Chocolate Chestnut Spread

This rich and decadent Chocolate Chestnut Spread with honey, whiskey, and warming spices is a wonderful alternative to Nutella and similar spreads. Perfect for you seasonal breakfast and baking.

Hello everyone. Happy Wednesday. I hope you’re doing well. And I certainly hope you will get so excited about the recipe I am sharing today.

But first let me ask you a question: are you a chestnut enthusiast? Spoiler alert: Andrew is not LOL. He can tolerate them in a limited amount, few times a year. He’s already complained about me exceeding all possible limits haha.

Indeed, I can’t say I am a huge fan, either. I had chestnuts on a few occasions as a kid. But I didn’t care for them until 2018 or so. The fan part is that it’s not my favourite holiday flavour – not even Top 3 – but I cannot stop using it for my recipes. Chestnuts are so cozy, versatile, and suitable for both sweet and savoury creations.

So if you are looking for chestnut ideas, please stop looking immediately! You’ve just found them :)

Chestnut Recipes

Festive chestnut soup? Sure! Check this Chestnut Marsala Wine Soup or this Christmas Chestnut Sausage Soup. Or what about this hearty Christmas Duck Stew? Looking for a side dish or appetizer? No problem! Festive Brussels Sprouts and Chestnut Pomegranate Hummus might be the answer. I can even offer you Chestnut Mashed Potatoes (Soooo good!) And, finally, dessert is served. Of course, you can find more recipes here.

Most of the times, I’ve used chestnuts for savoury recipes. This year I made these Chestnut Chocolate Truffles which lead me to the idea of chocolate spread. I googled it – not a unique idea, unfortunately! But from those recipes I’ve seen on the Internet, I can tell my variation is quite different because a) it delivers even more decadent and festive profile thanks to honey and spices; and b) whiskey. Whiskey is an essential part here, I believe.

Actually, I didn’t plan on using it. But when I was making and sampling the spread, something was off / missing in its texture and flavour. Not smooth enough. A little bit bland and sad. When I saw a bottle of whiskey – and bingo! I was not sure if it would work, but it obviously perfectly worked. I mean, who could I even doubt it would work, right? Other alcohol like bourbon or dark rum will work, too.

Chocolate Chestnut Spread

The texture of this spread might not be up to everyone’s alley. It’s not as smooth and silky as Nutella or nut butters because of the chestnut starch. But thanks to the honey, chocolate, and whiskey, the chestnut flavour gets truly enhanced. I used dark chocolate (70%), so this spread turned only subtly sweet. If you wish, you can use semi-dark or milk chocolate instead.

You can enjoy this spread many ways. Since it has some sweetness, it will be perfect with something plain or subtly sweet such as crepes, pancakes, toasts, or French toasts. As you see in the photos, I used gingerbread, but that’s only for pictures! :) And you can definitely use this spread as the filling for your cookies if you don’t mind sweet goodies (You might want to make cookies less sweet.)

I hope you like this Chocolate Chestnut Spread, and you will give it a try. If you make it, let me know in this post or send me an Instagram message or share you photos adding the hashtag #havocinthekitchen.

Cheers!

Chocolate Chestnut Spread

Recipe by Ben | HavocinthekitchenCourse: Breakfast, Dessert

Servings

8-10

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

This rich and decadent Chocolate Chestnut Spread with honey, whiskey, and warming spices is a wonderful alternative to Nutella and similar spreads. Perfect for you seasonal breakfast and baking.

Ingredients

• 100-120 gr. dark (70%) chocolate, roughly chopped

• 1/2 cup 18% cream

• 250 gr. cooked and peeled chestnuts (I used cooked, peeled, and vacuum-packed)

• 2-3 tbsp. unsweetened dark cacao powder (Like Dutch-process)

• 2-3 tbsp. whiskey or bourbon

• 1 tbsp. honey

• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg and cardamom, each

• a pinch of salt

Directions

• Add the cream into a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat off, add the chocolate, and let it stay for 2 minutes. Then, using a wooden spoon or spatula, mix until combine.
• Place into the same saucepan the chestnuts, cacao powder, honey, spices, and whiskey (Start with 2 tablespoons.) Using an immersion blender, scraping the sides with a spatula, puree to the desired texture. It should take 1 to 2 minutes.
• Please note it won’t be perfectly smooth and homogeneous, and it’s also quite thick. If you want to thin it up, add a few spoons of cream or whiskey (In case you want the whisky really stand out here.) Add more honey if it’s not sweet enough; it will also make the texture smoother.
• Try and adjust to you liking by adding more spices, honey or extra splash of alcohol. Keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Enjoy!

Ben | Havocinthekitchen

Hi – I’m Ben, a blogger, recipe developer, and food photographer. I’m glad you’re here! I hope you will enjoy hundreds of delicious recipes and a pinch of havoc in the kitchen.