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1
Refer to the recipe for Basic Kneaded Pastry Doughto make the pastry dough for the pie crusts.
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2
Roll the dough into a cylinder, and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
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3
Make the almond cream.
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4
Add the sugar to the butter and mix well together.
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5
Add the egg and mix well.
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6
Be careful not to introduce any air.
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7
Sift the almond powder and cocoa powder together, and mix in to the butter-sugar-egg mix.
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8
Add some brandy to finish.
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9
The almond cream is done.
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10
Cut the pastry dough into portions.
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11
Roll out each piece of dough into a circle to fit the molds.
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12
(If you sandwich the dough between sheets of plastic wrap, you won't need any flour for dusting.)
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13
I rolled the pastry dough into cylinders as they are easier for me to handle, but you can roll the dough out thinly and cut it out instead.
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14
Pierce the bottoms of the pastry shells several times with a fork.
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15
Optionally add some chopped up chocolate.
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16
Add the cream from step 4 into the pastry shells evenly.
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17
Put a chestnut that has been wiped dry in the center of each pie.
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18
I used very large chestnuts, so I cut them in half.
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19
The number of chestnuts you need will depend on their size.
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20
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in a preheated 200C oven.
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21
The pies are baked.
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22
The room will be filled with a wondeful nutty fragrance.
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23
Optionally dust with powdered sugar to dress them up.
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24
When you bite into a pie, a big chestnut will be revealed.
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25
It's crispy and crumbly and densely chestnut-y heaven.
