Chestnut bouchons

Do you like chestnuts?  It's one of my very favorite things to eat. Unfortunately, they're not readily available or very popular here in the States. I won't go into all the reasons for that but I will tell you that I get excited when chestnuts start appearing in the supermarkets in late Fall.  It's almost that time and I've got chestnuts on the brain!  I munch on packaged chestnuts throughout the year but it's just not the same as getting a really good batch of fresh chestnuts.  I don't get fancy with it - I simply boil them and enjoy their delicious aroma and flavor while they're piping hot.  I am very greedy about my chestnuts!

When we went to Paris last year, one of my favorite things to eat were crepes filled with chestnut cream.  I think I had one everyday and choose it over Nutella despite how much I adore Nutella.  I loved how prevalent chestnut desserts were and I was amazed by how common and inexpensive chestnut cream was there!  I stocked up on a handful of jars, came home and used them to make my own crepes and to fill them in financiers.  Now, I'm taking my precious chestnut cream to make a few of these little cakes, or bouchons. 

I had to translate this recipe from French.  That's difficult for someone who knows about five words in the language!  Luckily, it is a miraculously short and simple recipe.  It comes from a little book I picked up at Lenôtre in Paris. The shop/quasi-restaurant I visited didn't sell pastries but I comforted myself by buying some chocolates, biscuits, and a couple of mini books. One book contained recipes using chestnut cream while the other was all about another of my favorites - Nutella!  They are adorable little books and I'm glad to be trying one of the recipes from the chestnut book here today.

Prepping these bouchons literally takes 5 minutes and 3 ingredients!  That said, getting your hands on some chestnut cream to begin with is half the battle because with that basis, all you do is whisk in some egg and melted butter - maybe throw in a pinch of salt if you don't mind going to the trouble. No flour necessary.  

Bake these little bouchons in miniature paper condiment cups - they give you that "bouchon" or cork-like shape without needing a special mold.  Plus, they're just cute that way!  In about 25 minutes, you have moist little cakelets that taste pretty much like a mont blanc filling. They were very tasty, obviously full of chestnut flavor, and a worthy use of my precious (and sadly, now dwindling...) stash of chestnut cream. 

I made these last Sunday - popping them in and out of the oven right before making a quick run out to the farmer's market - to have with our breakfast.  When I came back and we all sat down to breakfast, we ripped apart the little paper cups and gobbled up these tiny cakes, scrapping up every bite, in no time.  They're great for breakfast or as little tea cakes on an afternoon.  I think we can all use a little treat during our day and these mini chestnut cakes are my kind of Fall afternoon snack.  

Chestnuts are my Fall (and winter) craving and I'm sitting here daydreaming about getting my hands on a fresh batch real soon.  In the meantime, I have my chestnut cream and these mini chestnut bouchons...


In case you're interested, these are the two little books I talked about. There's a picture with each recipe and everything looks beautiful and delicious. The only problem is it's entirely in French!  (It's the same issue I have with many beautiful Japanese cookbooks.)

Flipping through the chestnut cream cookbook one day for a new idea since chestnuts were on my mind, I settled on these easy chestnut bouchons.  The thick chestnut cream, or  crème de marrons, is a thick paste made mainly from chestnuts, sugar, vanilla and, in some cases, cream.  You can even try making your own chestnuts cream:  Rachel Khoo has a video on how to do it that you can watch here. Since my supply is running so low, making my own is an option I may have to consider.

Since resources are so scarce, I only made 5 bouchons to go with our Sunday breakfast.  All you need to do is whisk the chestnut cream with egg and some melted butter.  The recipe actually called for "slightly-salted butter", which I've never heard of.  I simply tossed in a small pinch of salt...that never hurts in terms of heightening flavor.  

I think I exaggerated when I said it takes 5 minutes to put the batter together.  It's more like 2-3 minutes!  I then just poured the batter into the small, 1-oz. disposable paper cups (these), almost to the top, leaving a little room for them to puff up in the oven.  I didn't want them to spill over.

I baked the cakes in a 350 degree oven.  The recipe actually reads 180-degree Celsius, which is 356-degrees Fahrenheit!  I took the liberty of baking mine at the standard 350 but I think it would be fine to go with a slightly higher temperature - it might get you a darker crust on them, which is nice.  In about 25 minutes, the bouchons are puffed and ready to be removed from the oven and cooled completely before eating.

To eat, we simply ripped the paper cups apart.  You could go in with a small spoon and dig in.  They do stick to the paper so it's not something you would unmold.  The center, if you're interested, is set but very moist.  Flavor is full-on chestnut, making me feel like I was eating a mont blanc or a chestnut mousse.  It again got me thinking that I've got to use chestnut cream for a cake filling one of these day.

Recipe:

Chestnut Bouchons

Translated from the recipe "Petits Bouchons" from the book, Crème De Marrons

- For 10 mini bouchons, or cakes, baked in mini 1-oz paper cups -

190 grams chestnut cream (or "crème de marrons" such as this one)
1 large egg
40 grams unsalted butter
Small pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place ten small, 1-ounce, paper condiment cups on a baking sheet.

In a bowl, whisk melted butter and salt into the chestnut cream.  Add egg and continue to whisk together until well blended.

Divide the batter among the cups, filling each almost to the top, about 80% of the way (leaving a little room for them to puff in the oven).  Bake for about 25 minutes, or until puffed and set.  Remove from the oven and let cool completely.  Enjoy!