January 20, 2023

Chestnut Purée 栗子泥

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Okay, this is one of those things were I’m like, floored, at how something I made at home can be so damn good.  Previously when I needed chestnut purée for cake, etc., I had bought cans of ‘crème de marrons ’, (french for chestnut purée).  The French are crazy about chestnuts, apparently, and rightly so.  Crème de Marrons is sooooo yummy!!  I just want to eat it up straight out of the can!  

However, this year, just as I was gearing up for my yearly Chestnut Birthday Cake 栗子蛋糕 (for my hubby😘), my grocery store stopped carrying crème de marron.  Of course.  Right when I need it. Thanks, grocery store.  

So my only option was to try to make it at home.  I was pretty nervous, under a lot of cake-y pressure.  Would it turn out anything like the delicious chestnut purée that I needed for my cake?

Turns out that homemade chestnut purée is pretty easy to make and pretty darn close to the commercially packed ones.  Golden, nuttily sweet with a thick smooth texture, homemade chestnut purée is absolutely fabulous!  And it saves me a buck or two, yay!

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First things first.  Look at these nuts.  Pretty stoic looking, eh?   How the heck does one get the darn chestnut out of its smooth seamless shell?    It may seem impenetrable on first inspection but if you know the trick it becomes easier.  

When buying look for heavy chestnuts that have a good gleam and no holes or cracks.  Check chestnut by giving nuts a good squeeze.  You should be able to feel the fullness of the nut inside.  Sniff to make sure no mold.

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Unpeeled chestnuts need to be prepped first by cutting an X.  Be really careful while doing this as the chestnuts are slippery.  Making an X and then cooking the chestnuts is the way to get those nuts peeled.

Here are the methods for making the X: 

1) This is the method I tried first:  Place the chestnut on a non slip surface, like a towel.  I notched the knife edge into rounded side of chestnut just a bit so that it held.   Then I used hands on two ends of the blade top and rocked slowly until the knife sank in.  

This keeps your hands completely away from the knife edge.

2) Here's the second method:  Place on non slip surface, like a towel.  Make the X by holding the chestnut pointy end firmly with one hand.  Use knife tip to slice an X through the rough skin patch at the chestnut top.  Slice from rounded side to flat side of the chestnut, top to bottom, only in the area of the rough skin patch.   

Again the knife is completely away from the hands and it's easier to cut through the rough skinned patch as opposed to the shiny part (more slippery).

Your unpeeled chestnuts are X'ed and ready for cooking!
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A Great Tip:  If you're lazy like me, do yourself a favor and look for fresh chestnuts that are partially peeled, with the hard shell removed (photo above).  I found these at my local supermarket, yah!  And I'm pretty sure I remember seeing them at the wet markets.  But even partially peeled chestnuts still have that inside hairy skin which clings to the chestnut in an impossible to remove kinda way.  

But never fear there is a trick to removing both the hard shell and the hairy skin and it's in the cooking.

Note that there are two ways to cook the either unpeeled or partially peeled chestnuts.  You can either boil em or roast em.  Roasting them adds a caramelized flavor note to the purée.  Boiling or roasting, the point is to cook the chestnut meat and also to loosen the skin/peel that covers the chestnut. 

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This is the chestnut after boiling.  See how the skin just lifts off the chestnut?  There is one important point here though.  The chestnut must be hot.  If your nuts cool down the skins will stick again.  I left my chestnuts in the boiling water and removed them one at a time to peel.  If it starts getting hard to peel heat up the water again.

Note that this boiling method works the same for unpeeled chestnuts that are X'ed and partially peeled chestnuts.

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This is the chestnut after roasting.  See how the X of the chestnut has curled at the cut corners.  The nut should be easily pierced with knife.

IMPORTANT: The hot chestnuts should be immediately contained in an airtight container for 10 mins to allow steaming.  The steaming will loosen the inside skins from the nut, making it easy to peel.

I left my chestnuts in the cooling oven for a bit and that was a mistake cuz the skins started sticking.  I ended up having to steam the whole thing again in order to peel.  😐

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Chestnuts all cooked and peeled.  The peeling is the most time consuming part of the whole process.  Everything else is pretty straightforward.

Major Cheat Tip:  If you're not into the fresh chestnut scene, you can actually buy packaged roasted and peeled whole chestnuts!  I've not tried them so can't vouch for the taste but it would save some time.

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Here I packed the cooked chestnuts into my handy dandy hand blender

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Add in a bit of simple sugar syrup to help moisten.  Blitz for a couple of minutes until a smooth paste is formed.  As you blitz, do scrape down the sides.

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Add the puréed chestnut to the rest of the sugar syrup and cook over low heat.  Keep stirring until the paste thickens and reaches consistency desired.

As a final touch add a spoonful of vanilla essence.  And that’s it!  Your homemade chestnut purée is ready for the piping bag or your cake or stuffing or wheresoever you would like to use it.  And of course you could just snack on it straight up.  Go on, indulge yourself.  I ‘accidentally’ ate quite a bit of my purée before it ever got near my chestnut cake 😂.  (I won’t tell if you don’t 😉)

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Homemade Chestnut Purée 
(makes 5 1/4 cups/1250g)   Prep time: 10 mins  Cook time: 22 mins

Ingredients:


Directions:

If using unpeeled chestnuts, use a knife and carefully score a cross on each chestnut, being sure to pierce through the hairy skin inside the hard shell.  See post above for tips on slicing.

To Boil Chestnuts:

Prepare a pot of boiling water.  Add in chestnuts and boil over medium heat for 20 mins or until the chestnut meat can be easily pierced with a knife.

Start peeling as soon as you can handle the heat.  Leave the chestnuts in the hot water as you work.  If peeling becomes hard just reheat the water.

To Roast Chestnuts:

Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C).

Place unpeeled chestnuts on a tray and bake for 15-20 mins or until the shells peel back and the meat inside can be pierced through easily with a knife.  If using peeled chestnuts wrap in foil, seal edges and bake for 20 mins or until chestnuts are tender.

Remove chestnuts from oven when tender.  Place hot chestnuts with peel or skin in an air tight container for 10 mins to let it steam.  Start peeling as soon as you can handle the hot.  Keep the nuts covered as you work.  If peeling becomes hard just steam em hot and continue peeling.

Making the Purée:

Prepare the sugar syrup:  In large pot add in sugar and water.  Cook over low heat until the sugar has melted. 

Add cooked chestnuts and 1/4 cup of the sugar syrup to blender or processor and blend until a smooth paste is formed.  Add more syrup if needed to achieve smooth blend.

Add puréed chestnut to the rest of the syrup in the pot and cook over low heat for a couple of mins, stirring constantly, until the paste is thickened and clings to the spoon.

The purée is now ready to be used for piping, frosting, add to cakes , use as stuffing etc.  So many glorious ways to gobble!  Keep in air tight container in the fridge for up to a week.  Freeze for longer storage for up to 6 months.  Enjoy the nuttiness!

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