i made this cake for valentines day and sent it to my husband's restaurant (he was working that day) for him and his staff to enjoy. he absolutely loved it and got lots of compliments from his co-workers. i figured it wouldn't be a good idea to send the whipped topping seperately since they might not know what to do with it, so i topped the cake with it in decorative spirals then placed the candied chestnuts around the edges. i also bought pre-cooked, pre-peeled chestnuts and chopped them up to cover the sides of the cake. this worked well because the glaze was thick and sticky enough to hold it. i also used the same chopped chestnuts for the whipped topping instead of using the candied chestnuts because they were too expensive. try adding a few spoonfuls of chestnut spread to the whipped topping.. AMAZING results!

The final product really was wonderful, a dense, dark chocolate flavor for true chocolate lovers. However, a word of caution. The author left out one important word in the ingredient list, and that would be JARRED. Or canned. I had only purchased fresh chestnuts previously and didn't realize until the moment that I was about to begin preparations, at 4:00 the evening before Thanksgiving, that I was meant to have bought precooked chestnuts. Boiling and peeling the little buggers by hand easily added another hour and a half to my prep time. I was not a happy camper. Should have just run to the store to buy some, but was afraid on the night before t-giving, there wouldn't be any left. Arrrgh. Also, good luck finding the marrons glace. I live in a big city and went to 3 stores that carry specialty items - no dice, so we did without. I'm sure it would have been fabulous with them. Give this a try but you may have to order the candied chestnuts online.

This is it! I use to get this cake for my birthday all the time when I was younger, but the bakery we bought them from closed. No matter now... this is so worth the effort. Warning to everyone, give yourself lots of time when whipping up this baby.

amazing fudgy cake...a hit with hungarian inlaws!! a bit timely but worth every minute...a tip though, cut out a piece of wax paper the same size or a little smaller than the finished cake to place on the cooling rack because it will be difficult to remove after the glaze has dried. a new family favorite