Cassata Siciliana

This is a real show stopper of cake- a Sicilian classic that’s as delicious as it is garish from the jewel like candied fruits.

Its Arabic roots are confirmed and the first elementary versions of this cake were made in Palmermo around 10c – during the Muslim occupation.

The Arabic word qas’ah from which cassata has derived refers to the bowl that the cake is traditionally shaped in.

As this cake is all about the candied fruits its worth taking your time to get some nice ones-  the brightestones are not always the best and can just taste of sugar. The best candied fruits will be sweet but with a subtle taste of their natural flavor. www.buywholefoodsonline.co.ukstock some lovely whole fruits and they are all natural and organic.

This recipe requires some planning and will require time for prep although you could split over two days if you wish.- some good advice is to read through the recipe two or three times before getting stuck in. 

Serves 10-12

Unsalted Butter for greasing the tin

130g and 2 tbsp. flour, sifted, plus more for dusting the tin

280g caster sugar

grated zest of half orange

6 eggs

85g shelled green pistachios

360g icing sugar

1 egg white, lightly beaten

2 tbsp. Grand Marnier 

1 lb. ricotta, drained overnight in a cheesecloth-lined strainer, or ricotta impastata- (pre drained)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1⁄2 tsp ground cinnamon

1⁄4 tsp salt

juice of 1 lemon

Whole candied fruits, such as oranges, apricots, and cherries, halved

Candied citron, cut in strips     

You’ll need a 9 inch/23cm cake tin and a 30cm pie dish or similar for this recipe

Heat an oven to 180oc

Grease and flour the cake tin and set aside

Place the eggs, zest and 130g of the caster sugar into the bowl of a mixer and beat on high speed until pale and light. Now fold in the flour and combine well to form the batter. Pour into the cake tin, smooth the top and bake for about 30 minutes until the cake is golden an cooked through. A skewer should come out clean. When cooked transfer the cake t a rack to cool and then remove the tin.

When fully cooled cut the cake into ½ inch thick strips- on the cross wise.

Line the base and sides of the pie tin with cling film.

Place the pistachios in a food processor with 120g of icing sugar and blitz until finely ground. Now add the egg white to form a smooth paste- like marzipan.

Dust a work surface with plenty of icing sugar and turn out the pistachio dough on to this and knead for 3 minutes. Roll out the dough to ¼ inch thick and then cut the dough into aprox 2 inch strips to line the side of the pie dish with an overlap. Press any joins together so its nice, smooth and continuous ring.

Heat  75g caster sugar with 75ml water to dissolve and add the grand marnier.

In a large bowl whisk together the ricotta, vanilla, cinnamon and remaining 75g caster sugar until smooth and creamy.

To assemble, line the bottom of the prepared pie dish with cake strips, cutting to fit, and then sprinkle with about half Grand Marnier syrup; place ricotta mixture on top of cake and spread evenly to fill pie dish, smoothing the top evenly. Cover the top of ricotta mixture with remaining cake slices, cutting to fit evenly, and drizzle with the remaining syrup; trim excess pistachio marzipan and then wrap pie dish in Clingfilm and refrigerate until chilled. Meanwhile, combine the remaining icing sugar and lemon juice in a medium bowl to make a thick icing. Invert the pie dish onto a serving dish or wooden board and peel off the clingfilm. Pour the icing over cake to cover evenly. Decorate as you wish with the candied fruits (you can get quite creative here). Refrigerate the cake until set for at least 2 hours or overnight.