Chestnut cream

Known in French as “crème de marrons”, chestnut cream is the ultimate Christmas comfort food in France. Sweet, creamy and nutty, kids and adults enjoy this golden spread on toasts, waffles, crêpes, or stirred into yogurts. It is also the star ingredients of some classic French desserts, like the fancy Mont Blanc or simpler Gâteau Ardéchois (Chestnut Cream Cake). Chestnut cream is sold in tubes or cans in France and can be found in most grocery stores. But for those in the US or Canada who…

For some reason, chestnuts are not that popular in U.S. And to me, nothing says winter like chestnuts. I grew up in a town that had street vendors selling fire roasted chestnuts during winter. To me they are nostalgic street food. Just the smell of them brings back so many memories for me. Snowflakes, roasted chestnuts, mulled wine, fireplace, friends... With record breaking low temperatures in Chicago, this cake was my first choice. Its so light, aromatic, creamy, it's really wonderful. The…

Simple recipe for Mont blanc, the most delicious chestnut dessert. In this variation, a velvety white chocolate custard and some savoiyardi biscuits are paired with an easy chestnut cream.

Vegan and traditional vesrsions of Crème de Marrons

When I was a child, and it rained over night, we would go to the nearest forest and search for “cepes”. Cepes are big mushrooms similar to portobello that seem to pop up after a good ra…

A couple of months ago at the first Farmstead Supper, we served a toasted acorn ice cream made from wild foraged acorns. That ice cream was hands down the best ice cream I have ever tasted and everyone who attended the event was blown away. One of our goals for the Farmstead Supper was to […]

What do you do when you see a madeleine recipe you really want to try but don't have a madeleine pan? You improvise... Naturally, I thought of using a mini muffin tin but then I had the idea that it might be nice to bake the batter in mini tart tins. So that's what I did, turning what should have been madeleines into what I'll call, tea cakes. A couple of my tea cakes are about 2 1/2 inches in diameter while the others (4 larger ones in my small batch) were slightly bigger at about 3 1/2…

Mont Blanc tart is a varitation on the decadent Mont Blanc cake. Topped with cream and meringue it is a perfect tart for those who love creamy tarts.

Chestnut cream filled cookies from Aquilonia (Avellino). Great cookies for Christmas! These Ravioli type cookies can be either baked or fried.

Chestnut jam is a great way to enjoy such a delightful autumn fruit. Make it at home with our easy recipe.