Chestnut Bread With A Brown Butter Chocolate Whipped Ganache

Just like any quick bread, this one smells heavenly when it bakes and is a treat to eat warm with a little butter or in this case with a nice slathering of brown butter chocolate whipped ganache.

Do you ever buy a food product like a can of something and a recipe calls for like half of it or a ¼ of it and then you’re stuck with the rest of it and when it’s kind of an obscure food (one you don’t use everyday) you wonder what to do with it? You also dont want to waste it but you also spent a good bit of money on It and are totally determined to find something to make with it. Well that is exactly what happened with the rest of the can of chestnut purée that I had.

I decided to search for and test a really good chestnut quick bread. When I found this one I was super excited to test it as it called for some very basic typical quick bread ingredients. That’s exactly what I was looking for. I wanted to add something simple to the blog made with chestnut. Different from the last dessert I made with the purée which was the Mont Blanc tart. All in all that recipe is pretty straightforward but it def requires some steps which can complicate things when you are a little newish to baking. A quick bread is the perfect thing for a beginner and a really good quick bread never disappoints.

The bread itself is lovely and fragrant and the chestnut purée not only adds it nutty sweet fragrance but it also adds some moisture to the bread. No dry bread here. I added chopped pecans for extra texture and of course for the delicious flavour they add to quick bread. I thought I would add all something to make this bread a little extra - and then I found this lovely brown butter chocolate ganache recipe I knew it would be the perfect way to dress this bread. It takes it from a quick bread to cake status. Now if you think this ganache might be too much (we can’t be friends) you can definitively enjoy the bread without. If I wasn’t doing the ganache I would add some chopped dark chocolate into the batter along with the pecans (approx ½ cup) that way you get a bit of chocolate in there but not too extra like the ganache.

It was the perfect way to use up the rest of my chestnut purée and I will now have this recipe on file whenever I’m looking for something to make with that leftover purée. We loved this one so much that I would most likely buy and use the whole can next time and make two loaves. The ganache can be used with just about anything that you would love chocolate spread over including this bread! It’s definitely a good one to save for banana bread too. You will love it.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 room temperature eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup coconut oil or 1¼ cup of melted butter
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 2 cups chestnut purée canned, or homemade
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ cup of chopped pecans

Brown Butter Chocolate Ganache

• 1 cup/2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 75 g semi sweet chocolate chips or chopped
• pinch of salt
• 1-2 tbsp. powdered sugar

Directions

1. In a medium sized mixing bowl, blend together your eggs and sugar with a hand or standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment.
2. Slowly drizzle in your Oil/Butter.
3. In a separate bowl, sift together all of your dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, spices, and salt.
4. In three separate additions, tip the dry ingredients into your first bowl to combine, taking care not to over mix.
5. Mix in the purée and splash in your vanilla.
6. Stir in the chopped pecans
7. Transfer batter into a well greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

Brown Butter Chocolate Ganache

1. Place the butter in a light colored saucepan (so you can see the butter change color) over medium heat and leave until it melts and start bubbling.
2. Continue cooking, stirring frequently until the milk solids turn brown and the butter smells nutty, about 5-10 minuter longer. Take care not to burn the butter (it will continue to brown even after you remove it from the heat, so take it off in time).
3. Pour the butter into a bowl and let cool for a few minutes, then add the chopped chocolate and salt and stir until smooth.
4. Either leave at room temperature or place the bowl covered in the fridge until the spread thickens to a soft butter consistency.
5. Beat the mixture until fluffy, and add in powdered sugar
6. Spread over chestnut bread or serve on the side to be slathered in each slice.

Recipe adapted from Go Bake Yourself and Linda Lomelino