The other day my neighbour Corrie who also doubles as my fresh produce supplier gifted me with a couple of kilos of fresh chestnuts. The chestnuts and the abundance of fresh produce came from Harry's (her Greek father in-law) farm in Bright. When Fussy came home from school that afternoon and saw the chestnuts sitting on the bench he asked if I could make him 'that chocolate chestnut soup that Nanna makes?'

I had no idea what he was talking about so I called mum. She explained that Fussy was referring to Imbuljuta - a warm wintry soup that is served early on Christmas morning in Malta after midnight mass. Never one to shy away from a challenge, I thought I would give this simple chocolate chestnut soup a go. Well after wrestling with a kilo of chestnuts for the better part of the morning I now understand why some people choose the easy way out and reach for a jar of chestnut purée instead!

I must say it was well worth the effort as the house was soon filled with a wonderful chocolate, orange, clove kind of aroma. Hence, later that afternoon when Fussy walked through the front door after school the first thing he said was 'what's that yummy smell mama?' I told him it was the Imbuljuta that he had requested earlier. He ran into the kitchen took one look inside the pot and then had the audacity to declare that he didn't want the soup as it 'didn't look the same as Nanna's'.

I won't tell you what I then did with the soup!
 
Anyway, after the Imbuljuta fiasco I decided that I would turn the other kilo of fresh chestnuts into a tart as tarts in this house are a sure deal. You would not normally add cream and eggs to the filling of your torta tal-qastan in Malta, nor would you then wrap it in chocolate shortcrust pasty. But this was my chestnut pie and I was the one baking it so I decided to take a few liberties along the way.

Torta tal- Qastan -Chestnut, chocolate and orange pie

Feel free to make your own shortcrust pastry if you like. After the Imbuljuta let down I wasn't in the mood to make pastry so in this instance I went with the Carème dark chocolate shortcrust pastry.
 

Ingredients

250g of ready made dark chocolate shortcrust pastry
 

Filling

600g fresh chestnuts

100g bitter chocolate, melted

4 tbsp Seville orange marmalade

3 tbsp caster sugar

150ml thick cream

2 organic eggs, beaten

Zest of an orange and lemon

 
Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4

2.  Peel the chestnuts and then simmer them in water until they are soft. Once they are cool enough to handle remove any stubborn remaining skin that may still be clinging to the chestnuts. Process the chestnuts in the Magimix or food processor and add a little water to moisten the mix if necessary. Add all the other filling ingredients and process until you have a smooth purée.

3. Lightly flour work surface and rolling pin and roll pastry to a thickness of 2-3mm. Line 28cm diameter tart tin with pastry, trim the edges and then blind bake for 15 minutes until pale golden. Remove paper and weights and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes. Remove and cool.

4. Pour the chestnut mixture into the prepared tart case. Bake at 200C/400f/Gas 6 for 20 minutes. Remove tart from the oven and allow to cool before removing from the tart tin. Dust lightly with icing sugar before serving.