Creme Châtelaine

Instructions

• Put rack in centre of oven; preheat to 350F. Line a 13 × 18-in. jelly roll pan with parchment.

• Cake: Whisk flour with baking powder and 1⁄2 tsp salt in a medium bowl. Beat eggs in a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high, until frothy. Gradually beat in 3⁄4 cup granulated sugar, then buttermilk, oil and 1 tsp vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Beat flour mixture into egg mixture until just combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Increase speed to medium. Beat until a light smooth batter forms.

• Bake until cake starts to brown around the edges, 5 to 8 min. Let cool completely. Increase oven heat to 400F.

• Chestnut Cream: Use a paring knife to cut large Xs in chestnut shells. Spread on a baking sheet. Roast until skin starts to peel back, about 30 min. Let cool; remove shells while chestnuts are still warm.

• Combine 1 cup granulated sugar with 1 cup water in a saucepan set over medium-low. Cook until sugar dissolves. Add chestnuts. Simmer until chestnuts are soft and syrup is reduced, about 25 min. Remove chestnuts to a plate to cool. Reserve syrup separately.

• Set aside 4 nuts for Candied Chestnuts. Add remaining chestnuts to a food processor and purée. Continue whirling while slowly adding reserved syrup through the spout until it reaches a creamy consistency. Whirl in 1 tsp vanilla and pinch of salt. Scrape into small bowl. Cover and refrigerate.

• Zabaglione: Place a large bowl over a pot with 1 in. water over medium-low. Bring to a simmer. Combine egg yolks with Marsala wine, fine sugar, 1 tsp vanilla and 4 tsp water in bowl. Whisk until mixture is thick and smooth, about 5 min. Remove from heat and cool completely.

• Beat cream in a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium, until soft peaks form. Fold into cooled zabaglione. Set aside.

• Armagnac Syrup: Combine 1⁄2 cup granulated sugar with armagnac and 1⁄4 cup water in a small saucepan set over medium-low. Simmer until sugar dissolves. Set aside and cover to keep warm.

• Assembly: Spray a 6-cup volume mould or bowl with oil, then line with overhanging plastic wrap. (It’s best to cut 4-in. wide strips and, starting at bottom of mould, press wrap into grooves, ensuring the strips overlap.)

• Add 1 cup zabaglione into bottom of mould. Measure the diameter of your mould about 1 in. up from the bottom. Use a corresponding round cookie cutter to cut a piece from cake (i.e., use a 3-in. cookie cutter if the diameter is 3 in.).

• Brush cake round with warm armagnac syrup, followed by a 1⁄4-in. layer of chestnut cream. Gently press into mould. Cake should sit directly on top of zabaglione.

• Repeat with three more cake rounds (cutting larger circles as needed), syrup and chestnut cream, layering them between 1 in. zabaglione. Cut last cake round to fit and seal top of mould. Fold plastic overhang across bottom of mould to cover. Freeze for 24 hrs.

• Candied Chestnuts: Stack two heavy wooden cutting boards on top of a heavy pot. Set a baking sheet next to pot.

• Combine 1 cup granulated sugar with corn syrup and 1⁄4 cup water in a small saucepan set over medium-low. Stir gently to combine, without getting any sugar on sides of saucepan. Let cook, without stirring, until mixture turns light amber. Remove from heat and set aside for 10 min. Caramel will thicken and darken.

• Push toothpicks into reserved whole chestnuts, then dip into caramel. Caramel should cling to chestnuts and form a ribbony tail. Push end of toothpick into space between two cutting boards until secured, leaving tail to hang down and drip onto sheet. Let harden.

• To serve, dip mould in warm water briefly, then pull up on overhanging plastic to separate dessert from mould. Remove wrap and place dessert on a serving platter.

• Fill a piping bag, fitted with a petal tip, with whipped cream. Pipe a border around bottom and top of cake. Garnish with candied chestnuts.