Venetian Chestnut-Flour Cake

Torta di Castagne

The hardest part of this cake will most likely be finding chestnut flour in the US (there are lots of online vendors if you can’t find any locally). During the fall and winter here, the stores are flooded with fresh chestnuts and chestnut flour and the streets are lined with vendors roasting and selling chestnuts. This cake is an unusual and delicious gluten-free option.

Ingredients

350g chestnut flour

200g sugar

16g baking powder

4 eggs, separated

125 ml sunflower seed oil

125 ml water

pinch of salt

a handful of toasted pinenuts

optional: a handful of raisins

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 170° C.

2.  Mix the flour, sugar and baking powder in a medium-sized bowl. Add the egg yolks and a pinch of salt and beat lightly. Add the oil and water and mix well, adding a bit more of each if the mixture is dry. Add the pinenuts and raisins, if using.

3. Whip the egg whites with an electric mixer until light and frothy. Gently fold into the mixture until just combined. Pour into a parchment-lined cake pan.

4. Bake in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Buon appetito!