Crostata di Cassata alla Siciliana
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Author Notes: A few weeks ago, I was looking at one of my mother’s dinner party menus from when I was a teenager -- my mother typed and posted them well in advance of the event, for the benefit of her sous chefs and everyone else – and remembered how much fun we had discovering and making one of our favorite winter dinner party desserts, a Cassata alla Siciliana. It immediately became, and still is, one of my favorite desserts. We used the recipe from Time-Life’s “Cooking of Italy,” published in 1968, which calls for a pound cake that’s cut horizontally into three layers, between which you put ricotta that’s sweetened with sugar and orange liqueur, and studded with candied orange peel and bits of chocolate. The cake is then wrapped tightly, to allow the ricotta to soak into the cake, and then later is frosted with a dark chocolate and butter frosting. I’ve taken the basic components of the cassata (minus the pound cake, though I've flavored the ricotta filling to taste just a bit like one) and incorporated them into this tart. The candied orange peel I made in late December is long gone, so instead I used a carrot and orange marmalade that I made and posted here last year (during an end-of-winter produce doldrums-induced marmalade-making binge). Any orange or other citrus marmalade would work well. The nuts add a pleasant texture and fragrance, while providing the perfect resting place for the dark chocolate on top. Enjoy!! ;o)
- AntoniaJames
Makes one gorgeous 9-inch tart
- 1 tart crust, blind baked (See note below)
- 2 tablespoons yellow raisins
- 2 tablespoons orange liqueur
- 1 pound ricotta (preferably homemade)
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Zest of one lemon, grated
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons buttermilk
- 3/4 cup marmalade
- 1 ½ ounces dark chocolate, finely shaved, divided (I use a vegetable peeler for this.)
- 1 cup pecan pieces, chopped (measured after chopping)
- In a small bowl, soak the raisins in the liqueur. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Blend in a food processor the ricotta, sugar, flour, vanilla extract, lemon zest, egg yolks and buttermilk until thoroughly combined and smooth. It will take two or three minutes, during which time you should scrape down the sides three or four times.
- Pour the liqueur off the raisins, pressing down on them; then add the liqueur to the ricotta mixture. Buzz for another few seconds to incorporate.
- Slather the marmalade on the bottom of the blind-baked shell. Add more than the 3/4 cup if you like it and you have extra . . . the more, the merrier, here.
- Sprinkle on about a third of the chocolate shavings, and the soused raisins.
- Spread on the flavored ricotta. It works best just to drop some large globs of it on, and then gently smear it across the chocolate-covered marmalade. It's sort of like icing a cake. And it will smell delicious. Don't worry if some of the marmalade sticks to your spatula and gets into the ricotta. Once it's baked, no one will ever know. When you've gotten the ricotta smooth, sprinkle on the nuts.
- Bake in the bottom third of your oven for about 25 minutes. (Frame the outer crust, with foil or whatever other device you use, to keep it from getting too dark, if necessary. That will depend on how dark the outer crust got when you blind baked it.)
- Sprinkle on the rest of the chocolate shavings, lower the heat to 325 degrees, cover the tart lightly with foil, and bake for another 10 minutes.
- Allow to cool for at least two hours before serving.
- Enjoy!! ;o)
- N.B. I used the 3-2-1 ratio for pie crust in Michael Ruhlman’s exposition on the ratios compiled by Uwe Hestner, now retired chef-instructor at the Culinary Institute of America, in Ruhlman’s book entitled “Ratio.” I adapted the nut crust variation, grinding pecans with a few tablespoons of sugar, substituting a good bit of Mexican vanilla for part of the water, and using 2 parts of all-purpose flour to one part barley flour. I pressed the crust into the tart pan, but used a straight-sided small juice glass to roll it even. It smelled heavenly while blind-baking, like nut crescent cookies, because frankly, it's essentially the same dough. The ricotta filling has many of the same ingredients as the Crostata di Ricotta recipe in the same Time-Life book as the Cassata alla Siciliana recipe, but I scaled down the amount of ricotta and altered the proportions to create the relatively thin layer of what is essentially a pound-cake flavored cheesecake in this dessert. ;o)
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Recipe with Fresh Ricotta
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Late Winter Tart (Sweet or Savory)
Tags: can be made ahead, can be made ahead, cheesecake, cookies, Desserts, dinner party, Italian, Italian, Italian, Italian, ricotta, ricotta, serves a crowd, travels well, winter
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about 2 years ago testkitchenette
This is utterly amazing and I love your little touch of buttermilk in there too!
about 2 years ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Thanks so much. I really like buttermilk with citrus (in fact, I posted an orange buttermilk sherbet here a week or two before I made this) . . . . plus, I thought just a hint of tangy flavor would go well with the marmalade and dark chocolate. I use a Bulgarian buttermilk (which is extra tangy) by the way, in dishes like this. It's great stuff if you can get it. ;o)
about 2 years ago TheWimpyVegetarian
Oh how I wish I could eat nuts! What would this be like without them? Or do you have any substitutions you would recommend? Beautiful photo and recipe, AJ!!
about 2 years ago hardlikearmour
hardlikearmour is a trusted home cook.
