Cassata
Description
Cassata is a traditional Sicilian dessert. Beautiful to look at and delicious to taste, this cake made with ricotta, sponge cake, and pistachio marzipan is perfect for special occasions or to impress guests with your baking skills.
If cassata is your favorite dessert and you want to learn how to make it, follow each step carefully.
Ingredients
to recalculate the ingredient amounts
For the Sponge Cake
- Eggs 4
- Sugar 140 g
- Flour “00” 120 g
- Potato starch 40 g
- Salt 1 pizzichi
- Grated zest of 1/2 lemon
For the Ricotta Cream
- Fresh spreadable cheese 400 g
- Sugar 120 g
- Dark chocolate chips 200 g
- Vanilla q.b.
For the Fondant Glaze
- Icing sugar 140 g
- Water q.b.
Decoration
- Marzipan 80 g
- Pistachio paste 80 g
- Candied fruit q.b.
Instructions
Tips
-
1
Prepare the Ricotta Cream (the day before): Drain the ricotta for a few hours, then pass it through a sieve. Mix with sugar until smooth, cover, and refrigerate for 12 hours.
-
2
Make the Sponge Cake: Beat the eggs with sugar, lemon zest, and a pinch of salt until pale and fluffy. Sift together the flour and potato starch, then fold gently into the eggs, alternating with a little warm milk, to keep the mixture airy. Pour the batter into a parchment-lined baking tray and bake at 180°C for about 20 minutes. Allow to cool.
-
3
Prepare the Ricotta Filling: Remove the ricotta cream from the fridge and fold in the chocolate chips. Keep refrigerated until ready to assemble.
-
4
Prepare the Ricotta Filling: Remove the ricotta cream from the fridge and fold in the chocolate chips. Keep refrigerated until ready to assemble.
-
5
Assemble the Cassata: Line a mold with plastic wrap. Cover the sides by alternating strips of sponge cake and marzipan. Place a sponge cake disc at the bottom. Fill the mold with the ricotta cream, spreading it evenly, then cover with a second sponge cake disc. Refrigerate for about 3 hours to set.
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6
Prepare the Fondant Glaze: Dissolve icing sugar in a small amount of water over low heat until smooth. Pour the slightly warm glaze over the chilled cassata. Decorate with candied fruit as desired before serving.
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Variations
A variation of the Sicilian cassata that we suggest you try is the Neapolitan cassata.
The Neapolitan cassata is also inspired by the Sicilian version, but there are some differences in the ingredients used. First, it does not include marzipan, which is replaced solely by sponge cake. For the preparation, the sponge cake should be cut in half and lightly soaked with liqueur. This version also calls for a larger amount of sweetened ricotta. Unlike the Sicilian cassata, the Neapolitan version uses cow’s milk ricotta, an important distinction between the two types of recipes.
Another important step that differentiates the Neapolitan cassata from the Sicilian one is that
it must not be turned upside down
, but must be completely covered with fondant sugar and
decorations
to
decorate the Neapolitan cassata
They’re much simpler. Making the recipe is therefore similar to making a cake.
There is yet another variation of this recipe that involves baking the cassata in the oven. This is an alternative to the original version, which features a filling of sheep’s ricotta placed between two shortcrust pastry discs, each about 2 cm thick and 26 cm in diameter.
Did You Know?
Around 998 AD, toward the end of the Muslim rule, it is believed that the recipe for this traditional dessert was invented by the court chefs of the Emir who resided in the Kalsa district of Palermo.
The ancient origin of this recipe is documented in 1575 in a record from the Synod of Mazara del Vallo, where the cassata was described as
“indispensable for Easter celebrations
“ .
It was only in the 1700s that the cake recipe was enriched with its characteristic green border made from almond paste, thanks to the cloistered monasteries that adopted and refined the recipe.
Arborea menus
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Come and discover the most traditional recipes of our homeland, Sardinia. We’ve prepared some simple menus for every day and some more elaborate ones for special occasions.
