Delicious Christmas Chocolate Chestnut Cake
We’re back again for my “25 Days of Christmas Bakes” series with a STUNNING cake that I could not wait to share with you! My delicious Christmas Chocolate Chestnut Cake is one I’ve had to keep a secret for months and months! With gorgeous chestnuts pureed right into my already rich chocolate cake layers, the flavor is unforgettable, and perfect for the holidays.
Why the wait? It was supposed to go into my NEW 2023 cookbook, I’ll Bring the Cake. However, I submitted LOTS of recipes and we couldn’t possibly fit them all into my already massive cookbook (it’s a big boy – I cannot wait for you to see it. Make sure to preorder it asap!). So this one was cut from the Whimsical Winter Bakes chapter. I didn’t mind, because that meant I get to share it with you early! So you get to have my Delicious Christmas Chocolate Chestnut Cake this December instead of waiting alllll the way until April. But trust me, April can’t come soon enough. I can’t wait for you to get that new cookbook in your hands.
Why chestnuts?
When I was growing up, my mom would attend Christmas tree ornament trading parties with ladies in our church and neighborhood. She’d spend hours hand painting details, cutting ribbon, and sanding wood pieces. Her creativity really knew no bounds! I remember one particular year, she made little white rectangle ornaments with the words “chestnuts roasting on an open fire” from the popular favorite, “The Christmas Song” with a few actual chestnuts attached. Whenever I saw that ornament on our Christmas tree each year, I could hear the familiar Christmas song in my head.
For this cake, you’ll actually be able to not only sing about chestnuts roasting on an open fire, but taste them, too, in a delicious Christmas chocolate chestnut cake.
Where do I find chestnuts, exactly?
I actually found mine online! They came already peeled and roasted in this three pack. You can also find them canned, etc, at certain grocery stores. All I did for my recipes is puree them up into an almost grainy peanut butter texture. They tasted really strong (I mean, if you REALLY love chestnuts it’s probably fine), so I used only a half cup in the cake mix and buttercream. I would start with a half cup and then maybe add a little more if you’d like a stronger flavor. It’s a roasted nutty almost sweet-potato-like flavor, if you’d never tried them before.
Chestnuts usually come with a hard shell that need to be removed before eating. I loved using the already peeled and roasted packaged ones because they were easy to use.
They also pair beautifully with chocolate, so this was a fun way to incorporate a new flavor into a familiar one!
How to make a chocolate chestnut cake
The ingredients you’ll need to make the chocolate chestnut cake are as follows:
- Buttermilk – room temperature. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can always make some with lemon juice or white vinegar with regular milk to curdle into buttermilk.
- Sour Cream – room temperature. Can sub with plain greek yogurt.
- Eggs – large eggs at room temperature.
- Vanilla – imitation is fine here. It’s not the star of the show.
- Chestnut paste – directions for the chestnut paste are above.
- Cocoa – I love the rich dark cocoa here.
- Chocolate Cake Mix – I prefer the taste and texture of Duncan Hines, but if you find something similar, it should be fine.
Mix them all together in a bowl (no need for a stand mixer for this step) and then split the batter into the prepared cake rounds. I used three 6″ rounds, but you can certainly turn this into a bundt cake or two 8″ cake rounds, too. It also works well for 24 cupcakes, but you’ll need to change the baking time to 12-14 minutes instead of what’s listed below.
How to make chocolate chestnut buttercream
The buttercream is based off my chocolate buttercream, but I added in our star flavor: chestnuts! Here’s what you’ll need:
- Butter – unsalted, left out at room temp for about 10 minutes. This helps it incorporate easier into the rest of the ingredients after being whipped up.
- Salt – the chestnuts add a little bit of salt, but this helps balance out the sweetness of everything else.
- Cocoa – again, I LOVE this brute cocoa.
- Chestnuts – see the info above on where to find it and how to prepare it.
- Vanilla – if you have the good stuff, use it here! I save my imitation stuff for my cake rounds and then use the more expensive stuff in my buttercream.
