Though we have entered the month of Frimaire (frost), I received a request to revisit 3 Vendemiare (Windy Chestnut). The request:

any thoughts regarding the fabled marrons glaces cake? or the marrons in general?

Gentle Reader,

First, thank you for your question. It led me first down a definitional path – 3 Vendemiare in the French Republican Calendar is called châtaigne. Châtaigniers are wild chestnut trees and marrons are chestnuts from marroniers, a cultivated chestnut tree. Marrons glacés (candied chestnuts) are available on Amazon, it seems, but were not in any of my usual grocery stores. So, I first made candied chestnuts! Right now, there are plain chestnuts available in the stores (they weren’t there on 3 Vendemiare), but I went with vacuum sealed, shelled chestnuts. Most recipes online have you boil the chestnuts three separate times over the course of three days to infuse them with the vanilla sugar syrup. Then, boiling a simple syrup and dipping the chestnuts in creates a hard candy shell. Then, I settled on a chocolate chestnut cake recipe from Hugh Fearnely-Whittingstall’s River Cottage Year. The cake recipe is very simple and flourless.

Chronologically, the dish fits perfectly within the time frame of the French Republican Calendar. Wikipedia has the first French recipes for the dish coming out of Louis XIV’s court.

Marrons Glacés (Candied Chestnuts)

About 30 chestnuts (shelled)

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Gâteau Marrons Glacés (Chocolate Chestnut Cake) 

1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips

9 tbs butter

1 1/2 cups candied chestnuts

1/2 cup milk

4 eggs, separated

3/4 cup sugar

First, to candy the chestnuts. Bring a pot of water to a boil and blanch the chestnuts for 10 minutes. Remove and bring the cup of water and sugar to a gentle boil. Cook the reserved chestnuts for 5 minutes, then remove, add the vanilla and let cool. Refrigerate overnight and repeat the process the next day. Then, heat another pan of equal parts water, sugar and 1 tsp vanilla. Boil until slightly syrupy and start dunking chestnuts in the mixture. Remove the chestnuts with tongs and let them cool on a rack.

For the cake, first melt the butter on the stove in a small pan. Add the chocolate and cook on low until the chocolate is also all melted. In a separate small pan, boil the milk and the chestnuts for a minute. In an electric mixter, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. In a separate bowl, mix the egg yolks and sugar. Puree the chestnuts until you get a chunky paste in a food processor. Add the chocolate mixture to the yolk mixture, then add the chestnut puree and then fold in the egg whites. Bake in a 9 or 10 inch round pan, but be sure to line the bottom of the pan with parchament and spray with cooking spray all over. Bake for 25 minutes. Can be served warm (will be gooey) or chilled.