Castagnaccio is a traditional Italian chestnut flour cake that has been made for centuries in the central regions of Italy.
It's a very easy cake to make, healthy, naturally vegan, and gluten-free.
What is castagnaccio?
Castagnaccio is a traditional Italian chestnut flour cake that is popular around the hills and mountains of Tuscany and Umbria, where chestnuts grow plentifully.
It's usually made in autumn and winter when chestnuts are in season.
It is a humble dish and became popular hundreds of years ago in the mountainous areas of central Italy (Apennines) where chestnuts were a staple food of the local mountainous population.
Castagnaccio is a naturally vegan and gluten-free recipe. You can enjoy it as a quick breakfast, as a snack, or as a dessert.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Chestnut flour: if you can't find it in your grocery store, you can try in an Italian grocery store, an organic/health food store, or on Amazon. Chestnut flour is sold everywhere in Italy, but it can be harder to find outside of Italy.
- Water
- Sugar: any sugar will do.
- Olive oil: as usual, best if extra virgin.
- Raisins
- Pine nuts or walnuts
- Rosemary: this is optional but if you want to try the traditional castagnaccio flavour you can add a few rosemary needls on top of the castagnaccio before baking it.
Equipment
You'll need a blender or an immersion blender for this recipe. You'll also need a baking dish of around 9 inches or 23 cm.
How to make castagnaccio
Preheat the oven to 400F or 200C. Oil your springform pan (or cake pan) with 1 tablespoon (15 grams) of oil. In a small bowl, put the raisins to soak for 10 minutes with some warm water.
To a blender, add chestnut flour, water, sugar, and 1 tablespoon (15 grams) of olive oil. Blend for a couple of minutes till completely smooth.
Take the blender container off the blender and add in almost all raisins (without their soaking water) and chopped walnuts. Set aside some raisins and some walnuts to add on top.
DO NOT BLEND again, just stir with a spoon to mix the ingredients together.
Pour the cake batter into the springform pan. Then add the remaining raisins and walnuts on top, randomly. Finally, add a few rosemary needles on top.
Optional: sprinkle with some drops of olive oil on top. I use a brush to do that. See video for technique.
Bake in the oven at 400F or 200C for 35 minutes. Then, let cool down for 10 minutes, and remove from the pan. Cut in slices and enjoy slightly warm or at room temperature.
You can sprinkle with a little powdered sugar to make it look prettier, but that's entirely optional.
How to scale this recipe?
This recipe is easy to scale. We calculated the scaling number for you.
Pick the springform pan that you want to use for your cake, then multiply all the ingredients in our recipe box by the scaling number in this table.
| Springform pan size | Scaling Number |
|---|---|
| 4 inch (10 cm) | 0.22 |
| 5 inch (13 cm) | 0.31 |
| 6 inch (15 cm) | 0.44 |
| 7 inch (18 cm) | 0.60 |
| 8 inch (20 cm) | 0.79 |
| 9 inch (23 cm) | 1 |
| 10 inch (25 cm) | 1.23 |
Storage
Store the castagnaccio on your kitchen counter for up to 3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Dinner ideas
Did you know that we develop our recipes to go together for a complete dinner meal plan? Serve the castagnaccio as a dessert with:
Pasta with chestnut pesto and mushrooms as a main dish.
Kale chips in the oven with lemon and garlic dressing as a side dish.
Easy homemade chocolate and chestnuts truffles as an extra dessert.
Recipe
Castagnaccio: traditional Italian chestnut flour cake
Equipment
- Blender (immersion blender or a whisk work too)
- Pie dish or springform pan (the one that opens on the side) 9 inch / 23 cm diameter.
Ingredients
- 2 cups chestnut flour
- 1⅔ cups water
- ¼ cups sugar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ⅓ cups raisins
- ⅓ cups walnuts (cut in pieces) or pinenuts
- 1 sprig rosemary
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F or 200C. Oil your springform pan (or cake pan) with 1 tablespoon (15 grams) of oil. In a small bowl, put the raisins to soak for 10 minutes with some warm water.
- To a blender, add chestnut flour, water, sugar, and 1 tablespoon (15 grams) of olive oil. Blend for a couple of minutes till completely smooth.
- Take the blender container off the blender and add in almost all raisins (without their soaking water) and chopped walnuts. Set aside some raisins and some walnuts to add on top.DO NOT BLEND again, just stir with a spoon to mix the ingredients together.
- Pour the cake batter into the springform pan. Then add the remaining raisins and walnuts on top, randomly. Finally, add a few rosemary needles on top.Optional: sprinkle with some drops of olive oil on top. I use a brush to do that. See video for technique.
- Bake in the oven at 400F or 200C for 35 minutes. Then, let cool down 10 minutes, and remove from the pan. Cut in slices and enjoy slightly warm or at room temperature.You can sprinkle with a little powdered sugar to make it look prettier, but that's entirely optional.
Video Recipe
Nutritional Values
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Monica
I can't wait to try this recipe but how do you use the rosemary? Just for decoration?
Louise
Hi Monica, I'm delighted you feel like making the chestnut cake! The fresh rosemary is optional, but we add it on top of the cake just before baking. It adds a rustic and herby contrast to the sweetness of the cake. I hope that helps. Cheers, Louise