Watching an old episode of "Molto Mario" (not that there are any *new*
episodes!), I was intrigued by Mario Batali's rendition of castagnaccio
(chestnut cake) with "lemon sauce" (which turned out to be a fresh lemon
marmalade).

The recipe Batali made can be seen at
<http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mario-batali/chestnut-cake-with-lemon-sauce-castagnaccio-recipe/index.html>,
but he commented that it was a very dense thing, like a lightly-sweetened
chestnut hockey puck.

It got me to thinking about how to lighten it up, and I remembered that it's
possible to make light cheesecakes using ricotta, so I thought about using
chestnut flour in place of wheat flour in a ricotta cheesecake. Thing is,
both ricotta and chestnuts are very subtly flavored, so I'd want to add
another flavor in there somehow, and the easiest way to do that would be
with some kind of topping. The lemon marmalade didn't sound all that good as
a topping to me, but what WOULD be good?

When I attended Oregon State, I frequently stopped at a local coffee shop
for one of their ricotta-almond croissants and a caffè latte; the coffee
added a nice counterpoint to the rich-but-bland croissant. Unfortunately, I
don't think the coffee-ricotta-almond flavor would translate well into this
culinary application because chestnuts are not all that similar to almonds.
But maybe tea? Maybe spiced tea, like the Constant Comment (Bigelow) blend
of orange, clove, and cinnamon tea would match with a ricotta-chestnut
cheesecake? And what about chocolate? To be sure, chocolate matches
splendidly with ricotta in a cannoli, so it deserves consideration too,
provided it doesn't overwhelm the other flavors. What would amplify or
complement those flavors? Vanilla might, and honey goes well with both
chestnuts and ricotta, so what about a vanilla-honey whipped cream topping?
Maybe with orange zest grated on at the finish?

I'm not sure, so let me throw it out he What would you put on top of (or
into) a ricotta-chestnut cheesecake?

Bob

"Bob Terwilliger" > wrote in message
...
> Watching an old episode of "Molto Mario" (not that there are any *new*
> episodes!), I was intrigued by Mario Batali's rendition of castagnaccio
> (chestnut cake) with "lemon sauce" (which turned out to be a fresh lemon
> marmalade).
>
> The recipe Batali made can be seen at
> <http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mario-batali/chestnut-cake-with-lemon-sauce-castagnaccio-recipe/index.html>,
> but he commented that it was a very dense thing, like a lightly-sweetened
> chestnut hockey puck.
>
> It got me to thinking about how to lighten it up, and I remembered that
> it's
> possible to make light cheesecakes using ricotta, so I thought about using
> chestnut flour in place of wheat flour in a ricotta cheesecake. Thing is,
> both ricotta and chestnuts are very subtly flavored, so I'd want to add
> another flavor in there somehow, and the easiest way to do that would be
> with some kind of topping. The lemon marmalade didn't sound all that good
> as
> a topping to me, but what WOULD be good?
>
> When I attended Oregon State, I frequently stopped at a local coffee shop
> for one of their ricotta-almond croissants and a caffè latte; the coffee
> added a nice counterpoint to the rich-but-bland croissant. Unfortunately,
> I
> don't think the coffee-ricotta-almond flavor would translate well into
> this
> culinary application because chestnuts are not all that similar to
> almonds.
> But maybe tea? Maybe spiced tea, like the Constant Comment (Bigelow) blend
> of orange, clove, and cinnamon tea would match with a ricotta-chestnut
> cheesecake? And what about chocolate? To be sure, chocolate matches
> splendidly with ricotta in a cannoli, so it deserves consideration too,
> provided it doesn't overwhelm the other flavors. What would amplify or
> complement those flavors? Vanilla might, and honey goes well with both
> chestnuts and ricotta, so what about a vanilla-honey whipped cream
> topping?
> Maybe with orange zest grated on at the finish?
>
> I'm not sure, so let me throw it out he What would you put on top of
> (or into) a ricotta-chestnut cheesecake?
>
> Bob
I've made castagnaccio the traditional way with pine nuts and rosemary on
top. I like your idea but would be inclined to use the same toppings as a
comparison to the original.
Regarding cheesecake: I have a recipe based on Parmigiano Reggiano that has
a topping of fresh figs that I've been meaning to make. However, it looks
as if it has about ten million calories per bite.
Graham

