‘Tis the season for all things holiday baking, guests popping in and out with little notice, keeping a few extra nice bottles of wine about, and for me this December, all things chestnut, starting with this Chocolate Chestnut Coffeecake. Over the next few weeks, you’re going to see my fall obsession with chestnuts unfold in the form of soup, sticky buns, and perhaps a salad or two, but we start with this dense and delicious Chocolate Chestnut Coffeecake. While of course I have way too many cooking items, pans, utensils and appliances in Dirty Laundry Kitchen proper, I do try very hard to limit carefully specialty items that serve few purposes. One of the specialty pans that I can get behind is a mini-loaf pan. It’s the perfect volume for a 9”x5” coffeecake recipe and it produces four mini loaves that I wrap up tight in foil and keep in the freezer for gifts, impromptu brunches, and pop-in guests. They’re also nice for those Sundays when you don’t have guests, but you want something special none-the-less. The only problem with a Sunday of indulgence is that its supposed to end with Sunday; you really don’t want to indulge all week … Continue reading →