It’s time for another challenge for the month of February. Last month’s challenge was the rare recipe challenge. The topic for this month is Cakes we have to try. The judges for this month’s challenge are Suzanne and Jhuls. I was pretty impressed with the list of cakes Lina came up with for all of us. I chose to make a Sicilian cassata cake. Funny I never knew cassata was a cake since in India it’s quite popular as layered ice cream. And frankly, the cake is no different as it’s a layered one too. Let me brief you up on a little about this cake if you have never heard about it like me.
WHAT IS CASSATA CAKE?
Cassata is a traditional Italian dessert, specific to its origin in Sicily. Basically, it’s made of normal sponge cake, moistened with liqueur, layered with ricotta cheese mixture and then frosted with sweetened whipped cream topped with candied fruits, nuts etc. The traditional cassata cake has a shell of marzipan as it’s outer covering. The ricotta filling is quite similar to the one that is used to fill a cannoli, one of my favorite Italian desserts. Except for a cannoli, the ricotta mixture is mixed with whipped cream, and here, it isn’t.
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Eggless Kit Kat cake from scratch Upon some further research, I learned that this is not an authentic Sicilian Cassata cake recipe, but is more of the version that you will find in Cleaveland, Ohio. There are two kinds of cassata cake that show up on Google, one is the American version and the other is the traditional Italian recipe complete with marzipan and candied fruits. I’d definitely like to try that someday!
HOW TO MAKE A CASSATA CAKE?
You need 4 elements to make this Cassata Ricotta Cake-
Sponge cake The rum mixture to moisten the cake layers The ricotta cheese filling Whipped cream and toasted almonds If you want to go the traditional route, then you will need marzipan for the outer covering.
I used my vanilla cake recipe, the one that I shared a couple of days back. You can use that as the base, skip the tutti frutti. If you have a favorite sponge cake recipe, feel free to use that. Or if you aren’t feeling that adventurous to bake a cake from scratch, then use a boxed cake mix. I leave that to you 🙂 So how did the cake turn out? Well, it was really nice, quite an unusual one. I love how the toasted almonds gave the cake such a pretty and contrasting look. It was moist from the all that rum mixture. Basically there are so many layers of texture in one slice of this cake, there’s the moist sponge with a feeble hint of rum, then comes the creamy ricotta cheese mixture that has been flavored with cinnamon & vanilla, you get the crunch from the chocolate chips, and finally that sweet whipped cream frosting along with the toasted almonds to finish it all off! Now isn’t that a big list and reason enough for you to try this easy Cassata cake recipe? Butterscotch Cake Eggless rasmalai cake Eggless Red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting 2.In a medium mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese, chocolate chips, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon, mix well, cover the bowl and refrigerate until ready to use. {You will find the complete printable recipe card below after the stepwise pictorials} 1.Bake the cake batter according to package directions for two 9-inch round layers or you can use my basic vanilla cake recipe to make an 8 or 7-inch cake. Transfer the pan to a wire rack, let it cool for 15 minutes. Then remove the cake from the pan let it cool completely on the wire rack.
4.Divide the cake into 2 layers with the help of a serrated knife.
5.Drizzle half of the prepared rum/fruit juice mixture over each cake layer until liquid soaks completely.
6.Place one cake layer on a serving platter, spread the ricotta cheese mixture and top it off with the second cake layer.
7.In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat heavy cream and confectioners’ sugar on high speed for 5 to 6 minutes, or until stiff peaks form. Do not over beat, or you will end up with butter. Frost the cake with whipped cream and sprinkle toasted almonds. Cover loosely and refrigerate it for at least 2 hours before serving.
HOW TO MAKE CASSATA CAKE?
I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to share your feedback with photos and suggestions to me at [email protected] Facebook @ Aromaticessence Pinterest @ Aromatic Essence Instagram @ aromatic_essence77 Twitter @ freda_dias Regards, Freda
