Ciccio Sultano prepares Cassata Siciliana, one of Sicily’s most iconic desserts.
Recipe by Ciccio Sultano
Creative Concept: Florence Wibowo
Preparation time: 1 hour + 4 hours chilling time
Ingredients: 4 servings
Cooking time: 10 minutes
| Ingredients | ||
|---|---|---|
| 50 | g | plain flour |
| 75 | g | sugar |
| 3 | eggs | |
| Pinch of salt | ||
Whisk the eggs, salt, and sugar over a bain-marie until light and airy.
Sift in the flour and gently fold it into the mixture.
Spread the batter about 3 cm thick onto a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (165°C fan) for approximately 30 minutes. Allow to cool completely.
| Ingredients | ||
|---|---|---|
| 500 | g | dry ricotta, drained overnight in a cloth-lined sieve and weighted down |
| 150 | g | icing sugar |
Blend the ricotta and icing sugar in a food processor until smooth and creamy.
| Ingredients | ||
|---|---|---|
| 125 | ml | water |
| 75 | g | sugar |
| 30 | ml | Alchermes liqueur (such as from Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica Santa Maria Novella) |
Bring the water and sugar to a boil. Stir in the Alchermes liqueur and remove from the heat.
| Ingredients | ||
|---|---|---|
| 250 | g | candied fruits (such as chinotto orange, mandarin, candied pumpkin, citron, Morello cherries, and candied coffee beans) |
| 150 | g | marzipan |
| Icing sugar | ||
Using dessert rings measuring 7–8 cm in diameter, place a round of sponge cake at the bottom of each ring. Carefully brush with the Alchermes syrup until lightly soaked.
Spoon the ricotta mixture on top and refrigerate for several hours until firm.
Remove the cakes from the rings.
Dust the marzipan with icing sugar and roll it out to a thickness of about 3 mm. Cut out circles matching the diameter of the dessert rings and place them on top of the ricotta cakes.
Decorate generously with the assorted candied fruits.
