Sicilian Cassata is a traditional Sicilian cake, made with sweetened ricotta cheese (traditionally of sheep), sponge cake, marzipan, candied fruit and icing sugar. In spite of the apparent simplicity of the recipe, there are many local variations. Especially the appearance can vary from a thin decoration, with icing and a bit ‘of candied orange peel, to a rich decoration, with colored beads and half a dozen of different candied fruits. According to the local variations, there may be additional ingredients, such as pistachios, pine nuts, chocolate, cinnamon, maraschino or orange blossom water.
Ingredients for marzipan
- 200 grams almond flour
- 200 grams of sugar
- 50 gr of water
- green dye for food
Ingredients for ricotta cream
- 500 grams of fresh ricotta cheese of sheep
- 300 of sugar
- 50 grams of pumpkin, cut into small cubes
- 50 grams of dark chocolate drops
- Vanilla bean seeds