Start with the chestnut cream. If using raw chestnuts, boil them in salted water for about 30 minutes. Once cooked, cool slightly, peel carefully, and remove the inner skin. To save time, you can use pre-peeled chestnuts, available frozen or jarred in their cooking liquid.

Place the chestnuts in a saucepan with sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt. Cover with whole milk up to about 3 cm and bring to a simmer over medium heat.

Simmer for about 1 hour until the milk is absorbed and the cream has thickened. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.

Remove from heat and blend with a hand blender until smooth. For an even silkier texture, pass through a sieve a couple of times. Cover with plastic wrap in contact with the cream and refrigerate before assembling.

For the meringue: beat the egg whites with the first quantity of sugar at medium speed to allow the sugar to dissolve. Then increase the speed until stiff and glossy peaks form.

Gently fold in the second quantity of sugar with a spatula, moving from bottom to top.

Form a meringue disc on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, about 1.5 cm thick, and pipe additional small meringues for decoration.

Dry in a fan oven at 100°C (210°F) for about 1.5 hours.

For the Chantilly cream: whip the cold heavy cream with sugar and vanilla. Be careful not to overwhip, or it will become too dense and buttery instead of light and milky.

To assemble: place the meringue disc on a serving plate, spread with Chantilly cream, and using a potato ricer pipe the chestnut cream in spaghetti-like strands over the surface.

Decorate with Chantilly rosettes and small meringues. Continue layering until you achieve a mountain shape.

Finish by sprinkling crumbled meringues on top to simulate snow. Optionally, add edible gold leaf for an elegant touch.

Refrigerate at 4°C (39°F) until ready to serve.