Chocolate chestnut brownies
Swirls of chestnut cream, soft and gooey, peaking out from the fudgy, dense brownies
Published originally on my blog on 20 January 2018
A little while ago, I made these brownies for the first time.
I love chestnuts and I tend to use them in savory and sweet dishes regularly, especially during the autumn and winter months, but never had I used them before in brownies. It was a revelation.
Chestnut and chocolate is, unsurprisingly, a match made in heaven, and these brownies are a shining example of this match. They are fudgy and dense yet soft and light.
They have the full, intense flavor of dark chocolate and cocoa powder, with the sweet earthiness and nutty flavor of the chestnut and the salty kick of sea salt flakes that brings all the flavors to life, balancing the sweetness of it all.
The swirls of chestnut cream, soft and gooey, peaking out from the fudgy, dense brownies or hiding inside them, revealing themselves with each bite, create a flavor and texture contrast that I love.
Ordinarily, I don’t prefer the edges of brownies but the center pieces; with these brownies, though, where the chestnut cream meets the edges of the brownie and it becomes deliciously chewy, it makes those edges utterly irresistible to me. Perhaps this will happen to you to. Let me know if you do make them.
And if you’re in the mood for more sweet and savory recipes with chestnuts, check out these:
Sweet chestnut cream (Crème de marrons)
Chocolate and chestnut truffles
Chestnut cream truffles
Chestnut tiramisu
Chestnut ice cream
Chestnut soup with Port
Chestnut crêpes with creamy wild mushroom filling
Chocolate chestnut brownies
No need to bring out a mixer, this is all done by hand, albeit it needs some elbow grease to achieve a smooth batter. So if you’re having trouble handling it by hand, use an electric hand-held mixer but don’t overbeat the eggs and the rest of ingredients as you don’t want to incorporate too much air into the batter. We’re going for fudgy texture, not light and airy.
I’ve made these brownies with both homemade sweet chestnut cream and ready-made, and I have to say that I like both versions. The homemade chestnut spread is somewhat more creamy and smooth and less dense/sticky than the commercial one. If you choose to use ready-made sweet chestnut spread, make sure to use good quality because it will make a difference.
*Don’t use chestnut purée instead of chestnut cream because they are different, both in flavor and texture. Chestnut cream or crème de marrons is puréed chestnuts with sugar and vanilla, it is sweet and has (obviously) a creamy texture, whereas chestnut purée is cooked and then puréed chestnuts, it is unsweetened and has a very thick and dense texture.
