Tuscan Castagnaccio (Chestnut flour cake)
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 8
 
A simple traditional Tuscan cake using naturally gluten free chestnut flour, dried fruit and nuts. No eggs are required making this cake suitable for vegans.
Ingredients
  • 250g chestnut flour
  • 350 mls filtered water
  • pinch of salt
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • 40g sultanas
  • 25g nuts (pine, walnut, almond)
  • Fresh rosemary
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius.
  2. Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl to get rid of any lumps, then pour in the cold water bit by bit stirring till the mixture resembles a pourable batter. Stir in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Set aside for 30 mins.
  3. Meanwhile soak the sultanas in warm water for around 20 minutes, this brings out the sweetness, and allows them to plump up.
  4. After 30 mins, add half of the chopped nuts to the flour-batter mixture, along with the drained sultanas.
  5. Grease a large shallow baking tin with half a tablespoon of olive oil.
  6. Pour in the batter (it should be around 1cm deep), and sprinkle with the remaining nuts, and all of the fresh rosemary. Drizzle a further tablespoon of olive oil over the cake.
  7. Bake in the upper part of the oven for 40 minutes. During cooking the top of the cake will crack. This is how it is meant to look, don't worry!
Recipe by Ceri Jones Chef at https://cerijoneschef.com/tuscan-castagnaccio-chestnut-flour-cake/