Tag Archives: chestnut flour

Chestnut flour chocolate pancakes

We are surprised it has taken us this long to make a chocolate based pancake.   Having made these a few days ago, we are certain to make it again and potentially serve it as a dessert pancake with a classic Chantilly cream or vanilla ice cream.

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What do I need to make it?

 

  • 1 cup chestnut flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 large egg
  • Zest of an orange
  • 1 tsp orange blossom water
  • 1 tsp cinnamon powder
  • 1 tbsp coco powder
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tbsp muscavado sugar
  • 50 gms chocolate chips
  • Pinch of salt
  • Butter to cook

 

How many will I make?

Around 6 depending on size

How do I make it?

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl to make a semi thick batter.   Heat a pan with some butter and spoon in a ladle of batter- cook on both sides and enjoy hot on it’s own or with a sprinkling of icing sugar.

Thai flavoured savoury chestnut flour pancakes

Once you start experimenting with different flavours in pancake batter there’s no turning back.   We had some savoury pancakes for a lazy weekend breakfast and tried something different with some Thai 7 spice mix and some fresh herbs.   The pancakes tasted great on their own and with some sweet chilli sauce.

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What do I need to make it?

  • 1 cup chestnut flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp baking powders
  • 1 1/2 tsp Thai 7 spice powder (we found this under the Schwartz brand)
  • 1 clove of garlic minced
  • 1 Thai red chillie chopped
  • 2 sprigs of spring onion chopped
  • Handful fresh coriander and basil chopped
  • Salt to taste

How many will I make?

6-8 depending on size

How do I make it?

Place the chestnut flour, baking powder, milk and egg in a mixing bowl.  Whisk the ingredient till you get a medium consistency batter.  Add the remaining ingredients and give it a good stir.   Heat a frying pan and use a knob of butter to ensure pancake doesn’t stick to the pan.   Pour in a ladle of batter and cook on both sides till done.   Serve on it own or with sweet chilli sauce.

Chestnut flour pancakes with cashew nut and sultanas

We felt a bit adventurous yesterday and added some cashew nuts and sultanas with a pinch of cardamom to our pancake batter (1 cup chestnut flour, 1 cup milk, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tbsp honey and 1 egg – all whisked together) and really liked the flavour combination.  We think this could probably double up as a dessert option – served with some good quality vanilla ice cream or Indian kesar kulfi.

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Chestnut flour rotis

We have experimented a bit with different non-wheat based flour combinations to make rotis.   We have come to the realization that this is going to be an ever evolving process and we need to keep at it to get a combination that not only tastes great but is easy to make (we have had a few disasters along the way with the dough sticking and not being very easy to roll out).  Our latest attempt was with  chestnut flour as a core ingredient, as we have successfully used it to bake bread, cakes and cookies.   The dough was relatively easy to work with and the rotis tasted good. Texture wise we think we are 90% there – just need to figure out how to get them softer to be on par with traditional rotis.

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What do I need to make it?

  • 1 cup chestnut flour (singoda)
  • 1/2 cup rajagro flour (amaranth flour)
  • 1/2 cup samo seed flour (type of millet)
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • Salt to taste

How many will I make?

8-10 depending on size

How do I make it?

Place all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.   Make a well and add the oil to it – rub the oil into the flour mixture.   Then add enough water to make a pliable dough ball – about a cup of water,  little at a time.  Make lime sized balls of the dough and roll into discs using  a little chestnut flour to stop it from sticking –  cook on both sides till lightly browned, brush with some ghee and serve hot.

Italian flavoured chestnut flour pancakes

A couple of days back we made some stuffed chilli peppers with a mixture of cheese, olives, sun dried tomatoes, garlic, onion and Italian herbs.   We had some of this mixture left over and decided to make use of it in a chestnut flour pancake batter.  We are quite pleased with the outcome and will add this to our repertoire of savoury breakfast options.

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What do I need to make it?

  • 1 cup chestnut flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 3 tbsp of stuffing mixture
  • Pinch of salt
  • Butter to cook

How many will I make?

6 small pancakes

How do I make it?

Mix the milk and chestnut flour first and then whisk in the egg till it is full incorporated into the batter.   Add the baking soda, salt and stuffing mix and spoon onto a hot pan with a little butter.  Cook on both sides and serve hot.

Chestnut flour pancakes

The love affair with chestnut flour continues and we are tinkering with different flavour combinations to our standard pancake mix (one cup chestnut flour, one cup milk, one egg and one teaspoon baking powder).  Over the last week we have made two versions, one savoury and one sweet.   For the savoury option we added a pinch of salt, one teaspoon of English mustard, some chopped spring onion, fresh coriander, 1 Thai red chilli and a handful of a blend of 4 cheeses.   The subtle taste of the mustard made it quite delightful.   For the sweet version we added one tablespoon of smooth peanut butter, 1 tablespoon of Nutella and  1/2 tsp of vanilla extract.  This was equally delightful but then again we don’t think one can go wrong with Nutella in any sweet dish!

Mustard and four cheese pancake

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Peanut butter and Nutella pancakes

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Related articles

Chestnut and rice flour bread

We have been scouring the web for a good bread recipe incorporating chestnut flour.  We found one on the glutenfreealchemist.com blog and tried it a few weeks back in our bread maker.   We made a bit of a hash with it and ended up with too much yeast and although the loaf was edible it did have a bit of a taste to it.   Determined to make things right we experimented with the loaf again today with a few changes, the first being mixing the ingredients and forming the dough by hand as our bread maker decided to pack up on us.  We also increased the proportion of chestnut flour to rice flour and used apple cider vinegar instead of lemon juice.   We baked it in our table top oven and are well impressed with the outcome.   This bread is now going to be a weekly feature and both of us are looking forward to toast and marmalade for breakfast.

