Cassata Cake Recipe

This Cassata Cake is the perfect way to end your Italian feast on a sweet note. Learn how to make Cassata cake in this easy step-by-step recipe.

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?
• HOW TO MAKE A CASSATA CAKE?
• YOU MAY ALSO LIKE THESE CAKES,
• HOW TO MAKE CASSATA CAKE?
• Cassata Cake Recipe

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.

I found a fairly simple version of this Italian cake with ricotta filling on the web, followed it practically to the T. The only changes I did was I used half of the quantity of the whipping cream as I wanted the cake to have a naked sided look. I baked this in a 7-inch cake pan to give it that tall look.

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?

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STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE CASSATA CAKE

{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.

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.

3.In a small bowl, combine rum and water along with remaining granulated sugar, mix well. For a non-alcoholic version, simply use some fruit juice and add sugar accordingly.

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?

Cassata Cake Recipe

Ingredients1x2x3x

Measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml, 1 tsp = 5 ml. Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature.

• 1 (18-1/4-ounce) oz package yellow cake mix
• 1 (15) oz container ricotta cheese
• 1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar, divided
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tbsp dark rum
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup heavy cream, I reduced it to 1/2 as I did not frost the entire cake
• 2 tbsp confectioners’ sugar
• 1 cup sliced almonds, toasted (I used 1/4 cup)

Instructions

• 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.
• 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.
• In a small bowl, combine rum and water along with remaining granulated sugar, mix well. For a non-alcoholic version, simply use some fruit juice and add sugar accordingly.
• Divide the cake into 2 layers with the help of a serrated knife.
• Drizzle half of the prepared rum/fruit juice mixture over each cake layer until liquid soaks completely.
• Place one cake layer on a serving platter, spread the ricotta cheese mixture and top it off with the second cake layer.
• 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.

Notes

I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to share your feedback with photos and suggestions to me at aromaticessence77@gmail.com

You can also follow me on :

Facebook @ Aromaticessence

Pinterest @ Aromatic Essence

Instagram @ aromatic_essence77

Twitter @ freda_dias

Regards,

Freda

Cassata Cake Recipe

Ingredients

Measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml, 1 tsp = 5 ml. Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature.

• 1 (18-1/4-ounce) oz package yellow cake mix
• 1 (15) oz container ricotta cheese
• 1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar, divided
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tbsp dark rum
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup heavy cream, I reduced it to 1/2 as I did not frost the entire cake
• 2 tbsp confectioners’ sugar
• 1 cup sliced almonds, toasted (I used 1/4 cup)

Instructions

• 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.
• 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.
• In a small bowl, combine rum and water along with remaining granulated sugar, mix well. For a non-alcoholic version, simply use some fruit juice and add sugar accordingly.
• Divide the cake into 2 layers with the help of a serrated knife.
• Drizzle half of the prepared rum/fruit juice mixture over each cake layer until liquid soaks completely.
• Place one cake layer on a serving platter, spread the ricotta cheese mixture and top it off with the second cake layer.
• 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.

Notes

I absolutely love kebabs/ croquettes as an appetizer. Also it is a great finger food for kids and adults alike.

My original plan was to make only corn kebabs like I do usually. But I happened to have some paneer , so thought of incorporating it too. These corn and paneer kebabs turned out extremely delicious , even better than the normal corn kebabs. This mixture actually mimics a non vegetarian kebab mixture, Seriously you wouldn’t know that these are vegetarian.Crisp exterior and succulent on the inside, this kebab is truly a foodie’s delight! Do give them a try! 🙂

Ingredients:

Measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml

300 grams / approx 2 cups of organic corn kernels

200 grams paneer / approx 1 & 3/4 cup finely grated paneer

1/4 cup green & red bell peppers

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste

chillies as per desired heat

handful of cilantro leaves, chopped

1 teaspoon dried mint powder/ 2 tablespoon finely chopped mint leaves

1 teaspoon red chilly powder

1 teaspoon garam masala

1 teaspoon amchoor powder

1/4 teaspoon cumin powder

1 to 2 tablespoons roasted Chana dal powder

Salt to season

breadcrumbs for binding, as required ( I used about 3/4 cup)

Oil , as required for frying

Preparation:

1. In a saucepan, bring water to a boil, add the corn kernels and little salt, parboil them for a couple of minutes until tender but still have a bite. Drain them in a colander. Pat dry the excess moisture with a clean kitchen napkin.Transfer them to your food processor / electric grinder and grind to coarse paste. Do not add any water.
2. Now in a mixing bowl, add the coarse corn paste, grated paneer and all the other ingredients and spices. Mix well. Add in the breadcrumbs next, 1/4 cup at a time, mix well, and check if the mixture can hold it’s shape in the form of a patty. Cover the bowl with a cling film and refrigerate this kebab mixture for about 30 minutes.
3. Now grease your palms with little oil or wet your palms with water, form patties of the kebab mixture , transfer to a plate.
4. In a non stick /cast iron skillet, heat oil on medium heat, and shallow fry these kebabs until golden brown on both sides. Serve with cilantro- mint ( dhania pudina) chutney or ketchup along with some sliced onion rings and lime wedges. ( Please refer notes for frying these kebabs)

Notes:

1. You can also deep fry these kebabs , or use the paniyaram/ ebelskiver pan to fry them.
2. The kebab mixture is a little moist , try frying only one kebab first to check if they remain intact and also ensure that it doesn’t stick to the pan. If you find that the kebabs break or stick to the pan, then just coat the kebas with cornflour/ maida/ breadcrumbs and fry.
3. Feel free to adjust the quantities of the spices.

I would love to hear from you , please feel free to share your feedback with photos and suggestions to me at aromaticessence77@gmail.com

You can also follow me on Facebook @ Aromaticessence and Pinterest @ Aromatic Essence for regular updates.

Thanks for stopping by!

Regards,

Freda