Montblanc: the recipe for the creamy chestnut and whipped cream dessert

The Montblancor Montebianco, is a spoon dessert based on chestnuts, cocoa and rum, decorated with whipped cream, originally born in France and today also widespread in Piedmont, Lombardy and Valle d’Aosta. Scenic and sumptuous, it is suitable for celebrating a special occasion or to elegantly end a dinner in the company of your closest friends.

The original recipe calls for using i brown, a larger variety of chestnuts with a particularly sweet taste, which must be boiled, carefully peeled while hot and cooked for about half an hour in milk and sugar. Once soft, they are pureed and mixed with rum and bitter cocoa, then they are passed through a potato masher and arranged directly on the serving plate, like a “mound”, to be garnished with tufts of whipped cream that resemble peaks of the Mont Blanc.

All you need to do is finish the decoration with some crumbled marrons glacés, which you can try making at home following our advice, flakes of dark chocolate and a sprinkle of bitter cocoa; if you prefer, you can also add some meringue, as tradition dictates.

Find out how to prepare Montblanc following the step-by-step procedure and advice. If you liked this recipe, try other desserts with chestnuts, such as Tuscan castagnaccio, chestnut strudel and chestnut and chocolate tart.

How to prepare Montblanc

Rinse the chestnuts well, immersing them in cold water for a few minutes 1.

After draining them, cut the peel with the tip of a sharp knife, making a clean horizontal cut. 2.

Transfer the chestnuts to a pan with high sides 3.

Cover the chestnuts with water and let them cook for about 20 minutes after boiling 4. Alternatively, you can use the pressure cooker: in this case, they will only need to cook for 10 minutes.

Transfer the chestnuts to a colander and let them cool for 3-4 minutes: they must not cool down too much or they will risk hardening 5.

Peel them using a small knife and also remove the brown skin 6. To avoid getting burned, you can wear latex gloves.

The chestnuts must be perfectly clean and free of skin 7.

Transfer them to a pan and add the granulated sugar 8.

Pour in the milk 9.

Scented with vanilla extract 10. If you prefer, you can also use berry seeds.

Mix with a spoon 11then cook the chestnuts in the milk and sugar mixture for about 30 minutes after boiling: they should be very soft.

When the chestnuts have absorbed the milk, transfer them to the potato masher and puree them 12.

Sift the bitter cocoa directly onto the crushed chestnuts 13.

Add the dose of rum 14.

Mix carefully with a spoon to mix all the ingredients and compact the mixture 15then let everything rest for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, pour the cream, well cold from the fridge, into a large bowl 16. If you prefer, you can also keep the bowl in the fridge or freezer.

Incorporate the icing sugar 17.

Whip the cream until stiff, using an electric whisk at maximum speed 18.

Transfer the whipped cream into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle 19.

Using the potato masher again, pass the chestnut and cocoa mixture, dropping it directly onto the serving plate 20.

You will have to get some kind of mound 21.

Using the piping bag, create tufts of whipped cream around the base of the Montblanc 22.

Garnish even half of the cake with smaller tufts 23.

Decorate the top of the Montblanc with a large dollop of whipped cream 24.

Crumble the marrons glacés and place them on the cream tufts 25.

Sprinkle the cake with dark chocolate flakes 26.

Sprinkle with an impalpable layer of bitter cocoa 27.

Enjoy your sweet Montblanc 28.

Advice

Depending on your preferences and what you have available, you can replace the browns with classic chestnuts, choosing the largest size. Also, you can use a pressure cooker to halve the cooking time of the fruit.

History

Montblanc owes its name to the famous perpetually snow-capped mountain North-Western Alps. It was probably born when Piedmont and a part of Lombardy were part of Savoy, a region politically belonging to France and bordering the Aosta Valley. Even today, in fact, it is mainly widespread in these Italian regions. The original recipe requires the addition of French meringue, a whipped mass of egg whites and sugar, cooked for a long time in the oven at a low temperature, until it becomes solid but crumbly.

Variants

You can also present the Montblanc in single-portion cups, placing a layer of chestnut puree topped with cream, marrons glacés crumbs and a veil of bitter cocoa. Alternatively, you can compose the mound of chestnut cream, leaving a central hollow, to be filled with plenty of whipped cream.

If you wish, you can make one chocolate variantreplacing the rum with a chocolate liqueur and decorating everything with melted dark chocolate together with the cream and chopped meringue.

storage

Montblanc can be stored in the refrigerator, tightly closed in an airtight container, for Three days to the utmost.