Back in the summer, when we were in Portugal, I picked up a
couple of cooking magazines. I’m sure
that doesn’t surprise anyone who knows me.
But although I can cook out of French (of course), Italian and Spanish
magazines and cookbooks, Portuguese had me stumped.
But I had a source to help me. Ana Miller, the wife of our church pastor, is
from Brazil, where the language spoken is….Portuguese! She translated several recipes for me at my
request, and this week, she, Pastor Will and their daughter came with a few
friends so that I could test them.
Everything turned out well, but the dessert was a total
treat. Rich, yes, but this recipe would
easily serve twelve.
I used a jar of roasted chestnuts. It’s the season; starting around now you can
find them at Fresh Market, Whole Foods, Williams-Sonoma and some supermarkets. At the end of the season every year I buy up
all I can find at half price because I have lots of ways to use them: chestnut ravioli, chestnut stuffed onions, or a chestnut scallop soup.
I made the dessert in the morning before the dinner, but the
next day the leftovers were still perfect, so you can easily make this a day in
advance.
If the recipe isn’t rich enough, or sweet enough, you can
add a dollop whipped cream, but really, I don’t think you’ll need it!
SEMIFRIO DE CASTANHA
(Portuguese Chestnut Torte)
½ cup sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
Butter and flour for the pan
For the
filling:
3 envelopes
unflavored gelatin1 12-oz jar cooked chestnuts (see note)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream
¼ tsp salt
1/3 cup ruby port (or dark rum)
Powdered sugar and cocoa powder to sprinkle
Preheat the oven to 350 o. Butter a 10-inch spring-form pan. Dust with flour, shaking out the excess.
In a bowl, beat the egg yolks briefly with an electric
mixer. Gradually add the sugar and beat
on medium-high speed until creamy and lightened, about five minutes. Gradually
add the sifted cocoa powder and beat until well mixed, scraping the sides of
the bowl as needed. Pour into the
prepared pan and bake for a about 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted
near the center comes out clean. Let cool, then remove from the pan and
reserve. Wash the pan and butter the
inside. Cut a piece of parchment or
waxed paper to fit inside the base.
Place the cooled base back into the pan.
Wash the mixer beaters and place with a large bowl into the
freezer to chill (this makes the cream whip faster).
Put about ¼ cup of water into a wide flat bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin slowly over the
top. All the gelatin should be
moistened. If the top isn’t, sprinkle
with additional water until it is. Set
aside.
Reserve four chestnuts and put the rest into a food
processor with the condensed milk.
Process until completely mixed and pretty smooth.
Scrape the gelatin into a small pan with the port. Warm over low heat just until the gelatin is
melted. Pour into the chestnut mixture
and blend well.
In the chilled bowl with the chilled beaters, whip the cream
until stiff peaks form. Fold the
chestnut mixture into the cream just until there are no streaks. Pour onto the cake base in the pan. Cover and chill until completely set, 4 to 6
hours.
To serve, remove the sides.
Dust first with powdered sugar, then lightly with cocoa powder. Coarsely chop the reserved chestnuts and
spinkle in a circle about halfway from the center to the edge.
NOTE: If you prefer
to use fresh chestnuts, start with about 1 ¼ pounds. Cut an X on the flat side
of each. Cook in lightly salted water until
soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool, then
remove the shells and skin. Proceed as
above.
