Cake à la Châtaigne (chestnut cake)

Patricia and Serge are on the hunt for a ‘pied-à-terre' for friends of theirs, so they’d asked me to show them the apartments we have for sale at Les Terrasses des Oliviers. Once we'd looked round, it was just time for afternoon tea on their terrace – that was well timed!



Whilst we we waiting for the coffee, Serge showed me all the natural wonders he has found since we saw each other last, such as the chunk of granite that resembled the island of Corsica. He’d also discovered the image of the island inside a tree branch that he’d pruned but I couldn’t help thinking of Jesus in the toast!!



Being English and living in Corsica, most people I meet offer me tea, thinking that it will make me feel at home. Sadly, I can’t stand it, so I was delighted when the coffee arrived together with clementines and a chestnut cake. Patricia is a big fan of all things organic and had managed to pick up an artisanal cake mix from Fozzano.



I studied the back for the cake recipe and it was super simple; add 3 eggs to the mixture and mix well. Add 200ml of milk and 100ml of oil. Whisk well until you get a smooth paste and then cook in a cake mould at 190˚ for about 40-45 minutes. Easy peasy. Apparently, they also make a chestnut crumble which is delicious with apples and pears – yum!



I love chestnuts and also things made with chestnut flour. A personal favourite is crème brulée made with chestnut flour which is often found on the menus in mountain type auberges. Fortunately, I now know where to buy the pre-made mixtures off the internet - Les Fruits de la Montagne - so now I can cheat and no-one will ever be any the wiser...