Mini Mont Blanc Cakes {with whipped vanilla coconut cream}

This is kind of a ‘use it up’ recipe.

There are some maron glacé still lingering from Christmas and I have some chestnut flour that needs to be used sooner rather than later.

With two different forms of chestnut on my hands my mind instantly thought of Mont Blanc, a dessert usually made with sweetened chestnut puree and whipped cream, and how I could adapt it to use up some of my flour (I have not come close to using it up because so little is used in this recipe, but it is a start).

The adaptation is this – little chocolate chestnut cakes (the mountain) with a mound of whipped vanilla coconut cream in the centre (the snow cap) and a scattering of maron glacé (a mini avalanche) and some cocoa powder (er. . . fresh chocolate snow?) on the top.

And it is a good adaptation. I may or may not have struggled to stop myself from eating the whole of a mini cake before I had finished photographing it. I may or may not have eaten two of these cakes in one day. I may (read: most definitely) had forgotten just how good whipped coconut cream is, especially when it is flavoured with vanilla. And finally, I may (read: obviously) mixed in some of the left over vanilla coconut cream into my breakfast porridge.

So, so, good.

But it’s okay because the whipped coconut cream is much better for you than dairy whipped cream, right? And there are zero carbs in the cake because I used nut flour and cocoa powder. But there is some butter.

Let’s not talk about that.

I tried to eat very little the following day to make up for it.

Because of the small amount of flour used in the mix the cakes puff up a little like soufflé when they are baked and then sink as they cool. There is a sponge consistency to the cakes but the longer they cool, the more solid they become.

I guess what I am trying to say is that eat these not long after baking (but let them cool enough so that they don’t melt the coconut cream) for the most cake like texture. Although even when completely cold they are still tasty.

I used mini bundt pans in order to make them more mountain like, but if you don’t have any then you can make this as one big cake. There is no problem with that. Just adjust the baking time accordingly.

The recipe can also easily be halved if you want to make only two mini cakes or a smaller cake in general. I’d still make the whole quantity of whipped coconut cream though, as you will gleefully spread the left overs on anything you can get your hands on.

And finally – let’s mention that plastic animals and trees are not just for Christmas. They can definitely be used in January too. And possibly even sneak into February, March, April . . .