Chocolate Chestnut Torte (Paleo)

By contributing writer Tessa

This decadent, rich, chocolate chestnut torte can be made with paleo ingredients (or not) and topped with ganache and cranberries for a delicious and beautiful holiday dessert.

Chestnuts are seasonal and Christmasy, and I have always wanted to play around with them. Italians use them in many ways. They eat them roasted, pureed with sugar and milk, as well as dried and ground into a flour to bake with. I have seen very creative recipes that use chestnuts for Thanksgiving stuffing and some pretty amazing looking pasta dishes too.

Slightly sweet and nutty, the chestnut has a mild flavor and is easy to play with and snack on. I think they would be a great trail snack if you like to hike. They’re portable, loaded with natural sugars and starch, have a decent amount of fiber, and are a good energy booster!

I have added them to this decadent, rich, chocolate torte. While I think they could be left out if you can’t find them in the grocery store, they are worth trying. I purchased mine peeled and roasted.

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Paleo Chocolate Chestnut Torte

Servings: 12

Author: tessa

Ingredients

• 12 ounces unsweetened chocolate squares or any dark chocolate
• 1/2 cup any milk or cream I used full fat coconut milk
• 2 cups granulated sugar I used palm sugar and some stevia
• 1/2 cup ghee palm shortening, coconut oil, or any solid fat (I used ghee)
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup roasted and peeled chestnuts
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 inch cake pan.
• In a small saucepan, gently melt the chocolate with the milk over low heat..
• Transfer mostly melted chocolate to a food processor and add the remaining ingredients. Puree until smooth, a couple of minutes. Taste and make sure the sweetness is to your liking.
• Scoop into the prepared pan, smoothing out the top.
• Bake for 20-30 minutes until the top looks dry and a toothpick inserted in the center comes back clean.
• Let cool, then chill in the fridge for best texture.

Notes

I used unsweetened chocolate squares in my recipe so I could avoid the soy found in most commercial chocolate and choose the sweetener. Any chocolate will work in the recipe, but you will have to greatly reduce the amount of sweetener if you use one that is already sweetened. Start with a 1/2 cup total and go from there.I added a glossy ganache (melted chocolate with coconut milk to thin) and cranberries, but this torte is good by itself! I think some tart leftover cranberry sauce on top would be fun too.

You might also like…

• Abuelita Hot Chocolate Cupcakes
• Chocolate Peanut Brittle
• Chiffon Chocolate Chip Holiday Cookies
• More recipes from Tessa