Homemade Mont Blanc cake recipe

Put the chestnuts in a bowl with cold water and let them rest for about an hour. Then, cut and place them in a saucepan. Cover the chestnuts with plenty of cold water and bring them to a boil. Add salt and cook for another 10 minutes.

Peel the chestnuts, arrange them in a bowl and cut them into small pieces.

Pour the milk and vanilla into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Then, add the crushed chestnuts, cover with a lid and boil for about 40 minutes over low heat until a creamy mixture is obtained, mixing every 4 minutes.

Pass the chestnuts through a sieve. Then, smash with a potato masher until obtaining a creamy and homogeneous puree.

Place the water and sugar in a saucepan, then bring to the heat and melt the sugar completely over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon. Then, add the vanilla and boil for 2 minutes until obtaining syrup.

Add the chestnut purée and the cream and mix the ingredients well. Continue stirring over low heat until the mixture comes off the sides of the pan and is homogeneous and compact.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl, cover it with cling film and put it to rest in the refrigerator for at least 2 or 3 hours.

Take the chestnut mixture and pass it in the potato masher, dropping the strands of puree directly in the centre of a serving dish to form a small mountain, then compact it gently with your hands to give it the classic shape dome.

Whip 400 ml of cream. Add the vanilla icing sugar. Whip until the cream is solid.

Place the whipped cream in a pipping bag and garnish the Mont Blanc with lines of cream, starting from the bottom and making them converge upwards.

Sprinkle the surface with bitter cocoa to your liking. Keep the Mont Blanc in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.