Montblanc – Chestnut dessert from Valle d’Aosta

And after the first three dishes of our Christmas dinner, here we come to the dessert! Today we’re presenting the Montblanc, a popular soft chestnut dessert topped with fresh whipped cream.

montblancThe name of this cake derives from the Mount (from Aosta Valley), and of course it also kind of looks like it. The origin is, of course, contested between Italy and France and we do not feel wrong at all to present it as a recipe from our valley 🙂 .

Generally you should use fresh chestnuts (or even better marrons), but to reduce the preparation time you can use dried chestnuts.

And now, “light the fireworks!” 🙂 .

If you try one of the recipes on the blog, take a photo and publish it on Instragam with the hashtag #fratelliaifornelli and tagging our profile @fratelliaifornelli.

Stampa

Montblanc - Chestnut dessert from Valle d'Aosta

Cuisine Egg free, Gluten free, Vegetarian
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 6
Difficulty Medium

Ingredients

  • 250 g of dried chestnuts
  • 400 ml of milk
  • 75 g of white sugar
  • 25 g of brown sugar
  • 15 g of cocoa
  • 1 vanilla pod
  • a pinch of salt
  • 400 ml whipping cream
  • 30 g of powdered sugar

Instructions

  1. Let's start our Mont Blanc from chestnuts. If you use dried chestnuts, remember to soak them in cold water at least the night before, changing the water two or three times. 250 grams of dried chestnuts will get about 500 grams of rehydrated. Take care to choose the best dried chestnut you can find: if the quality is low, the chestnuts are very tannic and your dessert will be bitter 🙁 .
  2. So, put your chestnuts rehydrated in a pressure cooker, cover with water and simmer 45 minutes from the whistle.
  3. Then, drain and pour into a saucepan in which you add milk, white sugar, brown sugar, cocoa, vanilla and a pinch of salt. Cook about thirty minutes, continuing to stir until the chestnuts are done. With a blender purée them.
  4. Place a quantity of the mixture on the plate that have chosen to serve your dessert on.
  5. Whip the cream with the icing sugar, insert it in a pastry bag and cover the entire mount 🙂 . We have chosen to start the bottom and go up the spiral, but that is to your personal taste.
  6. Finish the dessert with a dusting of cocoa powder, or if you prefer with a few chocolate flakes.