Chestnut, Dark Chocolate, Salted Caramel Mousse

I would have never made this in a million years unless all the stars aligned just so. I happened to have one cup of sweet chestnut puree left and was looking for something to make. I had found this great simple recipe and was going to make it, but I was so tired and didn't want to do much of anything. A day or two before, I had attempted to make Beth Kimmerle's Soft Salted Chocolate Caramels, which was a disaster that left me with a hard block of candy that was delicious but threatened to pull your fillings out. In an effort to salvage the cream, sugar and chocolate invested, I heated a chunk of it in the microwave with some water (a tip I scavenged online) and mixed it into a rather decadent chocolate sauce. And there was some cream in the fridge that needed whipping and someplace to sit on top of, and for an excuse for me to eat it all.

To recap: I had one cup of sweet chestnut puree, one cup of chocolate sauce, and about two cups of whipped cream, all told. I mixed the puree and sauce together and folded in a cup of the whipped cream. I chilled it for a few hours and then served it mit schlag.

Oh my god, it was so incredibly rich that I couldn't even finish it. I had to return it to the fridge and eat it later on when I was ready again. With more whipped cream. I will probably never make this ever again, but dang was it sooo good.

Late Night Chestnut Cake

I know that almost nine p.m. is not really late for many folks, but for me it is just a half hour shy of falling fast asleep. I wake up at about four a.m. due to a certain toddler in the house, so I have an excuse. No more late night partying in this house. So, we do what we can to keep ourselves amused. Like making this cake last night with the sweet chestnut puree I made on Friday married to the yogurt cake I made last weekend. It is very dense and chewy, so I think I need to tinker with it a bit, but it didn't stop me from having two pieces before bed. Quel scandale! It wasn't very sweet, which I like, and the chestnuts impart a slight nuttiness.

2 eggs
1 cup of whole milk plain unsweetened yogurt
1/2 cup sweet chestnut puree

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350° F, grease a round ten-inch cake pan. In a large mixing-bowl, gently combine the yogurt, eggs, sugar, and puree. In another bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Add the flour mixture into the yogurt mixture, and blend together -- don't overwork the dough. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, sprinkle with nice shiny organic cane sugar, and bake for 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean. Let stand for ten minutes, run a knife around to loosen, and turn out on a rack to cool.

Sweet Chestnut Puree

Lucky me, I have a friend with a gorgeous chestnut tree in her backyard, and every fall it becomes a fertile disaster area, filled with huge mace-like bombs waiting to fall on your head and maim you. Seriously, these things hurt! They were all over the backyard, and you are so tempted to just grab them, but hold on and get some sturdy gloves first! Once they are out of their protective pods, they are so aesthetically pure, beautifully smooth and a rich chestnut brown. I wanted to make a sweet chestnut puree and that's just what I did, mashing some different Mont Blanc recipes for inspiration. Now I've got to figure out what to do with this beautiful, sweet and nutty spread. I was thinking a cake rolled with the chestnut puree and some mascarpone. Oh, my god, doesn't that sound divine?

Cut an x in the flat side of the chestnuts and roast them for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees so the skin peels back. Once you've done that, measure out about two cups of them and put them in a heavy pot with 1 cup of sugar and 2 cups of water. Bring this to a boil and let simmer until the syrup reduces, about 30 minutes. Take it off the heat, and add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Put the chestnuts in a processor with some of the syrup. Puree to your desired consistency. Let cool.

I found that I used all of the reserved syrup and had to add more water because I wanted a smoother creamier paste. Initially, the texture was like marzipan, but I didn't want to mold it, I wanted to spread it. Now I just need to find something to spread it on...