Sicilian Cassata

Instructions

FIRST DAY

Prepare sponge cake.

1. Line a 23 cm diameter baking tin with baking paper, grease the sides of the tin with butter to help the paper stick. Set aside
2. Preheat the oven to 374ºF/190ºC, heat up and down.
3. In the bowl of the mixer add the eggs, sugar and salt.
4. Beat with the whisk on medium-high speed until you obtain the ribbon point, letter point or "monter au ruban" in French. You should beat the eggs until they are whitish in colour, with a voluminous texture and fall evenly and continuously, like a ribbon or string. The process can take 10-15 minutes.
5. While the eggs are being whipped, grate the orange. Remember not to grate the white part so as not to add bitterness to the cake.
6. Once the eggs are beaten, add the grated orange along with the whisk. Mix for a few seconds to distribute evenly.
7. Mix the flour together with the starch. Start to integrate it into the egg mixture, little by little, while mixing. Mix just until there is no flour left.
8. If you notice any remaining flour on the sides of the bowl, fold in the mixture with a silicone spatula using gentle, encircling movements.
9. Pour the mixture into the mould and bake at 374ºF/190ºC for 15 minutes. Reduce to 356ºF/180ºC and bake for a further 5 minutes. Before taking it out, check with a toothpick that it comes out clean.
10. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.
11. Wrap tightly in cling film and refrigerate until the next day.

Prepare ricotta filling.

1. Place a colander over a bowl and place a cheesecloth on top of it.
2. Place the ricotta cheese on the cheesecloth and bring the corners of the cheesecloth together, lift and apply a little force to drain the cheese. Press until the whey is completely removed.
3. I recommend letting the cheese rest for a few minutes after pressing before pressing again. I did this step 3 times in total.
4. Transfer the cheese to a clean bowl and add the sugar and cinnamon.
5. Mix with the help of a whisk or your hands until the ingredients are combined.
6. If you wish, you can process the mixture with the help of a blender to achieve a smooth and silky texture. In my case I omitted this step for this preparation, but I did it for the Sicilian cannoli.
7. Cover with cling film and refrigerate until the next day.

Prepare green marzipan.

1. Place the ground almonds, powdered sugar sugar, honey and water in a bowl. Mix together.
2. Check the consistency of the marzipan and, if necessary, add a little more water. The almond paste should be manageable and not crumbly. The final amount of water will depend on the degree of drying of the almonds; the older they are, the more water they need.
3. Once formed, add the green colouring (I recommend wearing gloves to avoid staining your hands). Knead the marzipan until it is a uniform green colour.
4. The amount of green colouring to be added can be adjusted to your taste until the desired shade is achieved.
5. Form into a cylinder, cover with cling film and leave to rest for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight in the fridge if it is hot, or at room temperature in a cool, dry place at home.

SECOND DAY

Line the mould with the marzipan.

1. Line the inside of the mould with cling film. Set aside.
2. Sprinkle a work surface with a little icing sugar and roll out the marzipan.
3. Use an adjustable rolling pin to give a thickness of 6 mm. You will have some marzipan left over, remember to wrap it in cling film to prevent it from drying out.
4. With the help of a cutter, cut one of the edges to achieve a smooth finish. This side will be placed touching the base of the mould.
5. To place the marzipan in the mould, ideally, roll the marzipan on itself (forming a spiral or snail) and that way, we can place it while unrolling it. I had planned to do it that way, but I was so focused on putting it inside the mould that I completely missed it.
6. Cut off the excess marzipan and seal the joint very well.

Cut the sponge cake and place in the mold.

1. With the help of a cake cutter or a serrated knife, cut the sponge cake. For the cassata you need two 1 cm thick discs of sponge cake.
2. To fit one of the sponge discs perfectly on the base, I used a 22 cm diameter cake base as a template. I cut off the excess from the edge, so that the sponge fits perfectly on the base.
3. Place the cake inside the mould, with the golden side facing upwards, and adjust.
4. Brush the cake lightly with the liqueur and water mixture.

Place the filling and finish covering the cassata.

1. Put all the ricotta filling into the mould, smooth the surface.
2. Place the other disc of sponge cake on top of the filling and adjust. If you wish, you can place a tart disc on top of the last sponge cake.
3. Cover tightly with cling film and refrigerate for 12-24 hours.

THIRD DAY

Prepare the icing for the topping.

1. Mix the powdered sugar with the water until completely homogenised.
2. You should get a consistency similar to the one in the video.
   

Cover the Sicilian cassata with the icing.

1. Spread a generous layer of the icing over the surface. Use a pastry spoon or spatula to spread the icing to the edges of the cake.
2. Using a pastry brush, brush the sides (the marzipan). The icing helps to preserve the freshness of the marzipan and prevent it from drying out too much, as well as giving a nice finish.
3. Allow to dry completely at room temperature before decorating. This can take 3-4 hours.

Prepare Royal icing

1. Mix all the ingredients together until you have a homogeneous icing with an outline texture.
2. Pour into a piping bag with a piping nozzle.

Decorate Sicilian cassata.

1. Decorate the surface of the cassata, in my case I have left you this presentation suggestion which is inspired by this jewel made by a real artist (I still have a lot of practice to do!), but you can do whatever you like. Even something simpler.
2. Let the glaze dry before placing the fruits. At this point, in my case, I let it dry and refrigerated until the next day.
3. Decorate the surface with candied fruits as you like.
4. Traditionally, candied fruits are usually decorated with icing. In my case I opted for golden sprinkles.
5. Serve.
   

Notes

• It is very important to be well organised so that you have three days to carry it out.
• To make this cake it is not necessary to use baking powder. The sponge cake rises very well thanks to the whipped eggs.
• The sponge cake should rest overnight in the refrigerator so that it can be easily cut the next day.
• The mini chocolate chips should have a high cocoa content, no less than 70-75%. The reason is that the cake, as a whole, is quite sweet. The bitterness of the chocolate goes very well as part of the filling.
  
• If you don't want to add candied orange to the filling, you can substitute it with more chocolate chips.
• Normally, once the ricotta has been drained, it is beaten with a turmix to achieve a silky texture. This time I decided to keep the texture it had after mixing it with my hands. But keep in mind that it can be done and that it softens the final texture a lot.
• The marzipan can be made and used on the same day, if you wish. Letting it rest helps to enhance the aromas, as well as allowing the almonds to hydrate well.
• When you stretch the marzipan and see cracks forming, this is a sign that it needs more water. No problem, add a little more water, mix well and roll out again. Be careful when adding the water, do it little by little, kneading very well and observing how it behaves. We can always add more, but it is not easy to remove the excess. It can be done by adding more almonds and icing, but this would force us to calculate the quantities in order to maintain a good proportion.
  
• As we stretch, remove scraps, join them together... The marzipan will dry out. Most probably, you will need to add a little water. You can do it with your hands, a coffee spoon or a bottle.
• This marzipan does not require baking because it does not contain egg white.
• In my case I have used green paste colouring, but you can use any variety of food colouring.
• It is very important to drain the cheese with a cheesecloth, otherwise we will be left with a watery filling that will spoil the texture of the sponge cake and the marzipan.
• You must follow the steps I detail throughout the whole process, but especially in the resting and drying times of the glaze. If you don't wait for the icing to dry, when you pour the decoration, it will sink or mix with the icing.
• Decoration is optional, you can make this step as complicated as you like. Or do something much simpler, of course.
• You can use the candied fruits of your choice.
• Once assembled, you can keep it refrigerated for 4-5 days.
  

Archivado en

• Breakfast
• Candied cherries
• Christmas
• Marzipan
• Ricotta