and line the baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the ravioli on them and brush them with the remaining egg.
When the oven has reached temperature, bake the sweet chestnut ravioli and cook for 30 minutes, moving the trays after 15 minutes to ensure even cooking.
Remove the sweet ravioli from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack.
Additional tips for filled sweet ravioli
You can store the ravioli in a tin container or on a tray, covering them with a sheet of plastic wrap and a cloth.
How to cook sweet ravioli in the air fryer
Place 6 ravioli at a time in the basket; if your air fryer is very spacious, you can put them all in. Cook, without preheating, for 15 minutes at 340°F, turn the ravioli, and finish cooking for 5 minutes.
