chestnut tart

this is a great chestnut tart recipe that i devised this autumn and shared with some friends. it was soooo popular, they told me to share the recipe. so here it is! 

all started from chesnuts that shanti's mother picked from nearby their home.... 

ingredients

pastry
- 75g butter
- 60g sugar
- 1/2 (half) egg
- 150g plain flour
- vanilla extract

almond cream
- 100g almond powder
- 100g buttar
- 100g sugar
- 2 small eggs

chestnut cream
- 300g peeled chestnuts (about 400g with shell)
- 150ml cream
- 50g unsalted butter
- 50g sugar

cream for topping
- 100ml cream
- 30g sugar


directions

pastry (allow three hours)

1. mix butter until creamy and fluffy
2. add & mix egg bit by bit
3. add & mix vanilla extract
4. add plain flour and mix until one bunch of patsry
5. if its too watery then add flour (not too much though, otherwise the crust will become really hard!!)
6. place in a plastic film and refrigerate for at least two hours (work on almond cream and chestnut cream during this time)

7. take out from fridge and roll out on floury surface
8. roll out to about 3mm/4mm thickness

9. place the rolled out pastry onto a pie mould
10. don't worry if the pastry breaks! patch it up! it's absolutely fine.
11. fork the surface of the pastry to allow air between the mould and the pastry
12. keep it in the fridge for another hour (this will prevent the pastry from shrinking) - this would be a great time to preheat the oven (180C)

so… while you wait for the pastry to settle, at stage no. 6 above, let's prepare the almond cream, which will become the base of the tart and also the chestnut cream.. yummy!

almond cream

1. mix butter and sugar well
2. add eggs bit by bit and mix well
3. add almond powder
4. leave this mixture until ready to pour into the pastry mould

chestnut cream

1. boil chestnuts for about 30 minutes
2. drain and peel chestnuts
3. place chestnuts in a plastic bag (ziplock would work too) and mash them inside the bag
4. mix butter and sugar until fluffy in a bowl
5. place the mashed chestnuts into the bowl and mix
6. add cream and adjust each ingredient as you wish (go ahead and experiment!)

***

13. take out the pastry mould and pour the almond cream (instructions above). keep the surface as level as possible.
14. bake the tart with the almond cream for 30-40mins. (if the surface becomes golden and the inside is not cooked, then you can cover the surface with a sheet of aluminum foil)
15. when cooked, let it cool down (I sometimes cheat and put the whole thing in the freezer - not the best way but sometimes we can't wait right?)

***

soooo, once the tart is baked and cooled down, we can make more progress.
ready to combine everything and let chemical reaction take its course!!

16. place the chestnut cream on top of the tart surface, try and level the surface so it is roughly even
17. beat 100ml of cream in a bowl - relatively thick
18. spread thew whipped cream on top of the chestnut cream.

***

aaaaand your chestnut tart is ready to be enjoy by your friends and family.
great autumn recipe. have a lovely tea time!

marcia