Castagnaccio (Tuscan chestnut flour cake)
A flat, rustic autumn cake from the Tuscan hills made with chestnut flour, olive oil, rosemary and pine nuts. Naturally vegan and gluten free.
- Time1 hr
- LevelEasy
- Costabout £0.69 a head
- Oven200°C (180°C fan)
Cost is worked out from Aldi and Tesco shelf prices in October 2026. Your shop and brands will differ.
Ingredients
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Method
- 1
Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Grease a 24 cm round tin or small roasting tin with a little of the olive oil.
- 2
Sift the chestnut flour into a bowl, add the salt, then pour in the water in a thin stream, whisking all the time, until you have a smooth batter about as thick as double cream. Leave to sit for 10 minutes.
10 min - 3
Stir in 4 tbsp of the olive oil and the drained raisins, plus half the pine nuts and half the rosemary.
- 4
Pour the batter into the tin. It should be about 1.5 cm deep. Scatter over the remaining pine nuts and rosemary and drizzle with the last of the olive oil.
- 5
Bake for 40 minutes, until the surface is dark and cracked and the edges pull away from the tin.
40 min - 6
Leave to cool for 15 minutes, then cut into wedges. It is dense and slightly bitter-sweet, lovely with ricotta or a glass of vin santo.
Double check before you cook. Recipes can contain mistakes. Any diet labels come from the ingredients as written in this recipe and are a guide, not a guarantee. Always check every ingredient and the packet label for allergens and cross contamination, and ask your doctor or dietitian what is right for you, especially with coeliac disease, diabetes or a serious allergy. This is not medical advice.