This chestnut pudding is a rather unusual sweet made with chestnut flour and enriched with pine nuts, walnuts and rosemary. This was originally a dish eaten by peasant-folk who exploited the chestnuts that were widely-grown in rural areas.
It is difficult to determine where this sweet originally came from as every region that has a lot of chestnut trees has its own version, and all are equally good. Over time, however, this chestnut pudding has come to be considered an especially Tuscan dessert, and in this region it is also known as baldino. The recipe we will give here is that most commonly used in the territory of Bagno di Romagna, which until 1923 was part of Tuscany.

Ingredients for an average-sized baking tin:
1 kg of chestnut flour,
water, salt, shelled pine nuts or walnuts, rosemary, lard or oil.

In a bowl, mix the chestnut flour with water and a pinch of salt and then add a handful of shelled pine nuts or chopped walnuts, until you get a mixture that is not too thick and will pour like honey.
Pour into an average-sized baking tin that has been greased with lard, butter or oil, so that the mixture forms a layer roughly 2 cm thick. Decorate the surface with pine nuts or walnuts, a few rosemary-needles and a cross of oil.
Bake in the oven at about 150° C until the surface turns a chocolate-brown colour and begins to crack; you can test the consistency by piercing with the blade of a knife that should come out clean. Leave to cool a little before cutting into squares and serving .
The ingredients may vary depending on the area and individual tastes: the chestnut flour can also be mixed with wheat flour (in almost equal quantities) and enriched with raisins, grated peel of citrus fruits, milk and liqueur.