Chestnut Pancakes with a Chestnut Cream and Rum Filling

The recipe for the pancakes comes from “Sud de France. The food and cooking of Languedoc” cook book by Caroline Conran.

The pancakes with a chestnut flour are nutty and warm in flavour. They are delicious but not as light in texture as the pancakes made with plain white flour only, so try to make them small and dainty.

If you wish to make these pancakes a special treat, chop or thinly slice 4 marrons glacés and mix with the filling.

For the pancakes, serves 4:

• 50 g of plain flour
• 50 g of chestnut flour
• a pinch of salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons of caster sugar plus more to finish
• 4-6 tablespoons of milk
• 3-4 tablespoons of orange flower water (or plain water)
• 50 g of butter

For the filling:

• 4-6 tablespoons of a chestnut cream or purée
• 2-3 tablespoons of dark rum

Make the batter:

Put the sifted flours into a bowl, mix in the salt, 2 tablespoons of sugar, break in the eggs and slowly whisk in the milk followed by the orange water. Add only enough liquid to give the batter a creamy consistency, it should form a ribbon when poured from a spoon. Allow to stand for one hour.

Meanwhile mix the chestnut cream or purée with the rum to your liking.

Make the pancakes the usual way.

Melt a little butter in a frying pan, heat it until just starting to brown, then pour in half of the ladle of the batter and swirl it around to cover the bottom of the pan. When the pancake is slightly brown and set, turn it over and cook the other side. Repeat until you’ve used all the batter.

Spread the pancakes with the chestnut and rum filling, roll them and sprinkle with some extra caster sugar. Serve immediately.