Chestnut Hearts
After the Schlutzer recipe we now have once again veganised a typical dish from South Tyrol. They are called "Kastanienherzen" as they are made out of chestnut puree and molded into a heart-like shape. Back in South Tyrol it is a dessert that can be bought in most bakeries around this time of year. Also many people make them at home during fall. These "Chestnut hearts", lets call em that way, as the name suggests and as I already gave away, are formed from chestnut puree, dipped in melted chocolate and usually served with whipped cream. Which all sounds very delicious, right? Well, it is!
It's quite a lot of work to make chestnut puree by yourself, which is why chestnut hearts are usually quite expensive at the bakery. I (Marie) have only made chestnut puree once, together with my aunt, and I can tell you one thing: it’s a lot of work. The chestnuts are first boiled for about 1h and then spooned out of their hull. Of course the amount of work always depends on what size chestnuts you use, and that time I made it we had really small chestnuts therefore it took us forever to make the puree.
The cooled chestnut puree is then gradually pressed through a potato press and mixed with powdered sugar, vanilla pulp and rum-aroma. The mass can then be divided into 12 small balls and formed into a kind of slightly flattened heart. Practice makes perfect and after each heart it gets a little easier, you'll see...until you eventually form THE PERFECT HEART ;)
Who wants to save themselves the work of making the chestnutpuree at home can of course simply use bought chestnutpuree from the store, which is available at this time of year in almost all supermarkets, at least here in Austria and back in South Tyrol. We got ours at Interspar. The only thing with the bought, frozen puree is: you have to make sure that you take it out of the freezer early enough, because most have to thaw in the fridge for 6h.
In any case, the next step is to put the ready formed hearts in the fridge while you melt the chocolate, preferably dark couverture, over a water bath. I usually add 1 teaspoon of coconut oil (neutral) to the chocolate, as it becomes a little smoother by doing so, but you don’t have to, it also works fine without.
Now the chestnut hearts are ready to be bathed in chocolate. Dipping works best if you carefully spear the chestnut heart onto a fork and then dip it into the chocolate (3/4 deep), or use a spoon to pour the chocolate over the heart. The upper end (where the fork is stuck in) is left free, this is where the whipped cream goes.
Place the coated chestnut heart back on the baking paper-lined tray or plate. This works best if you carefully push the heart off the first fork with another fork. Continue like this until all the hearts are coated in chocolate, then put them back in the fridge and chill for at least 1h until the chocolate has set.
As a final touch, only if you like, you can whip the vegan cream until stiff, sweeten it a bit and fill it into a piping bag with a nozzle. Remove the chestnut hearts from the refrigerator and carefully press a hole in the upper end (where there is no chocolate) with a small spoon or the round end of a wooden spoon. This is where the cream goes in. Carfully pipe a small amount of the cream into every chestnut hear. Then either place the finished chestnut hearts back on the baking sheet and store in the refrigerator until ready to eat, or enjoy them right away.
If you don't have a piping bag with a nozzle at home, don’t worry, you can simply serve the whipped cream in a separate bowl and everyone can spoon out as much cream as they like to go with their chestnut heart.
And thats it! This quickly and easily you can make your own chestnut hearts at home. Super simple but super delicious! Whoever tries them once will lose their heart forever to these chestnut hearts, trust me!
Have fun with the recipe.
Ingredients
For 12 chestnut hearts you need:
500g chestnut puree
Vanilla pulp from 1 vanilla bean
2 drops of rum-aroma
120g powdered sugar
200g chocolate couverture (dark chocolate)
200ml vegan whipping cream
1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
Instructions
1) Defrost the chestnut puree in the refrigerator (4-6h).
2) Press the chestnut puree through a potato-press, sift the powdered sugar over it, add the vanilla pulp and the rum aroma and mix everything well with your hands.
3) Separate 12 equal-sized balls and shape them into slightly flattened hearts. Place on a tray or plate lined with baking paper. Place in the fridge.
4) Melt the couverture over a water bath.
5) Take the hearts out of the fridge and skewer them, one at a time, onto a fork then dip them into the melted chocolate (¾ in). With the help of another fork push the heart from the first fork and slide them back onto the baking paper. Do so until all the chestnut hearts are covered in chocolate. Put them back in the fridge and let set for at least 1h.
6) Whip the cream until stiff. Add the vanilla sugar and whip again for 30 seconds. Place the cream in a piping bag with a nozzle.
7) Remove the chestnut hearts from the fridge and press a hollow into the top opening with a small spoon. Pipe a small amount of cream into each of the chestnut hearts and place them back on the baking paper or into small paper-muffin-tins.
8) Return to the refrigerator until ready to serve or enjoy right away!
Enjoy!
Hi, we’re Marie and Michael, two foodies living and studying in Vienna!
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