Castagnaccio, as it is called in the Valdarno, also known as migliaccio or baldino, is a typical autumn cake made with chestnut flour and dried fruit. It is a “poor dish” that takes its origins from rural life, being its main ingredient, the chestnut, a fruit widespread in the area of Pratomagno: cheap, nutritious and easily available, the chestnut served as a counterweight to the lack of other ingredients. Since 1800 it seems that the cake has been enriched with raisins and pine nuts spreading in the rest of Italy.
This simple cake is a tasty dessert.
INGREDIENTS
300 gr chestnut flour Pratomagno
Dried fruit (pine nuts, walnuts, raisins previously soaked)
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Rosemary
Water as needed to obtain a fluid dough
PROCEDURE
- Dissolve the salt in cold water and pour the flour slowly stirring withcare. You can add a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- Add rosemary and dried fruit and pour the mixture into the baking pan, greased in precedence.
- Decorate the surface with other dried fruit.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 200 ºC for about 30 minutes.
- The cake shall be ready when a crust has formed on the cracked surface, with a time that varies according to the thickness and the initial consistency of the dough, on average about an hour.