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What do I need to make it?               

  • 230 gm chestnut flour
  • 230 gm rice flour (we used Dove’s Farm blend of brown and white rice)
  • 85 gm potato flour
  • 1 tbsp Xanthan gum
  • 4 tbsp dried milk powder
  • 1 ½ tbsp caster sugar
  • 1 ½ tsp salt
  • 3 large eggs
  • 370 ml water
  • 3 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 7 gm fast acting yeast (we used Alinson fast acting yeast)

How much will I make?

A medium sized loaf (750 gm)

How do I make it?

Beat the eggs and white to a light fluffy consistency.  Place the egg and water mixture  in a large mixing bowl, add oil, apple cider vinegar, milk powder, sugar, salt and Xanthan gum followed by the flours and yeast.    Mix everything together with a laddle or use your hands (it can get a bit messy) until all the ingredients are fully incorporated.  Cover the dish with a wet cloth and allow to prove for an hour in a warm area.   The dough should rise before you transfer it into a greased loaf tin and bake in a pre-heated oven at 190 degree Centigrade for 45-50 minutes.   Remove and cool on a wire rack before slicing.

Coffee flavoured chestnut flour pancakes

Having discovered the versatility of chestnut flour as an adequate replacement for normal flour in our baking endeavoors we have been making pancakes regularly with it.  We decided yesterday to try something different and incorporate some bold coffee flavours into the batter and are pleasantly surprised with the outcome.   We think this could work brilliantly as a dessert option with scoops of vanilla or coffee ice cream or a syrup made with Kaluha.  The pancakes have also given us an idea for a  tiramusu alternative – more once we have tried it.

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What do I need to make it?

  • 2 cups chestnut flour
  • 1tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp  sugar (adjust to taste)
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 shot of espresso
  • 2-3 tbsp Kaluha (add more for a boozy dessert pancake)
  • 1 tsp espresso powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • Butter to grease the pan
  • Pinch of salt

How much will I make?

8 medium sized pancakes depending on size

How do I make it?

Beat the egg and milk in a bowl and then add the chestnut flour and baking powder.  Use a whisk to beat further to ensure no lumps.   Add the remaining ingredients, whisk further and batter should coat your ladle.   Heat frying pan on medium heat and add a knob of butter some batter and cook on both sides,   Serve hot as a breakfast pancake or as a dessert with a scoop of coffee/vanilla ice cream.

Spicy pancakes and prawn salad with coconut sambal

Having made some fresh coconut sambal for dinner last night we were trying to find ways to use the leftovers in our meals today.   We first used it this morning to spice up some pancakes and finished off the remaining sambal with a spicy prawn salad.  We have posted the recipe for the prawn salad in an earlier blog.   Once the prawns (marinated in blackened cajun seasoning) were cooked we added 2 heaped tablespoon of the sambal and served it on bed of rocket and ripe mango.  We’ve added the recipe for the pancakes below if you prefer savoury options for breakfast versus sweet.

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What do I need to make it?

  • 3/4 cup chestnut flour
  • 1/4 cup desiccated coconut
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 2 tbsp sambal
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup milk
  • Salt to taste

How many will I make?

Around 6-8 pancakes depending on size

How do I make it?

Place all dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk in the egg and milk till the batter coats the back of your spoon.   Add in the sambal and give it a good mix.  Cook pancakes on both sides with a knob of butter and serve it with some Thai sweet chilli sauce (works really well).

Gluten free penne with lamb meatballs

We tried making meatballs for the first time without the obligatory bread crumbs since going on our gluten free journey.  It turned out pretty good as we substituted the breadcrumbs with chestnut flour to act as the binding agent.   The meatballs maintained shape through the cooking process and tasted great.

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What do I need to make it?

Meatballs

  • 200 gms lean minced lamb
  • 1 medium onion finely chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic minced
  • 1 tsp crush red chilli flakes
  • 1 tsp dry oregano
  • 2 tsp chestnut flour
  • Handful of fresh parsley chopped
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Tomato sauce

  • 400 gm tinned plum tomatoes
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 4 small green chillies chopped
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp dry oregano
  • 1 tsp fresh oregano
  • 2 tbsp fresh basil chopped
  • 2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

How much will I make?

Serves 2-3

How do I make it?

Place all the meatball ingredients in a bowl and knead together.   Roll the meat mixture into small balls (should get around 20) and refrigerate for an hour.   Heat a pan with some olive oil and brown the meatballs off before placing them in a 200 degree Centigrade pre-heated oven for 12-15 minutes or till the meat is done.

For the sauce, heat a pan, add the olive oil followed by the garlic and bay leaves.   Stir for 30 seconds before adding the onions and green chilli.   Sweat the onions for 5-8 minutes before adding the dry and fresh oregano.   Pour in the plum tomatoes (if whole crush or chop them first) with a cup of water and simmer over gentle heat for 20 minutes.   Add the sugar and adjust the seasoning.   Once the tomatoes have cooked through, add the meatballs and garnish the dish with fresh basil and parsley.   Pour over your favourite pasta and enjoy.