Kuglof od kestena - Bundt-cake with chestnuts- Ciambella lievitata alle castagne

I'm being away from this place for some time, but I have baked a lot in the meanwhile and one of my last autumn creations is this bundt-cake prepared with chestnuts we brought from our last excursion to near forest. It happens year after year, during October  we go to our forest when days are still sunny and warm and the forest starts to change its tunes, but still full of green leaves and summery perfumes.
Nostalgically thinking of another forest, when the time comes to visit the forest, I pack my rucksack, I put on my boots and I go to explore the richness of the nature.

The longest and most laborious part of this recipe is peeling chestnuts, so if you are not diligent and have no patience, simply go to the supermarket and buy not sweeten chestnut purée and you will solve the problem.

I prefer to peel my chestnuts by my own, so you can say this is long and old fashioned way of preparing this recipe. First I go to the forest to collect some chestnuts, then I cook them, I peel them, I prepare the purée and only then I can start preparing this bundt-cake.

But it's worth all that time spent for its preparation.
It is soft and flavourful and if you store it correctly, it can last up to 2 weeks and it will still keep its freshness and fluffiness!
Bundt-cake is also typical Christmas cake in Croatia, especially on the Adriatic cost. Maybe because it is so similar to Italian Pandoro...who could know this. Traditions of these two countries have been bounded and melted for decades and have produced plenty  of similar delicious treats.
If you have time and you are courious to discover new flavours, bake this cake in next days, I'm sure some of you have preserved some boiled chestnuts in the freezer!

KUGLOF OD KESTENA

180 gr brašna

20 gr heljdinog brašna

150 gr pirea od kestena

80 ml mlijeka

100 gr maslaca

1 veliko jaje

30 gr šećera od trske+ ½ žličice za kvasac

10 gr svježeg kvasca

prstohvat soli

Otopiti kvasac i 1/2 žličice šećera u malo mlakog mlijeka i ostaviti da se diže 10 minuta.

Zagrijati mlijeko (ne treba vrijati).

U zdjelu staviti brašno, kesten pire, šećer, lagano razmućeno jaje i kvasac, te početi mijesiti mikserom. Postepeno u tijesto dodavati mlijeko uz neprestano miksanje da se svi sastojci dobro sjedine. Na kraju dodati u tijesto prstohvat soli i miksati još par minuta.

Ostaviti da se tijesto odmori 10-tak minuta.

Potom postepeno dodavati u tijesto omekšali maslac i mijesiti dok se sav maslac ravnomjerno umijesi u tijesto.

Ostaviti tijesto da se diže dok mu se volumen ne udvostruči (pokriti zdjele prozirnom folijom ili poklopcem).

Uz pomoć kuhinjskog kista namazati kalup za kuglof maslacem. Na taj ćete način uspjeti dobro namazati sve uglove kalupa.

Isuti tijesto iz zjele na pobrašnjenu radnu površinu i oblikovati ga u kuglu. Prstima napraviti rupu u sredini kugle.

Staviti tijesto u kalup pečenje i premazati površinu tijesta otopljenim maslacem. Pokriti tijestom prozirnom folijom ili staviti kalup s tijestom u plastičnu vrećicu, zavezati vrećicu tako da u njoj ostane zraka da se nebi zalijepila za tijesto kad se tijesto uzdigne.

Ostaviti da se tijesto diže dok mu se volumen ne udovostruči.

Peći u prethodno zagrijanoj pećnici na 180°C oko 20-25 minuta. Brioche mora dobiti zlatno-smeđu boju po površini. Ako nakon 15 minuta tijesto dosta potamni, pokrite ga aluminijskom folijom da ne izgori.

BUNDT-CAKE WITH CHESTNUTS

180 gr strong flour

20 gr buckwheat flour

150 gr boiled chestnuts (without peel), mashed

80 ml lukewarm milk

100 gr butter

1 big egg

30 gr light brown cane sugar +1/2 tablespoon for the yeast

10 gr fresh yeast

pinch of salt

Dissolve the yeast and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar in little lukewarm milk and let it raise for 10 minutes.

Warm up the milk (don’t boil it).

In one bowl put flours, chestnut purée, sugar, slightly whisked egg and the yeast and start to knead the dough with the mixer. Gradually add in the mixture milk and continue to knead until all ingredients combine well together. Add a pinch of salt and knead for another few minutes.

Leave the dough to rest for 10 minutes.

After that time start adding soften butter to the dough little by little until all the butter get incorporated into the dough.

Leave the dough to raise until double the volume (cover the bowls with the PVC wrap or the bowl cover).

Butter the bundt-cake baking pan (I use kitchen brush, in this way all edges of the backing pan get well greased).

Place the dough on floury working surface and work it a bit. Give to the dough round shape and with the fingers make a hole in the middle of the dough.

Place the dough into baking pan, grease the surface of the dough with melted butter and cover it with the PVC wrap. You can also place the baking pan into a PVC bag and knot the bag leaving some air in the bag, so that the dough doesn’t stick to the bag once it will rise.

Leave the dough to rest until it double the volume.

Bake in preheated oven at 180°C for 30-40 minutes. The surface of the brioche must be golden brown. If needed, cover the surface of the brioche with aluminum foil after 15 min baking to avoid that it burns during baking.

CIAMBELLA LIEVITATA ALLE CASTAGNE

180 gr di farina manitoba

20 gr di farina di grano saraceno

150 gr di castagne bollite (pulite) ridotte in purea

80 ml di latte tiepido

100 gr di burro

1 uovo grande

30 gr di zucchero di canna chiaro + ½ cucchiaino per il lievito

10 gr di lievito di birra

un pizzico di sale

Sciogliere il lievito e 1/2 cucchiaino di zucchero in poco latte tiepido e lasciare lievitare per 10 minuti.

Riscaldare il latte (non fatelo bollire).

In una ciotola unire le farine, purea di castagne, zucchero, uova leggermente sbattute ed il lievito e cominciare ad impastare con il mixer. Gradualmente aggiungere all'impasto il latte e continuare ad impastare per incorporare bene tutti gli ingredienti. Alla fine aggiungere un pizzico di sale e impastare ancora per qualche minuto. 

Lasciare a riposare l’impasto per 10 minuti.

Trascorso questo tempo cominciare ad aggiungere all’impasto il burro ammorbidito poco alla volta fino a quando tutto il burro sarà distribuito uniformemente nell’impasto.

Lasciare l’impasto a lievitare fino al raddoppio del volume dell’impasto (coprire la ciotola con la pellicola trasparente oppure con il coperchio della stessa ciotola).

Imburrare lo stampo per la ciambella con il pennello da cucina. In questo modo riuscirete ad imburrare bene tutti gli angoli dello stampo.

Rovesciare l’impasto sulla superfice da lavoro precedentemente infarinata dare all’impasto una forma sferica. Con le dita creare il buco in mezzo all’impasto.

Sistemare l'impasto nello stampo e spalmare la superfice dell’impasto con poco burro fuso.  Coprire l'impasto con la pellicola trasparente, oppure potete inserire lo stampo in un sacchetto di plastica, chiudere il sacchetto lasciando un po’ di aria all’interno per evitare che l’impasto una volta lievitato si attacchi al sacchetto.

Lasciarlo lievitare fino al raddoppio del volume.

Infornare nel forno già caldo a 180°C per 30-40 minuti. La superfice della brioche deve diventare dorata. Se servirà, potete coprire la brioche con un foglio di alluminio dopo 15 minuti di cottura per evitare che si bruci.