The crumbled baked cassata is a quicker, lighter, and richer variant of the classic recipe. In the filling, I added some candied orange and a bit of grated zest; I find that citrus gives a touch of freshness and lightens the flavor. If you don’t like them, you can easily omit them.
Easter desserts are rich in ingredients, the Neapolitan pastiera and the rice pastiera are the emblem of this holiday although, being from Emilia, I prefer the rice cake, a dessert that evokes many memories and takes me back to my childhood.
For the base, I used a shortcrust pastry that doesn’t need resting to speed up the process, and the filling is made with cow’s milk ricotta, much more delicate than sheep’s ricotta; as you can understand from the ingredients it has nothing to do with the traditional baked cassata, but it’s really excellent.
Also try the other Easter cakes:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 25 Minutes
- Portions: 10People
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Easter, Easter Monday
- Energy 366.36 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 47.67 (g) of which sugars 29.42 (g)
- Proteins 8.28 (g)
- Fat 16.94 (g) of which saturated 9.01 (g)of which unsaturated 6.20 (g)
- Fibers 1.09 (g)
- Sodium 108.93 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
The recipe I propose is not the traditional recipe of the baked cassata, it is a more delicate and lighter reinterpretation without lard and with cow’s milk ricotta.
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2 eggs (medium)
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- Half pod vanilla
- 1 tsp lemon zest (grated)
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 cups cow's milk ricotta (firm)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp orange zest (grated)
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 2 oz candied orange
- 15 almonds
Tools
- 1 Bowl large
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Scale
- 1 Pan for pastiera, 8.66 inches
- 1 Sieve
- 1 Hand whisk
Procedure
Leave the butter at room temperature 15 minutes before preparing the shortcrust pastry then cut it into cubes.
In a bowl, sift the flour with the baking powder and add the sugar, mix well then add the cubed butter, eggs, seeds from half a vanilla pod, lemon zest, and a pinch of salt.
Mix the dough with your hands (if you use a stand mixer, you can do everything in it), quickly blend everything until you get a crumbly mixture.
Butter the pan and spread two-thirds of the shortcrust on the bottom and the sides.
Press the crumbs on the bottom to compact them and poke the base with a fork.
In a large bowl, place the well-drained ricotta from its liquid (I recommend using a firm and compact ricotta) together with the sugar and mix everything with a hand whisk until the mixture is creamy and velvety.
Add the grated orange zest and vanilla extract, and finally add the chocolate chips and cubed candied orange zest.
Pour the ricotta cream over the shortcrust base and level it with the back of a spoon.
Spread the remaining shortcrust crumbs over the top and finish with the whole almonds.
Bake the cake in a preheated static oven at 350°F for 45/50 minutes or until golden, placing it on the lowest shelf of the oven.
If the top browns too much, cover it with a sheet of aluminum foil.
The crumbled ricotta cassata is ready, let it cool completely before serving.
Advice
Storage
Store the crumbled baked cassata in the refrigerator, it will last easily for 4 to 5 days. Before serving, let it sit for 30 minutes at room temperature.
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