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The term "pavé", from French, sounds romantic but actually means cobblestone. In cooking and baking it usually refers to a square or oblong block of food. Less romantic sounding, so we'll stick with pavé and nonetheless, this looks gorgeous and tastes even better.
Ingredients:
250g dark chocolate
250g chestnut puree
200g sugar
200g butter
2½ tbsp brandy
1 tsp vanilla extract
To decorate:
Cocoa powder to sprinkle Chocolate shavings
Method:
Grease and line a 20 x 10cm baking tin.
Gently melt the chocolate in a bain marie. Take off the heat once melted and smooth, leave to cool.
In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add the chestnut puree, brandy, vanilla and chocolate.
Mix until everything is incorporated. Pour this into the prepared tin, cover and place in the fridge to set.
When ready to serve, take out the fridge and sprinkle with cocoa powder and chocolate shavings.
Enjoy.
Gaby Van Clarke
None of us know what’s going to take us out. Life’s full of surprises. But we do know that the body starts to degenerate from about age 30 (more cells destroyed than created, barring excess weight gain) and also, crucially, that we can affect the speed of that ageing process.
Introduced by Portuguese merchants in the 16th century, and adapted over time to suit Japanese tastes, this light bouncy sponge is considered a traditional Japanese speciality. More delicate and airy than a regular sponge cake, castella ( カステラ, kasutera) is famous for a fine and moist crumb.
