Cassata Siciliana

Ingredients

Photo 1	Ricotta	500 gr
	Sugar	300 gr
	Chocolate drops	100 gr
	Candied fruit	150 gr
	Genovese sponge (Pan di Spagna)	500 gr
	(Photo 1)

Procedure, ricotta

Sift the ricotta using a fine screen (photo 2), then add the sugar and mix well with narrow spatula until the mixture is smooth and homogenous. Add the candied fruit (photo 3), mixing constantly and finally add the chocolate drops (photo 4).

Photo 2

Photo 3

Photo 4

Syrup

Water	1,5 dl
Sugar	150 gr
Maraschino	1,5 dl
Lemon peal

Procedure, syrup

Boil the water, the sugar and the lemon peal, then add the Maraschino. Let it cool down.

Marzipan (quantity for a 300 gr cassata)

Icing sugar	500 gr
Honey	130 gr
Confectionary sugar	800 gr
Almond flour	450 gr
Pistachio flour (the pistachios can be replaced by almonds)	150 gr
Water (if desired, colour with some drops of green or yellow natural extract)	25/30 gr

Procedure, marzipan

Mix the icing sugar and honey in the Planetary mixer, add the confectionary sugar and the almond and pistachio flours, then the water. Mix well until smooth. Set aside covered with film. Then, roll out to a thickness of 3mm (photos 5, 6 & 7).

Photo 5

Photo 6

Photo 7

Icing sugar

Sugar	500 gr
Water	1,5 dl
Glucose	40 gr

Procedure, icing sugar

Pour the sugar in a pan, add the water little by little, when the sugar begins to melt add the glucose. Bring to 115° C (photo 8).Pour the content onto a silicone mat and let cool (photo 9),put the mixture into the Planetary mixer and let it aerate (photo 10), it will whiten and harden, continue until it becomes smooth and white (photo 11). Set aside in a cool place covered with film (photo 12).

Photo 8	Photo 9	Photo 10
Photo 8	Photo 11	Photo 12

Royal icing

Egg white	1
Confectionary sugar (fine enough to apply with a decorating bag)	250/300 gr
Lemon juice	10 gr

Procedure, royal icing

Vigorously mix the egg white with the sugar, add the lemon juice (photo 13).

Photo 13

Assembling the cassata

Photo 14		Marzipan
		Icing sugar
		Royal icing
		Candied fruit
		(Photo 14)

Line a mould, 24 cm diameter, with film (photo 15), the film will help when removing the cassata, line it with slices of Genovese sponge between 5 and 8 mm thick (photo 16) and soak the sponge with the syrup (photo 17). Fill this with the ricotta mixture, cover with Genovese sponge (photo 18), soak with the syrup, cover with film (photo 19) and let repose at least two hours in the refrigerator.
Roll out the almond dough to a thickness of 3 mm (photo 20).

Photo 15	Photo 16	Photo 17
Photo 18	Photo 19	Photo 20

After it has reposed in the refrigerator, remove the cassata from the mould (photo 21), remove the film and cover it with the marzipan (photos 22 & 23). Place it on a rack and glaze with the icing sugar (photo 24), once melted with a little water and heated to 55° C.
Decorate with citron, orange and cherries (photo 25). Finish decorating with the royal icing (photo 26).