In Good Flavor
By this time in December I am usually whining about the cold weather and how I will have to live in turtlenecks and four layers of clothing (indoors) for the next 4 months. However, this year has been exceptional. Instead of complaining, I am ecstatic about the unusually mild winter as of yet. I have not had to dress in turtlenecks or be buried under an ungodly ridiculous clothing blanket every day. We have had numerous days of temperatures in the 50s. Thank goodness! On top of that, the weather forecast predicts temperatures in the 60s on Christmas Day. Unbelievable!! It will be the warmest Christmas ever, at least in my book. On the other hand, all good things must come to an end, and soon enough, there will be payback. Mother Nature will eventually give us a show. I live in New England, after all!!
Back to the cake. To make it season-appropriate, I added roasted chestnuts. These little buggers gave me some grief, though! I first made the mistake of using chopped chestnuts—don’t do it! Because the cake takes about 1 1/2 hours to bake, any pieces of nut that touch the side of the baking pan or are exposed on top become rock hard, and the ones within the batter become too firm and chewy. To avoid being responsible for breaking someone’s teeth while eating the cake, I puree the chestnuts until powdery. Problem averted! Whew!!
One last tip: I wrap the springform pan with a double layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil prior to placing it in the oven to prevent the exterior of the cake from becoming too firm during the long baking period.
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to you and your family!!
Other desserts you might like:
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 to garnish the top of the 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 the cake batter. Place the pan in the center of the 2 large strips of foil. Wrap foil around the 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 a toothpick comes out with some crumbs attached.
Allow to cool prior to unmolding. Run a thin knife around the inside of the 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:
- 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 them 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 and 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 the pan), then top with the remaining cake batter.
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This is definitely the warmest December I can remember.
The combination of chestnuts and oreos sounds so good!
The cake really looks sinfully delicious, I wouldn't mind having a piece of it. It is the same with the weather in Germany, we never had such a mild December. I am a bit sorry for that, I do prefer warm weather but I wish to have a white Christmas again sometime, I cannot even remember the last time we had that, ages ago.
Wow looks like a lot of testing went into this cake! (I have that happen with baking recipes a lot too). But it is gorgeous (pictures too) and the chestnut idea is inspired. Have a very Merry Christmas Thao!
Well, at least one of us is happy about the weather! When I moved to NC I had high hopes of a cold Christmas, but the weather is predicting a high of 77 on Christmas day! What the whaaat?! TOO HOT! 🙁 So enjoy the nice weather for me!! lol. Anyways, this cake is GORGEOUS, Thao!! Love the chestnut oreo combo! So unique, and I'll bet seriously delicious! Everyone deserves a little indulgence this holiday season, and I can't think of a better way than with this beauty! Decadence rocks! 😉 Hope the holiday season and your new job are treating you well, my friend! Cheers! XO
It may hit 70 Christmas Eve Day! We might need to open up windows to cool the house off. Unreal! The chestnuts work well in this cake. I just wished I could have kept them in chopped form. Happy Holidays, Christin!
White Christmases are pretty, but once I get into the car to drive, I wish I lived in the tropics. 🙂 But I do hope you get to experience a white Christmas again soon, Adina. Merry Christmas to you!
I threw away two whole cakes because of those dang nuts. I was determined not to let it get the better of me. 🙂 Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your family, Inger!
If you were my neighbor, I would bake one for you right now, Chey! Sorry you won't be getting your cold Christmas…maybe next year. I will ask Santa for one for you. Merry Christmas to you, my friend! xo
This cake looks delicious!! Roasted chestnuts in a cake sounds so tasty!
And to think, this time last year, we were so sick and tired of all the NE snow! You are correct about payback time and I have a feeling it will come in the form of a huge May snowstorm! hahahaha! Seriously, let's hope not 🙂 I am sold on this cake because 1) your pics are so gorgeous and the cake looks so moist and rich 2) you used a WHOLE package of Oreos (2 thumbs up on that!) 3) it has chestnuts in it and I love chestnuts 4) you said it is "completely unhealthy and not doctor recommended" and that exactly how I like my desserts! 🙂
Thanks, Cathleen. Happy Holidays to you!
First of all, I love you!! I'm happy you appreciated the photos. It took me about 1 1/2 hour to do the photo shoot from beginning to end. I didn't love the first set of props so I started taking my Christmas decorations apart for a second set which I used here…then I had to spend the time putting them all back. The things we bloggers have to do! 🙂 And you can come and have Oreos and chestnuts with me any time! On the weather front, I am hoping that you are wrong, but I have a feeling you may very well be right about a May snowstorm. Ugggh!! I need another slice of cake! Merry Christmas to you and your family!
I've been pretty happy about the warm weather too. Confused, but not complaining because that just made winter shorter! Now this cake would make me pretty happy too!
The party ends for us tomorrow. We are in for some snow and rain freezing rain. 🙁 I hope winter holds off a little longer for you!
Congratulations!
Your recipe is featured on Full Plate Thursday this week! Enjoy your new Red Plate and have a very special New Year!
Miz Helen
Happy New Year to you, Miz Helen! And thank you so much for featuring the cake! I am honored.
I'm so glad you persevered as this looks like one incredible treat!!! Do you ever use Baker's Joy? I always spray my Bundt pans with it before baking—I've had too many disasters in the past and it really does work well (combo of oil and flour).
I have not used Baker's Joy. Sounds like I need to give it a try. Maybe I'll finally have success with this Oreo cake in a bundt pan after all. Thanks for the tip, Liz!! 🙂
Well… as you predicted Thao, the cold weather is now upon us. Fortunately we haven't been buried in a Mount Everest sized mountain of snow. . .at least not yet. But if and when that time happens, I sure as heck hope that I have one of these beauties in my fridge. It is simply stunning and I wouldn't even know by looking at it that you had to troubleshoot so many challenges before arriving at such a beautiful end point.
Thank you, Lynn! I wasn't going to let the cake get the better of me. I was determined to come out winning. Let's keep our fingers crossed and pray that the Snow Miser is going to have an off year this year. 🙂