I live in a building, tiny as it is, and also fall prey to the modern dilemma of feeling like there are often not enough hours in a day for all that needs doing. I like to create small rituals for myself, even with my food choices, to remind me of my connection to the cycles of the season, and the light and dark. I think the full moon is a great time to celebrate the fullness of life. Sharing dessert is one simple way to do this. Dessert is not an everyday thing for me. For a few years recently I marked each full moon making a cream pie. The flavor varied each month for this “Moon Pie” based on the season and what was ripe. The full moon highlights what is ripe! I will post another time with this recipe and inspirations for variations.
Tonight’s full moon eclipsed, falling into the shadow the earth cast on the sun’s light the moon is reflecting. I think full moon eclipses call for dark chocolate! I’ve been very excited about the sweet chestnuts that I’ve been gathering everyday from a few neighborhood trees. A few minutes of gathering keeps me in competition with the squirrels who seem to love them too. Oven roasting them makes my tiny cabin smell so good and they’re delicious to nibble. I wanted to experiment with a chocolate flourless torte using these. Pears are also perfect right now and two perfectly ripe red ones sitting on my counter called to be used as well.
Here’s what I came up with:
(Dairy free, flourless) Chocolate Chestnut Pear Torte
2 full cups chestnuts (roasted and shelled as below)
13 oz can full fat coconut milk
½ cup baking cocoa
1 cup sugar
1T cognac (optional but delicious)
6 eggs
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
¼ tsp salt
2 ripe pears
Preheat oven 375 degrees
Score the chestnuts with a serrated knife, making a small “x” on the rounded side of each. Place in a saucepan of boiling water for 10 minutes to simmer. Remove from the boiling bath with a slotted spoon or mesh strainer and place on a shallow baking tray in a single layer. Roast these in the oven for about 20 minutes. Remove them from the oven and put in a bowl with a towel or cloth napkin over it to allow them to steam as they cool. This will make the shells easier to remove.
While the chestnuts are roasting prepare your springform pan. I used my 10 ½” diameter pan. Butter and flour the pan. I use a dusting of brown rice flour. You could use coconut oil and a circle of parchment in the bottom if you wish to remove the finished torte from the bottom of the pan (or wish to keep the recipe dairy and flour free.)
When they are almost cool remove chestnuts from their shells and place in food processor with metal blade, pulse to grind into a coarse meal. Some small chunks of chestnut are okay. Add cocoa powder, sugar, coconut milk and cognac if you’re using it, blend until mostly smooth before transferring mixture into mixing bowl.
Separate egg yolks from whites and mix egg yolks into batter in the mixing bowl. Add Cream of Tartar and salt to egg whites in a clean separate bowl and beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Carefully fold whites into batter. Chop two ripe pears and place in bottom of the prepared springform pan. Pour batter over the pears.
Bake in the center of your oven until top begins to crack slightly and knife comes out clean 45-55 minutes.
The lovely dome shape will naturally settle as it cools. Please do not cut until cool! Use a clean butter knife to slide around the outside edge before removing the springform ring.
This cake is like a sweet chocolate cloud with moist pockets of pear. It needs no glaze, though I put a little sprig of mint in the knife hole where I had tested for doneness. A calendula or dark purple pansy would be lovely too.
