Chestnut & chocolate cups with Metaxa

Κάστανα με σοκολάτα και Μεταχά

…Kάstana me sokolάta ke Metaxά

OMG!!!….I could eat ALL of these in one sitting!!
Go and grab yourselves a handful of chestnuts, NOW….chestnuts are in season and they’re looking spunky @ your local green grocer. Spooned into Greek coffee cups, these decadent sweeties even look like Greek coffee!!…

Ingredients

200g semisweet chocolate, 70% cocoa
¼ cup Metaxa brandy
80g unsalted butter, @ room temperature & diced
2 free range eggs, separated
a splash of vanilla extract
about 1 cup chestnut puree, extracted from a good handful of fresh chestnuts
1 Tbspn sugar
Whipped thickened or double cream (to garnish)

Directions

To prepare the fresh chestnuts:

Score a cross in each chestnut with a sharp knife
Place in a pot with salted water and boil for about 20 mins.
When ready, use a teaspoon to scoop out the chestnut meal, squeezing the nut as you do so.

To prepare the choc cups:

Make a few chocolate curls for garnish, then break the rest of the chocolate into squares and melt it with the brandy in a saucepan over gentle heat.

Remove from the heat and add the butter, a few pieces at a time, stirring until melted and smooth. Transfer this mixture into the bowl of a food processor.

Add egg yolks and whizz the mixture in the food processor.

Then whizz in the chestnut puree, mixing until very, very smooth.
Splash in the vanilla extract & transfer this mixture into a clean bowl.

Whisk the egg whites & sugar in the clean, grease free bowl of your mixer until stiff.

Stir about 1 tablespoon of the whites into the chestnut mixture to lighten it, then fold in the rest smoothly and evenly.

Spoon the mixture into 6 small ramekins or Greek coffee cups and chill until set.

Serve the pots topped with a generous spoonful of whipped cream and garnished with the semisweet chocolate curls.

Gluten free.

xo.