Roasted Chestnut Oreo Cake

INGREDIENTS:

2 sticks butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
6 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 (14.3 oz.) package Oreo Cookies
3/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (5.2 oz.) package roasted chestnuts *
1 tbsp. powdered sugar

Equipment:
1 9.5-inch springform pan
2 large sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil to wrap around pan
1 sheet heavy duty aluminum foil, large enough to cover top of pan

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Reserve a few chestnuts for garnishing top of cake. Place the remainder in a food processor and puree until powdery. Place chestnuts into a mixing bowl. Blend in flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Break Oreos in half. Place in food processor and process until fine crumb consistency.

Cream butter and sugar on high for 1 minute. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well in between additions. Continue to beat for 2 minutes. Add vanilla. Beat to incorporate. Add flour and chestnut mixture beating for 1 minute. Fold in Oreo crumbs and chocolate chips using a spatula until well blended.

Generously grease a 9.5-inch springform pan. Pour in cake batter. Place pan in the center of the 2 large strips of foil. Wrap foil around pan. Cut excess foil off the top. Bake on the middle rack for 45 minutes. Cover the pan loosely with the third, smaller foil. Bake for 35-45 additional minutes or until toothpick comes out with some crumbs attached.

Allow to cool prior to unmolding. Run a thin knife around the inside of pan to loosen the cake from the edges prior to removing the metal ring. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Garnish with reserved chestnuts. Makes 16 servings.


* Recipe Note:

1. If your chestnut does not puree to a power consistency, do not mix it into the batter. To avoid the chestnuts from hardening during the baking process, add it as layers when the cake batter is poured into the cake pan. To do this, spread about 1/4-inch of batter into the pan, sprinkle with half of the pureed chestnut, avoiding the outer 1/2-inch edge of the pan. Spread on half of the remaining batter, followed by a layer of the remaining chestnut (avoid adding to the outer 1/2-inch edge of pan), then top with the remaining cake batter.