Sicilian Cassata

Instructions

1. 1

   Start preparing the Sicilian cassata the day before serving. Make a sponge cake with the ingredients listed above and follow the instructions by clicking here. Bake it in a rectangular pan measuring 35 cm x 25 cm and then let it cool (we prepare it a day in advance so that it can be cut without crumbling too much). Drain the sheep ricotta well in a colander and then mix it in a bowl with the vanilla-flavored powdered sugar: cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator overnight.

2. 2

   The next day, pass the ricotta through a fine-mesh sieve twice 4 until you obtain a smooth and fluffy cream. At this point, add the chocolate chips (and, if you like, the candied orange cut into small cubes) to the cream and place the resulting filling in the refrigerator in a bowl covered with plastic wrap. Prepare the green marzipan by kneading the marzipan together with the pistachio paste (if you cannot find it, you can use green food coloring), sprinkling the work surface with a little powdered sugar. If you want to make the royal icing yourself, put 125 g of sugar and 50 ml of water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and as soon as the sugar begins to spin (112°-115°), remove the saucepan from the heat; incorporate 125 g of ground almond flour (which you will obtain by blending the blanched almonds with a coffee grinder in small intervals so as not to overheat them and make the oil come out), the pistachio paste and 1 packet of vanillin. Mix until you obtain a homogeneous mixture and then pour it onto a cold marble table. As soon as the royal icing is cooled, work it until it becomes smooth and compact (if necessary, use powdered sugar as you would flour).

3. 3

   Spread the marzipan into a sheet about 12 cm wide and 1/2 cm thick, then cut it in half lengthwise (you will obtain two strips about 6 cm wide) and cut out pieces of dough in the shape of a trapezoid. For the cassata, a special round cake pan with sloping sides about 5 cm high and a slightly raised bottom, typical of Palermo, will be used: the one used in this recipe has a diameter of 30 cm in its widest part. Cut the sponge cake into strips at least 6 cm high from which you will also obtain trapezoids (precisely because the edges of the cake pan are sloping).

4. 4

   Sprinkle the cake pan very well with powdered sugar and then line the sides alternating the trapezoids of sponge cake with those of green marzipan, pressing well against the sides and being careful not to leave gaps between them. If the piece just placed has the upper side wider than the lower one, the following one must have the opposite characteristics. The trapezoids can be placed either with the dark side facing outwards or inwards (see video).

5. 5

   Once the entire perimeter of the cake pan has been completed, you can place the bottom, with the sponge side facing down. Press the edges of the sponge cake well to make it adhere better to the shape of the cake pan. Now, with a knife with a smooth, sharp blade, you can level the pieces that protrude from the sides of the cake pan.

6. 6

   If you wish, you can prepare a syrup to moisten the sponge cake: dissolve 50 g of sugar in 150 ml of water, together with the zest of half a lemon (or orange) and half a shot of liqueur of your choice (maraschino, cointreau, alchermes, strega, etc.) and let it cool. Then pour the syrup over the sponge cake. Now you can fill the bottom with the ricotta cream, which you will level with a spatula. Crumble the remaining sponge cake scraps on the bottom of the cassata, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two to three hours (preferably overnight).

7. 7

   When the cassata is well chilled and the flavors have blended, turn it upside down on a plate and prepare the fondant icing, putting the powdered sugar and a little water in a saucepan, as much as needed to obtain a creamy and still white mixture. As soon as it comes to a boil, the fondant will be ready to be poured into the center of the cassata and spread with a spatula.

8. 8

   Do the same on the sides of the cassata: as you can see, the fondant will dry almost immediately as soon as it is spread and should have a shiny and transparent consistency. Now you can proceed with decorating the cassata: cut strips of candied citron (candied pumpkin) and candied fruit into small pieces. Place the slices of citron on the cassata, curving them to form the petals of a flower, in the center of which you can put, for example, a half-cut candied mandarin (23-

9. 9

   Divertitevi a decorare la cassata con la frutta candita a vostra disposizione alternando vari colori e cromie. Il tocco finale sarà dato dalla decorazione con la ghiaccia reale, che realizzerete sbattendo un albume a neve e aggiungendo poco alla volta lo zucchero a velo fino ad ottenere una consistenza molto densa. Con una tasca da pasticciere munita di bocchetta con foro piuttosto sottile, create delle decorazioni sia sulla frutta 26 che sui bordi della cassata, per renderla ancora più ricca e sontuosa. Ora la vostra magnifica cassata siciliana è pronta per essere gustata!