ÖSTERREICHISCHE KASTANIENTORTE - AUSTRIAN CHESTNUT TORTE

DOUGH
4 eggs, separated
100 g butter, softened
100 g confectioners' sugar, sifted
100 g chestnut puree (I used canned chestnut puree)
90 g pastry flour or cake flour (unbleached)
30 g chestnut flour
40 cake crumbs (I use ground ladyfingers)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
lemon zest, grated (1/2 lemon)
100 g apricot jam, warm (strained, if chunky)

FILLING
500 ml whipping cream
80 g confectioners' sugar, sifted
100 g chestnut puree
6 gelatin leaves, white, or 1 1/2 envelope powdered gelatin (1 1/2 tbsp.)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
40 ml rum, heated

DECORATION
More whipped cream, if needed, for rosettes
almonds, unbleached, ground (ca. 1/4 cup)
almonds, unbleached, whole

DOUGH (can be made a day ahead):
1. Preheat oven to 355 F/180 C. Mist 3 round cake pans with oil spray, then line bottoms with parchment paper. Grease parchment lined bottoms. (Or use springform pan and cut into layers).
2. Cream together butter and 1/2 of confectioners' sugar (50 g) until fluffy, add chestnut puree and beat until fluffy. Add egg yolks one by one, beating well after each addition.
3. Whisk egg whites and other 1/2 of sugar until stiff. Gently fold egg whites into butter mixture. In a second bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, cake crumbs and lemon zest. Fold flour mixture gently into dough.
4. Distribute dough evenly over cake pans (or springform pan), and smooth surface with spatula. Bake for about 10 - 15 minutes (or 40 minutes for large cake). Let cool completely in pans.

FILLING:
5. Remove cake bottoms from pans (or cut large cake into 3 layers). Brush with warm apricot jam. Whisk together chestnut puree with some whipping cream so that it is creamy (and not stiff). Whisk whipping cream with confectioners' sugar and vanilla until stiff.
6. Soak gelatin leaves in cold water (or use powder following instructions on envelope). Heat rum in small bowl, then dissolve gelatin in the hot rum. Slowly add chestnut cream to gelatin mixture (to prevent lumps), then fold mixture into whipped cream.

ASSEMBLY:
7. Spread 2/3 of filling over lower 2 cake bottoms, place all three on top each other. Spread top and sides of torte with cream. Place leftover filling in pastry bag (or, if it's not enough, use whipped cream) and decorate top with rosettes.
8. Sprinkle torte with ground almonds (except for rosettes) and decorate with whole almonds. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.

Recipe adapted from "Das grosse österreichische Tortenbuch".

The Great Chestnut Hunt - Die grosse Kastanienjagd

When I was a child, one of our favorite September pastimes was the Great Chestnut Hunt. We found the glossy smoothness of freshly fallen chestnuts incredibly alluring, and turned into avid hunters and gatherers.
Not satisfied with the chestnuts on the ground, we also through sticks into the trees to make more of the prickly green balls fall down, spilling their shiny contents when they cracked open.
What did we do with our wonderful bounty, after all? That was a bit of a problem. For the glossy skins of the chestnuts turned dull after a day, and, also, they didn't feel so pleasant to the touch anymore. So some went to the local forester to feed hungry deer in winter (until he complained his storage was overflowing), some turned into funny little creatures, with acorn heads and pipe cleaner limbs.
But most of them probably ended up in the compost, or in the garbage, when mothers decided their value in keeping children busy (and out of trouble) was gone.
Sadly American chestnuts were almost wiped out by a disease, though scientists are working on bringing them back. Luckily Europe's chestnuts were spared; and when we last visited Hamburg, walking through tree lined Parkallee, we heard disturbingly loud noises, like fire crackers. It was September, chestnut time, and a full load of ripe chestnuts pelted parked cars like hundred little bomblets.
These chestnuts were, of course, not the edible kind - those grow in milder regions. Let's celebrate chestnuts and the glorious end of summer with delicious (boozy) CHESTNUT TORTE! (Recipe follows).

Während meiner Kindheit war eins unserer bevorzugten Freizeitvergnügen die Grosse Kastanienjagd im September. Wir fanden die glänzende Glätte frisch gefallener Kastanien unglaublich verlockend, und verwandelten uns in begeisterte Jäger und Sammler.
Nicht zufrieden mit den Kastanien am Boden, warfen wir auch noch Stöcke in die Bäume, damit noch mehr der stachligen grünen Bälle herunterfielen und ihren glänzenden Inhalt verstreuten, wenn sie aufplatzten.
Und was machten wir nachher mit unserer wundervollen Beute? Das war ein bisschen problematisch. Denn die glänzende Schale der Kastanien wurde nach einem Tag stumpf, und sie fühlten sich auch nicht mehr so angenehm an. Daher gelangte ein Teil zum örtlichen Förster, als Winterfutter für Rehe (bis er sich beschwerte, dass sein Vorratskeller überfloss), ein Teil wurde zu ulkigen kleinen Geschöpfen, mit Eichelköpfen und Pfeifenreiniger-Gliedern.
Aber die meisten endeten vermutlich auf dem Kompost oder in der Mülltonne, wenn die Mütter entschieden, dass sie ihren Wert als Kinderbeschäftigung (und -ruhigstellung) überlebt hatten.
Leider wurden amerikanische Kastanien von einer Krankheit beinahe völlig vernichtet, Wissenschaftler arbeiten allerdings daran, sie wieder zurückzubringen. Zum Glück wurden Europas Kastanien verschont; und als wir letztens Hamburg besuchten, und die baumbestandene Parkallee hinuntergingen, hörten wir verstörend lauten Lärm, wie von Silvesterknallern. Es war September, Kastanienzeit, und eine volle Ladung reifer Kastanien hagelte auf die parkenden Autos, wie Hunderte kleiner Bömbchen.
Diese Kastanien waren natürlich nicht die essbare Sorte - die wachsen in milderen Regionen. Zur Feier der Kastanien und des glorreichen Endes des Sommers gibt's eine leckere (alkoholische) KASTANIENTORTE! (Rezept folgt)