- Heavy Cream – I love the 40% Darigold kind from Costco. It’s thick and rich and makes a delicious buttercream!
- Powdered Sugar – No need to sift. Just use it!
Whip up the butter in the stand mixer until it’s light and fluffy, then add in everything else but the powdered sugar. Slowly add in the powdered sugar. Adjust the consistency with heavy cream and powdered sugar if needed. Then whip it all up on high speed for a fluffy buttercream for your delicious Christmas chocolate chestnut cake!
How to get the snowflake pattern on top?
For the pattern, I actually used a snowflake decoration from our Christmas tree! You can always make a paper cut out snowflake of your own design and then use it on your cake. Just make sure it’s the size of your cake. So for a 6″ cake, make sure your snowflake isn’t bigger than that.
Right before serving (because the powdered sugar will seep into the buttercream and start to disappear if you do this beforehand), place the snowflake on the cake and then use a sifter to shake the powdered sugar on top (like snow!). Carefully remove the snowflake and it will show the cute snowflake design on top of your cake!
Tip: you could also create a darker version of this by sifting on cocoa powder instead of powdered sugar.
I can’t wait to see your delicious Christmas bakes! Make sure to tag me @bakingwithblondie on Instagram, Tiktok, Facebook, or Youtube so I can join in on all the fun!
As always, Happy Baking!
xo,
Mandy
Get the Recipe: Christmas Chocolate Chestnut Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Chestnut Cake Layers
- 3/4 cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 2/3 cup sour cream, room temperature
- 3 whole eggs, room temperature
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup roasted chestnuts, roughly pureed into a paste , *see notes below on where to easily find them!
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1x 15.25 box Dark Chocolate Cake Mix, I prefer the taste and texture of Duncan Hines brand, but anything similar will do.
Chocolate Chestnut Buttercream
- 1 1/2 cup unsalted butter, Left out at room temperature for 10 minutes to slightly soften
- 1/2 cup whole roasted chestnuts, pureed into a paste
- pinch of salt
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla
- 2/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup heavy cream, plus more for thinning if needed
- 8 cups powdered sugar
Snowflake Design
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 snowflake cutout (either a snowflake made from paper, parchment, or a felt decoration). Needs to be big enough to fit on the top of a 6" cake.
Instructions
For the Chocolate Chestnut Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325°F, then prep three 6-inch round cake pans with a swipe of shortening and dust of flour to prevent sticking. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, chestnut paste, eggs, oil, cocoa powder, and vanilla until thoroughly combined. Sift in the cake mix and whisk until just combined. Do not overmix. Split the batter evenly between the prepared pans.
- Bake for 30 to 32 minutes, until the center is baked through. Let the cakes cool in the pan for a minute before flipping them out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Wrap and chill cakes flat before assembly.
For the Chocolate Chestnut Buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip up the butter until it’s light and fluffy. Next, add the chestnut paste, cocoa powder, heavy cream, vanilla, and salt. Whip up to combine and then scrape down the sides with a spatula. Continue to whip until there are no cocoa bits in the buttercream.
- With the stand mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar about a half cup at a time. The buttercream will be thick. Add a little more heavy cream to thin it out if needed (1 tablespoon at a time), and then flip the mixer to high speed and beat for 2 minutes to lighten the color and texture of the buttercream.
Assembly
- Place a cardboard cake round on a cake turntable. Dot a little bit of buttercream in the center of the round and spread it out with an angled icing spatula. Place the first cake layer. Add a layer of buttercream on top and smooth it out with an angled icing spatula. Place the next cake layer on top, then repeat with the rest of the cake layers, making sure to line the layers up evenly. After adding the top cake layer, crumb coat the cake by spreading a thin layer of buttercream around the entire cake. Freeze for 2 minutes to set.
- Using a wooden spoon, beat out any air bubbles in the remaining buttercream. Spread a final layer of buttercream around the entire cake, using a flat cake scraper for clean sides and edges.
- Just before serving, set a snowflake cutout on top of the cake and dust with powdered sugar; remove the cutout to reveal the snowflake pattern.