We value your privacy
We use cookies to help give you the best experience on our site and to allow us and third parties to customise the marketing content you see across websites and social media. For more information see our
Decadent chocolate and chestnut bars
Makes: 6
Prep time: 20 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Jonathan Gregson.
Decadent chocolate and chestnut bars
Makes: 6
Prep time: 20 minsTotal time:
See more recipes
Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
656Kcal
Fat
45gr
Saturates
27gr
Carbs
56gr
Sugars
40gr
Fibre
3gr
Protein
8gr
Salt
0.5gr
Yotam Ottolenghi
Israeli chef Yotam runs a London restaurant empire with his business partner Sami Tamimi. He uses bold middle-eastern flavours, and has introduced sumac and za'atar to a new generation of foodies. Author of several bestselling cookbooks including Plenty and Sweet.
See more of Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipes
Yotam Ottolenghi
Israeli chef Yotam runs a London restaurant empire with his business partner Sami Tamimi. He uses bold middle-eastern flavours, and has introduced sumac and za'atar to a new generation of foodies. Author of several bestselling cookbooks including Plenty and Sweet.
See more of Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipes
Ingredients
- 200g dark Belgian chocolate, chopped
- 150g unsalted butter, diced
- 2 large eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 40g caster sugar
- 125g cooked, peeled chestnuts, roughly chopped
- 125g ready-to-eat dried figs, stalks removed, roughly chopped
- 125g white chocolate, roughly chopped
- a sprinkle of cocoa powder, for dusting
For the base:
- 200g digestive biscuits
- 100g unsalted butter, melted
Step by step
Get ahead
Make the bars up to 3 days ahead; they can also be frozen.
-
Preheat the oven to 150°C, fan 130°C, gas 2. Line a 20cm square baking tin with baking parchment. For the base, place the biscuits in a large bowl and crush with your hands or a rolling pin. Add the butter and mix to a sandy paste. Press firmly and evenly into the tin. Leave in the fridge to set.
-
Meanwhile, put the dark chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water and melt, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Remove from the pan when melted.
-
Use an electric mixer to whisk the eggs, yolk and sugar until thick and pale. This will take 15-20 minutes. Gently fold the chocolate mixture into the eggs, then the chopped chestnuts, figs and white chocolate. Spread evenly over the biscuit base and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 25-30 minutes. When ready, a skewer inserted in the bar will come out with lots of gooey crumb attached, and there will be a light crust on top. Cool, then refrigerate until set.
TipTo prepare fresh chestnuts, score each one down one side and place in a pan. Cover with boiling water, bring back to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Drain and leave until cool enough to handle, then peel away the outer and inner skins.
-
Remove from the tin and peel off the baking parchment. Cut into bars (or tiny squares to serve with good coffee) and dust lightly with cocoa powder. Let them come to room temperature before serving.
- Leave whole or cut the bars into small squares and serve with good coffee.