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...