In Autumn you get the marvellous colors of nature, mushrooms and many other great veggies.
And at last chestnut is here!
Of all nuts, it’s the one with less fats; it’s rich in fibres, potassium, proteins, mineral salts and vitamins.
This is my way of making  Castagnaccio, an Italian chestnut cake with a long tradition and yet so modern, thanks to its properties.
A cake which does not need to be sweetened, as chestnuts are already sweet due to carbohydrates; it is gluten free and has been vegan ever since. It’s great, isn’t it?!

For a  20 cm baking pan 

3 cups chestnut flour (from new harvest)
1 ½ cups water
1 cup almond milk
2 tablespoons cacao
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
a handful of raisins (soaked for half an hour, then squeezed)
2-3 dry figs
2-3 nuts
Salt
Rosemary

Mix chestnut flour with cacao, salt, water,  addalmond milk and vanilla extract avoiding lumps (I usually throw everything in the blender as it’s quicker).
Pour into the baking pan: if it’s not made of silicone, spread a little extra-virgin olive oil on it or cover the inside with greaseproof paper (be careful: if the diameter is not 20 cm, avoid to make a too thick  cake and stay around 2 cm).
Sprinkle the raisins, the pieces of figs, the nuts and rosemary.
Put into the hot oven at 180 c˚ for about 15 – 20 minutes until it starts to split and crack.
Remove from the oven and chill.