🥤 DRINK
Imbuljuta tal-Qastan (Maltese Chestnut and Cocoa Drink)
Dried chestnuts simmered for an hour with cocoa, sugar, cloves, cinnamon and mandarin peel into a thick, spiced hot drink for Christmas Eve.
Maltese · easy · serves 6
prep 15 min · cook 65 min · plus 12 h hands-off time
~100 cal · 2g protein · 26g carbs · 1g fat · 4g fiber · 18g sugars · 1g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Imbuljuta tal-qastan is Malta's Christmas drink, the pot waiting at home when families come back through the cold from Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. It is served again on New Year's Eve, and for many Maltese its smell of cocoa, cloves and mandarin peel is the smell of the season itself.
It is closer to a spoonable hot chocolate than to a cup of cocoa. Dried chestnuts are soaked overnight, then simmered slowly for about an hour with water, cocoa powder, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and the peel of a mandarin or an orange, until the chestnuts are soft and the liquid has thickened around them. Some cooks break the chestnuts up into chunks, some leave them whole, some stir in a little cornflour or a piece of dark chocolate, and some grown-ups finish their mug with a splash of liqueur.
It is drunk from a mug or eaten from a bowl with a spoon, the soft chestnuts fished out as you go. Made with water rather than milk, it is naturally dairy-free.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
- 200 g dried peeled chestnuts
- 1.2 liters water
- 60 g unsweetened cocoa powder
- 100 g brown sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 whole cloves
- 1/2 tsp mixed spice
- 1 each peel of 1 mandarin and 1 orange, in strips
- 1 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch), optional, mixed with a little cold water, to thicken
Instructions
- 1Rinse the chestnuts, cover them with plenty of cold water and leave them to soak overnight, at least 12 hours.
- 2Drain the chestnuts and put them in a large pot with the 1.2 liters of water, the cocoa, sugar, cinnamon stick, cloves, mixed spice and citrus peel. Whisk to dissolve the cocoa.
- 3Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer gently for about 1 hour, stirring now and then, until the chestnuts are soft.✎ Chef’s noteTop up with a splash of hot water if it reduces too far; it should stay drinkable.
- 4Break some of the chestnuts into smaller pieces against the side of the pot with a spoon, or leave them whole if you prefer.
- 5For a thicker drink, stir in the cornflour slurry and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes more.
- 6Fish out the cinnamon stick and cloves if you like, then ladle into mugs or bowls, chestnuts and all, and serve hot.✎ Chef’s noteIt keeps for 3 days in the fridge and reheats well. Some add a splash of liqueur or rum to the grown-ups' mugs at the table.
Maltese Christmas tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Valletta. Valletta's honey-stone streets hide slow Sunday cooking: rabbit stewed long in wine and garlic, the island's signature dish. Maltese food sits between Sicily and North Africa, with pastizzi pastries, broad beans, capers, and sun-dried tomato.
🗺️
Malta. The fenkata is the occasion rather than the recipe: rabbit stewed slowly in wine and garlic, traditionally served in two courses, the sauce over pasta first and the meat afterwards, and eaten in company that stretches across an afternoon. One account links its rise to the lifting of hunting restrictions after the Knights left in the late eighteenth century, which is a theory worth attributing rather than stating.
🌍
Europe. European cooking is built on the land and the seasons, wheat, butter, and cured pork in the north; olive oil, tomatoes, and seafood around the Mediterranean; preserved vegetables and hearty stews through long winters. Centuries of peasant tradition, guild craft, and royal courts refined techniques from French mother sauces to Italian fresh pasta and Central European baking. Regional identity runs remarkably deep, with a single dish often changing from one valley to the next.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Malta
Timpana (Baked Macaroni Pie)Tubular pasta in a rich meat-and-tomato sauce, bound with egg and cheese and baked inside a pastry case until golden, then cut into slabs.
Stuffat tal-Fenek (Rabbit Stew)Malta’s national dish: slow-braised rabbit in red wine, tomato, and bay, the centerpiece of a village fenkata feast.
PastizziDiamond-shaped flaky pastries filled with ricotta or mushy peas, Malta's favorite savory bite.
Browse all Malta recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan, Whisk.
Storing it: Keep chilled and covered, and enjoy within 2 to 3 days.
Make it a Malta meal
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Drinks
Frequently asked questions
What is Imbuljuta tal-Qastan (Maltese Chestnut and Cocoa Drink)?
Dried chestnuts simmered for an hour with cocoa, sugar, cloves, cinnamon and mandarin peel into a thick, spiced hot drink for Christmas Eve.
Where does Imbuljuta tal-Qastan (Maltese Chestnut and Cocoa Drink) come from?
Imbuljuta tal-Qastan (Maltese Chestnut and Cocoa Drink) is a Maltese dish from Valletta, Malta.
Can Imbuljuta tal-Qastan (Maltese Chestnut and Cocoa Drink) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Imbuljuta tal-Qastan (Maltese Chestnut and Cocoa Drink) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Imbuljuta tal-Qastan (Maltese Chestnut and Cocoa Drink) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Imbuljuta tal-Qastan (Maltese Chestnut and Cocoa Drink) take to make?
About 13 h 20 min in all: 15 minutes prep and 65 minutes cooking, plus 12 h of hands-off waiting the method needs, serving 6.
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