What if you subbed pine nuts - would be very Italian, don't you think?
about 2 years ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
I would try pine nuts! A traditional cassata alla Siciliana doesn't have any nuts in it, but the crostata di ricotta, which is very similar to the filling in this pie, often is covered in pine nuts. I'd use a regular crust, with perhaps some toasted wheat germ in it and a bit of barley flour, which both give it a nutty taste. I do hope you try it!! And thank you, as always, for your kind comment. ;o)
about 2 years ago TheWimpyVegetarian
Pine nuts I can do. I've been adding wheat germ to some of my breads lately, so I think I'll use your idea of adding it to the crust along with the barley flour. I've added this great sounding recipe to my list to try!
about 2 years ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
I actually think that pine nuts might even be better, as they have a sort of savoriness to them that could go really well with the dark chocolate and the vanilla-pound-cake-flavored filling. . . not to mention, they'd be unexpected. Go for it!! ;o)
about 2 years ago SallyCan
Yes, that is one gorgeous tart! Thanks for the memory ;)
about 2 years ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Thank you, Sally! I can taste and smell the fragrance and remember the texture of Mother's cassata as I sit here tonight . . . . and I can see us making it, too. Very, very good memories, indeed. ;o) P.S. Do you remember, did she make her sour cream cake in loaves for this?
about 2 years ago Midge
This looks wonderful. Love that you were inspired by cassata cake, one of my all-time favorite desserts.
about 2 years ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Hey, thanks so much, Midge. You know, I've never seen Cassata alla Siciliana on a restaurant menu or in a pasticceria in the US or anywhere else, nor have I been served it at any dinner party other than those my mother's. It seems that cassata hasn't received the recognition it deserves, given its deliciousness. Pound cake, liqueur-flavored ricotta, and just a bit of dark chocolate . . . . what's not to love?! ;o)
about 2 years ago Midge
Come to the think of it, I haven't either. The cake I grew up with though is a very Americanized version, almost like a trifle, made by my Italian grandmother. But I love it!
about 2 years ago hardlikearmour
hardlikearmour is a trusted home cook.
There's a version of Cassata at Papa Haydn in Portland. It uses coffee and espresso to soak the sponge cake, and a bittersweet chocolate ricotta filling. It's good, but your version sounds better!
about 2 years ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Yes, I've heard that many Americans make it with a sponge cake instead of a pound cake, which would make it much lighter and more like a trifle. I think the buttery, lemon-scented, ricotta-soaked pound cake is what makes the dessert unique, which is why I tried to replicate that in the ricotta layer here. ;o)
about 2 years ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
HLA that cassata at Papa Haydn's sounds good, but it doesn't sound like a cassata to me . . . . though I am admittedly no expert. The plain pound cake and the little bits of orange peel with the little bits of chocolate, in that white ricotta background, are what make it so good. But hey, I love creativity and interpretation and extrapolation, so more power to Papa Haydn. ;o)
about 2 years ago thirschfeld
looks wonderful, glad you got freed up to get this posted, saving it to my recipes as we speak.
about 2 years ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Thank you so much, Mr. H. I'm honored that you're saving it!! ;o)
about 2 years ago caddysnax
that cassata recipe is classic and one of my favorite desserts too. i'd make more orange peel just for this though the marmalade sounds pretty good.
about 2 years ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
You could use candied orange peel instead, or any citrus peel for that matter, but I'd use a fair bit of it, to get the citrus flavor and the chewy texture. ;o)
about 2 years ago TasteFood
This sounds amazing, AJ!
about 2 years ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Thanks, TF! I have to agree with BigBear that it turned out particularly well . . . . . ;o)
about 2 years ago healthierkitchen
It is a gorgeous tart!
about 2 years ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Thank you, HK!! You noticed . . . . .;o)
about 2 years ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
Wow! This looks awesome! I can't think of any other way to put it!
about 2 years ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Thanks so much, fiveandspice. According to the two other family members who made short work of it with a lot of happy food-eating sounds, it tastes pretty good, too. ;o)
about 2 years ago BigBear
The jam on the bottom is killer. Quite possibly one of your best desserts, ever.
about 2 years ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Thank you so much. Glad you liked it. ;o)
about 2 years ago drbabs
Barbara is a trusted source on General Cooking.
Fabulous, AJ!
about 2 years ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Thank you, Dr. B! ;o)
about 2 years ago hardlikearmour
hardlikearmour is a trusted home cook.
Wow, AJ! Your talent amazes me as always.
about 2 years ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Thanks, HLA! The feeling is mutual, of course. ;o)
about 2 years ago Fairmount_market
This sounds delicious! I'm tempted to try it with some homemade hearty kiwi jam I have in the pantry.
about 2 years ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Oh, that sounds divine . . . .. just the though of the tart kiwi + dark chocolate makes my mouth water. But wait, you said Kiwi Jam?? I've never made kiwi jam, and the kiwis at the market are just gorgeous these days! I feel a project coming on . . . . . ;o)
about 2 years ago TheWimpyVegetarian
If you make some, AJ, you gotta post it!!