Molly Wilkinson

This weekend Eileen and I did our first food photography and pastry workshop together in Paris. Seriously what an incredible time we had. The ladies that come were lovely and we were constantly laughing in between pastry and photography tips. We made French macarons together and learned all about food photography. For a decorating demonstration, I made this chocolate chestnut cake. It is the perfect time seasonally to bake this, and would be a beautiful a Christmas dessert, specially decorated with roses and rosemary. I’ve included the chestnut cake recipe below and some gorgeous photos from the workshop.

Most of the pictures I included here are by Eileen Cho who lead the food photography section in this workshop. It was so much fun to see how each person photographed and saw the subject differently.

I decorated the cake live during the workshop using roses, waxflower, gold luster dust, and gold leaf. Right before eating the cake I dusted some cocoa powder on top for a few more photos and to see the effect. It’s simply gorgeous and I’d certainly recommend it.

For the recipe, I used chestnut cream as it can be easily found at the supermarket here in France. In the US, you should be able to find this at gourmet groceries, like Central Market or Whole Foods, in the baking section, or jam section where you’d find Nutella. Chestnut cream is not simply pureed chestnuts, as it is sweetened.

If you’re interested in joining a pastry workshop in the future, keep an eye on my instagram and the website for announcements. I also send them out in my newsletter, which you can sign up for on the right-hand side of the page.

A special thanks to the lovely ladies that came ! You all are just fabulous! 🙂

Recipe for Chocolate Chestnut Cake

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Chocolate Chestnut Cake

Chocolate Chestnut Cake with chocolate ganache glaze and whipped chestnut cream frosting. This cake is perfect for Christmas or at any time. The cake will stay moist for up to a week without the frosting, so you can make this in advance and then add the whipped chestnut cream topping the day you serve it.

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Keyword cake, chestnut cake, chocolate chestnut cake

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Servings 8

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 120 g bittersweet chocolate (60-70%)
• 100 g unsalted butter (room temp)
• 225 g chestnut cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 75 g granulated sugar
• 100 g flour (T45, cake flour, or all-purpose)
• 1 tsp baking powder

For the chocolate ganache glaze:

• 100 g bittersweet chocolate (60-70%) Can make a small portion of this milk chocolate, if you'd like.
• 100 ml heavy cream

For the chestnut cream frosting:

• 180 ml heavy cream
• 100 g chestnut cream
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar

Instructions

For the chocolate chestnut cake:

1. Melt the chocolate and butter in a bain marie, stirring frequently. Once the mixture has come together, set aside to cool and whisk in the chestnut cream.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar with the vanilla. Add the chocolate mixture and mix to combine. Stir in the flour and baking powder. 

3. Pour into a buttered 8” (20cm) round pan and bake at 160*C/350*F for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

For the chocolate ganache glaze:

1. Heat the cream and pour over the chocolate. Whisk together to combine. Pour over the cooled cake. 

For the chestnut cream frosting:

1. Whip the heavy cream until medium-heavy peak. Add the powdered sugar and whip to combine. Fold in the chestnut cream to taste.

To Assemble:

1. Pipe the chestnut whipped cream over the cooled and set chocolate ganache. Then decorate, and dust with cocoa powder, cinnamon or powdered sugar, or a mixture of all three!

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