Chestnut Chocolate Cake

Prepare the Ingredients

1. Melt the butter and use it to coat the mold. Line the bottom and inner sides of the mold with thin baking strips, then coat again with butter.
2. Sift the cake flour together with the cocoa powder.
3. Chop the chestnuts.
4. Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Melt the Chocolate

1. Chop the chocolate and cut the butter into 2 cm pieces; place them together in a bowl.
2. Fill a smaller saucepan with water and bring it to a gentle simmer over low heat. Set the bowl over the saucepan (bain-marie) and stir until the chocolate and butter are fully melted. Remove the bowl from the heat.

Make the Chocolate Batter

1. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks with half of the granulated sugar until slightly pale and thickened.
2. Once the chocolate-butter mixture has cooled slightly, pour it into the egg yolk bowl. To prevent the two mixtures from separating due to a large temperature difference, temper the egg yolks first by gradually warming them with a portion of the chocolate mixture.
3. Stir in the heavy cream.
4. Sift the cake flour and cocoa powder again into the egg yolk bowl and whisk to combine.
5. Fold in the chopped chestnuts.

Whip the Meringue and Fold In

1. Pour the egg whites into a clean, dry bowl and beat until foamy.
2. Once foamy, add the remaining granulated sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
3. Gently fold the meringue into the chocolate batter with a spatula until fully combined.

Bake

Once fully combined (the white streaks of meringue should have disappeared), pour the batter into the prepared mold. Bake at 200°C for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 160°C and bake for another 35–40 minutes. Test the center with a bamboo skewer — if it comes out firm, the cake is done. Dust with powdered sugar to finish.