Cassata Siciliana
Ingredients
- 165 g eggs (about 3), 100 g sugar, 100 g cake flour, 30 g potato starch, zest of 1 orange, 1-2 tsp vanilla and a pinch of salt, for the sponge
- 800 g ricotta
- 250 g sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla and ½ tsp cinnamon
- 100 g mini dark chocolate chips (70-75%)
- 50 g candied orange, cubed
- 200 g ground almonds, 193 g powdered sugar, 10 g honey, 33 g water and green food colouring, for the marzipan
- 1 tbsp Strega or amaro mixed with 1 tbsp water, for brushing
- 250 g powdered sugar and 40-45 g water, for the glaze
- 15 g egg white, 100 g powdered sugar and a few drops of lemon juice, for the royal icing
- Candied fruits (pumpkin, cherries, pear, orange, mandarin), to decorate
Cassata traces its story to the Arab courts of tenth-century Palermo and was declared indispensable at Easter by a church synod in 1575. It is built in a sloping-sided mould lined with alternating strips of sponge and green pistachio-coloured marzipan, filled with ricotta that has been drained, sieved and sweetened with sugar, vanilla and cinnamon and studded with dark chocolate chips and candied orange. After a day in the fridge the cake is turned out, coated in a thin white sugar glaze, piped with royal icing and decorated with whole candied fruits. It takes three unhurried days, most of them resting.
Method
Day one: whip the eggs and sugar to the ribbon stage, fold in the flour, potato starch, orange zest, vanilla and salt, and bake in a 23 cm tin at 190°C for 15 minutes, then at 180°C for 5 minutes more. Cool.
Drain the ricotta in a cheesecloth for several hours, then pass it through a sieve and beat it with the sugar, vanilla and cinnamon until smooth. Fold in the chocolate chips and candied orange.
Knead the ground almonds, powdered sugar, honey and water into a marzipan and work in green colouring until evenly tinted. Roll it out thinly.
Day two: slice the sponge into thin layers and cut it and the marzipan into trapezoids. Line a 23 cm cassata mould (sloping sides, 5 cm deep) with alternating strips of sponge and marzipan, and lay a sponge disc on the base.
Brush the sponge with the liqueur and water, fill the mould with the ricotta cream and level it. Cover with a final sponge layer, press gently, wrap and refrigerate for 12-24 hours.
Day three: turn the cassata out onto a serving plate. Mix the powdered sugar and water into a fluid glaze and pour it over the top and sides so it sets into a thin white sheet.
Beat the egg white with the powdered sugar and lemon juice into a royal icing, pipe scrolls over the surface and arrange the candied fruits on top. Chill until serving.