"Bob Terwilliger" > wrote in message
...
> Watching an old episode of "Molto Mario" (not that there are any *new*
> episodes!), I was intrigued by Mario Batali's rendition of castagnaccio
> (chestnut cake) with "lemon sauce" (which turned out to be a fresh lemon
> marmalade).
>
> The recipe Batali made can be seen at
> <http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mario-batali/chestnut-cake-with-lemon-sauce-castagnaccio-recipe/index.html>,
> but he commented that it was a very dense thing, like a lightly-sweetened
> chestnut hockey puck.
>
> It got me to thinking about how to lighten it up, and I remembered that
> it's
> possible to make light cheesecakes using ricotta, so I thought about using
> chestnut flour in place of wheat flour in a ricotta cheesecake. Thing is,
> both ricotta and chestnuts are very subtly flavored, so I'd want to add
> another flavor in there somehow, and the easiest way to do that would be
> with some kind of topping. The lemon marmalade didn't sound all that good
> as
> a topping to me, but what WOULD be good?
>
> When I attended Oregon State, I frequently stopped at a local coffee shop
> for one of their ricotta-almond croissants and a caffè latte; the coffee
> added a nice counterpoint to the rich-but-bland croissant. Unfortunately,
> I
> don't think the coffee-ricotta-almond flavor would translate well into
> this
> culinary application because chestnuts are not all that similar to
> almonds.
> But maybe tea? Maybe spiced tea, like the Constant Comment (Bigelow) blend
> of orange, clove, and cinnamon tea would match with a ricotta-chestnut
> cheesecake? And what about chocolate? To be sure, chocolate matches
> splendidly with ricotta in a cannoli, so it deserves consideration too,
> provided it doesn't overwhelm the other flavors. What would amplify or
> complement those flavors? Vanilla might, and honey goes well with both
> chestnuts and ricotta, so what about a vanilla-honey whipped cream
> topping?
> Maybe with orange zest grated on at the finish?
>
> I'm not sure, so let me throw it out he What would you put on top of
> (or into) a ricotta-chestnut cheesecake?
>
> Bob
Another thing you might consider is getting some vacuum-packed or canned
chestnuts and crubling some in the mix.
Graham

graham wrote (I consolidated):

> I've made castagnaccio the traditional way with pine nuts and rosemary on
> top. I like your idea but would be inclined to use the same toppings as a
> comparison to the original.
> Another thing you might consider is getting some vacuum-packed or canned
> chestnuts and crubling some in the mix.

I do have chestnuts which I recently roasted, vacuum-packed, and froze. I
could use some of them for that, yes.

The ricotta-chestnut cheesecake is being considered as an Easter dessert.
With that in mind, I'm not sure the pine nuts and rosemary would fit well.
If it were just a 4 PM snack, they'd no doubt be excellent.


> Regarding cheesecake: I have a recipe based on Parmigiano Reggiano that
> has a topping of fresh figs that I've been meaning to make. However, it
> looks as if it has about ten million calories per bite.

Wow! Would you please post that recipe? It sounds like something perfect for
late summer.

Bob

"Bob Terwilliger" > wrote in message
...
> graham wrote (I consolidated):
>
>> I've made castagnaccio the traditional way with pine nuts and rosemary on
>> top. I like your idea but would be inclined to use the same toppings as
>> a
>> comparison to the original.
>> Another thing you might consider is getting some vacuum-packed or canned
>> chestnuts and crubling some in the mix.
>
> I do have chestnuts which I recently roasted, vacuum-packed, and froze. I
> could use some of them for that, yes.
>
> The ricotta-chestnut cheesecake is being considered as an Easter dessert.
> With that in mind, I'm not sure the pine nuts and rosemary would fit well.
> If it were just a 4 PM snack, they'd no doubt be excellent.
>
>
>> Regarding cheesecake: I have a recipe based on Parmigiano Reggiano that
>> has a topping of fresh figs that I've been meaning to make. However, it
>> looks as if it has about ten million calories per bite.
>
> Wow! Would you please post that recipe? It sounds like something perfect
> for
> late summer.
>
> Bob
It's a bit involved but I would be happy to scan it (with the picture of
what it looks like) and e-mail it to you.
Graham