Italian cuisine · Desserts & Sweets

Castagnaccio

Flat Tuscan cake made from chestnut flour with rosemary, pine nuts and raisins, without egg or sugar.

Ingredients · for 8 servings

• 400 g chestnut flour
• 600 ml water
• 100 g raisins
• 60 g pine nuts
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 1 organic orange (zest)
• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 1 pinch salt
• 50 g walnuts

Instructions

1. Soak the raisins in lukewarm water for 15 min., then drain and squeeze out well; strip the rosemary needles from the sprigs and coarsely chop the walnuts.
2. Sift the chestnut flour with a pinch of salt into a bowl and gradually whisk in the water until a smooth, thin batter without lumps forms.
3. Stir in 2 tbsp olive oil and the finely grated orange zest and let the batter rest for 15 min. so the flour fully absorbs the liquid.
4. Generously grease a shallow 28 cm pan with 2 tbsp olive oil and pour in the batter only about 1.5 cm high – castagnaccio is meant to stay flat.
5. Scatter the raisins, pine nuts, walnuts and rosemary needles evenly over the top and drizzle everything with the remaining olive oil.
6. Bake at 190°C top/bottom heat for 35–40 min. until the surface is dark and shows a fine crackled pattern, then serve lukewarm cut into diamonds.