The name’s a bit of a mouthful. The original title “Chocolate chestnut cake” didn’t do it justice as I thought it tasted more of almonds than chestnut flour.
I came upon this recipe on Instagram earlier in the year on the fab Rebel-kitchen-recipe page. Not one of her recipes, apparently, but a cake she was raving about online and kindly shared on her page.
I forgot about it until last week when I unearthed my scribbles from a pile of to-do papers. I’ve changed the original topping recipe as it included almond flour which is not easy to find, and is also expensive. Dark melted chocolate with a hint of maple syrup is an easy, glossy topping on a deliciously moist cake. Divine! And then any seasonal fruit you want in order to give it height since it’s a flat cake (a bit like your tin of baked brownies might be). I use a small 8″/20 cm cake tin.
I will often refrigerate it once cooled as I discovered early on, when we were enjoying the remains of it the following day, that our ‘seconds’ tasted even better!
Ingredients:
120g almond flour (ground almonds are fine and less expensive. The cake has a slightly coarser texture)
120g chestnut flour
100ml coconut oil, melted
500ml coconut milk (or any other plant milk)
80g sugar (coconut sugar if you have it)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarb of soda
5-6 tbsp cocao
Maple-chocolate topping
100g dark chocolate, melted
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp naturli vegan butter
a little water to whisk in to help it stop clumping
Topping on topping
Seasonal fruit, edible flowers or dusted icing powder (I add mini toy deer when I make it at Christmas 🙂
Method:
Grease a medium-size round cake tin with coconut oil. Beat all the cake ingredients to a smooth batter.
Bake in a 160 degree oven (350 fahrenheit) for about 30-40 minutes, or until just cooked in the middle – my toothpick came out a bit sticky.
To make the topping, place the broken up chocolate in a bain-marie together with the maple syrup and naturli vegan butter so they all melt together. If you can’t get the latter, whisk in some water instead to avoid it becoming claggy. Keep whisking over the bain marie, adding a little more warm water if the chocolate starts to set, then smooth over the cake and top with berries or any seasonal fruit.
Enjoy!