Fondant à la châtaigne (Chestnut Fondant) Nº1

The location: A square off the Cours Napoleon in the late afternoon, Porto Vecchio, Corsica.

The actors: Two weary, famished hikers coming off two weeks on the GR20, sitting in the shade of Église St. Jean-Baptiste.

The discovery: le fondant à la châtaigne

Here's our first attempt at recreating the experience...


Ingredients:

• 1 can (435g) chestnut purée, unsweetened
• 200g caster sugar
• 3 eggs, separated yolks and whites
• 30g butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC (170ºC fan-assisted)
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the chestnut purée with the caster sugar until well blended. Then add in the butter and vanilla extract, and finally the yolks. Mix until smooth.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.
4. Combine egg whites with chestnut mixture until fully incorporated.
5. Pour into baking tins either with baking cups or well-floured.
6. Bake for approximately 25 mins until a skewer comes out almost clean but not entirely.
7. When cooled, remove from tin and place in refrigerator or leave to reach room temperature.

So Michel Roux jr may not like the air bubbles or some of the colours. But he hasn't tasted it. Just as decadent and delicious as the original of Corse. The texture was quite as sticky as the first one, and I don't think that the purée was as smooth. Any suggestions on tweaking the recipe are much appreciated.