Cassata
calories: high
category: dessert
cost: medium
difficulty: high
preparation time: 210
Ingredients
Ricotta cheese 800 gr.
Sponge cake 500 gr.
Sugar 250 gr.
Candied fruit 200 gr.
Black chocolate 150 gr.
Icing sugar 150 gr.
Apricot gelatine 150 gr.
Maraschino 1 small glass
Vanilla 1 stick
Pistachio 1 spoonful
Orange blossom water 2 spoonfuls
Ground Cinnamon a pinch
Salt to taste
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Sponge cake 500 gr.
Sugar 250 gr.
Candied fruit 200 gr.
Black chocolate 150 gr.
Icing sugar 150 gr.
Apricot gelatine 150 gr.
Maraschino 1 small glass
Vanilla 1 stick
Pistachio 1 spoonful
Orange blossom water 2 spoonfuls
Ground Cinnamon a pinch
Salt to taste
See our
Wine Tips
for your meals
Preparation Put the sugar, vanilla stick and a couple of spoonfuls of water into a pot. Let the sugar melt on low heat mixing with a wooden spoon and then remove the vanilla.
Sieve the ricotta and put it into a bowl , mixing it well with a wooden spoon until it is soft and creamy. Without stopping to mix, add the melted sugar and a pinch of cinnamon. Chop up the black chocolate and dice the candied fruit and add them to the ricotta, laying aside a little candied fruit.
In a small pot, put a little salted water and throw in the pistachios for a few moments. Then take them out with a ladle with holes, peel them and add them to the ricotta, and mix well. Flavour with the maraschino.
Line a cake dish of about 25 centimeters diameter with greaseproof paper. With a sharp knife cut the sponge cake into slices a centimeter thick and cover the bottom and the sides of the dish. Use a little fruit gelatine to make them stick.
Then pour the mixture into the cake dish and make it level it with a spatula. Then cover it with the rest of the sponge cake. Cover it with a plastic film and put it into the refrigerator for a couple of hours.
In a pot, put 2 to 3 spoonfuls of apricot gelatine and the same amount of icing sugar. On low heat and mixing well, let the ingredients melt. Check that it has reached the right thickness by taking the mixture into your hands. If it forms a thread, take it off the heat.
Take the cake out of the cake pan and put it onto a sheet of greaseproof paper. Spread the gelatine over the top with the aid of a spatula.
Put the black chocolate into a small pot and add the orange blossom water. Put the pot on the fire at a very low heat and let it melt stirring with a wooden spoon. Pour the melted chocolate on the middle of the cake then cover the whole cake with a spatula.
Let it dry then place the cake on a serving dish and decorate it with the remaining candied fruit and serve. The Chef's tips Raisin Wine is a 13 to 15° sweet golden coloured wine with a taste giving a sensation of raisins and honeysuckle, to be served at 10 to 12°C. Curiosity This is a sweet eaten in Palermo whose origin comes from the Arab "Quas' at" which means "a small round bowl", because of its original shape. The combination of the various flavours goes back to Saracen cuisine.
Sieve the ricotta and put it into a bowl , mixing it well with a wooden spoon until it is soft and creamy. Without stopping to mix, add the melted sugar and a pinch of cinnamon. Chop up the black chocolate and dice the candied fruit and add them to the ricotta, laying aside a little candied fruit.
In a small pot, put a little salted water and throw in the pistachios for a few moments. Then take them out with a ladle with holes, peel them and add them to the ricotta, and mix well. Flavour with the maraschino.
Line a cake dish of about 25 centimeters diameter with greaseproof paper. With a sharp knife cut the sponge cake into slices a centimeter thick and cover the bottom and the sides of the dish. Use a little fruit gelatine to make them stick.
Then pour the mixture into the cake dish and make it level it with a spatula. Then cover it with the rest of the sponge cake. Cover it with a plastic film and put it into the refrigerator for a couple of hours.
In a pot, put 2 to 3 spoonfuls of apricot gelatine and the same amount of icing sugar. On low heat and mixing well, let the ingredients melt. Check that it has reached the right thickness by taking the mixture into your hands. If it forms a thread, take it off the heat.
Take the cake out of the cake pan and put it onto a sheet of greaseproof paper. Spread the gelatine over the top with the aid of a spatula.
Put the black chocolate into a small pot and add the orange blossom water. Put the pot on the fire at a very low heat and let it melt stirring with a wooden spoon. Pour the melted chocolate on the middle of the cake then cover the whole cake with a spatula.
Let it dry then place the cake on a serving dish and decorate it with the remaining candied fruit and serve.
