ScarlettCassata Siciliana (Sicilian Cheesecake)
May 28th 2008 12:56
Cassata Siciliana (Sicilian Cheesecake)
Cassata Siciliana (Sicilian Cheesecake)
About Cassata Siciliana
Cassata or Cassata siciliana is a traditional sweet from the province of Palermo, Sicily (Italy). It is similar to the French gateau, and consists of pound cake moisted with kirschwasser or an orange liqueur and layered with a ricotta, candied peel, and chocolate filling, similar to cannoli cream. Most variants are also covered with a shell of marzipan or chocolate frosting. Sicilian cassata is made with a somewhat dry, light, and delicate cake called Pan Di Spagna and is used in thin layers to support the cheese and cream. It is unlike the thick, moist and spongelike pound cake of Northern Europe. To moisten the pan di spagna rum or other liquori are used. The ricotta filling is a sheeps milk ricotta, and if whipped or sweetened cream is added, it too will be made from sheeps milk.
The word “Cassata” comes from Arabic qashatah (cf. Latin caseata, anything made of cheese) and was first introduced during the Arab rule in Sicily from the 9th to 11th century. The word “cassata” also refers to the Italian word cassa, a box or case. There are three types of cassate. The two most prominent ones, the layered cassata dessert which is layers of pan di spagna slatered with sweet ricotta cheese as described above; and the cassata gelata, or ice cream cassata which is similar but, obviously, layered with gelato (ice cream), these two desserts were made in a form or “Cassa” or, were structured to resemble a box, sometimes square, sometimes rectangular; and, in keeping with the Arab dessert makers, sometimes they were round or domed shaped. (The concept of a layered dessert in a container comes from the Arabic “quashatah” or qus’ah which was layered sweet dessert made in a terra cotta bowl). The third cassata, the cassata al forno is made with a pasta frolla bottom crust and a ricotta filling (as described above) and a pasta frolla top crust, it is baked in the “forno” (oven), In some older Sicilian cookbooks there were drawings or fotos of different casse.
About Maraschino
Maraschino is a bittersweet, clear liqueur flavoured with Marasca cherries, which are grown in Torreglia (near Padua in Northern Italy), and around the Dalmatian city of Zadar in Croatia. It is one of the very few liqueurs in the world produced by disstillation.
The liqueur’s distinctive flavour to Maraschino. Honey is also part of the ancient recipe. The distillate is allowed to mature for two years in Finnish ashwood vats (because this wood does not lend its colour to the liqueur even after many years of maturing), and is then diluted and sugared. It is typically bottled in a straw-coated bottle. Although Maraschino cherries are traditionally preserved in maraschino liqueur, today most bottled maraschino cherries are made using artificial ingredients and are non-alcoholic.
About Kirsch
Kirschwasser, German for “cherry water”, often known simply as Kirsch (from German “kirsche” for “cherry”) in the English-speaking world, is a clear brandy made from double distillation of the fermented juice of a small black cherry. It is colourless because either it is not aged in wood or it is aged in barrels made of ash. The cherries used recently can be either sweet or sour, but in the past the sour morello cherry was used with the pit crushed down. As the morello cherry was originally grown all around the Black Forest in southern Germany, the drink is believed to have originated there.
Clear alcoholic beverages made from distilled fruit juices are common in southern Germany, western Austria and German-speaking Switzerland. In addition to Kirschwasser, typical drinks of this sort include Obstler (“fruity”, distilled from apple, or a mixture of apple and pear), Zwetschgenwasser (“plum water”) and Himbeergeist (“raspberry spirit”, made from grain spirit with unfermented raspberries added later, as fermented raspberries do not produce a good spirit). Such spirits are also distilled in France and French-speaking Switzerland, where they are known as eau de vie (“water of life”, the same term that is the root of the words akvait and whisky).
Unlike cherry liqueurs, Kirschwasser is not sweet. The best Kirschwassers have a highly refined taste with subtle flavours of cherry. Kirschwasser can be found in such mixed drinks as the Lady Finger, Florida Cocktail, and Black Forest.
Kirschwasser is sometimes drunk by itself. Traditionally, it is served cold in a very small glass and taken as an apéritif. However, people in the German-speaking regions where Kirschwasser originates would more usually serve it after dinner, and high-quality Kirschwasser would more likely be served at room temperature or warmed by the hands, like other brandies.
“Kirsch” is an essential ingredient in Swiss chees fondue recipes. It is also used in traditional German Schwärzwalder Kirschtorte (Black Forest gateau) that is believed to have originated from the 16th century.
Kirsch is also used in some recipes, for example in Kugelhopf, Black Forest and Black Russian Cakes.
Kirsch can also be found as filling for chocolate products. A typical piece of kirsch chocolate will consist of no more than 1 ml of Kirsch, surrounded by milk chocolate, with a film of hardened sugar between the two. The sugar acts as a stronger casing for the liquid contents than the usually soft chocolate, it also compensates for the lack of sweetness typical of Kirsch. Swiss chocolatiers Lindt and Camille Bloch, among others, have such a product.
INGREDIENTS
Serves 6
1¼ cups granulated sugar
½ cup water
1 vanilla bean
1¼ lb Ricotta cheese, sieved
6 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped in tiny pieces
1¼ cups mixed candied fruit
2 tablespoons shelled pistachio nuts
2 tablespoons Maraschino liqueur / Kirsch liqueur
1 quantity Italian Sponge Cake
2 tablespoons apricot jam
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons powdered egg whites
3 tablespoons water
For the Italian sponge cake (Pan Di Spagna)
6 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
½ cup potato flour, sifted
pinch of salt
1. Preheated oven at 325ºF.
2. To prepare the sponge cake. Place the eggs and sugar in the top part of a double boiler (or in a small saucepan placed in a larger pan of simmering water over heat) and whisk until frothy.
3. Remove from heat, add the lemon zest and continue to whisk until cooled.
4. Fold in the flours and salt carefully so that the egg mixture does not collapse.
5. Butter and grease a 10-inch springform pan and fill with the sponge mixture. Bake for 40 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, boil the sugar, ½ cup water, and vanilla bean in a heavy-based saucepan until the mixture turns to syrup. Set aside to cool.
7. Beet the Ricotta vigorously, then add the syrup gradually, stirring until the mixture is creamy.
8. Stir in the chocolate, candied fruit (reserving some to decorate), nuts, and liqueur.
9. Cut the sponge cake in thin slices and line a 10-inch springform pan with them.
10. Use the apricot jam to bind them together.
11. Put the Ricotta mixture on top and spread evenly.
12. Cover with the remaining sponge cake and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
13. Beat together the confectioners’ sugar, powdered egg whites and 3 tablespoons water until smooth.
14. Coat the cake with the glaze, decorate with the reserved candied fruit and serve.
Tips:
The recipe for Italian sponge cake is used as the basis of many other cakes and desserts. It is relatively simple to make and will keep for up to a week in an airtight container. It also freezes well. If potato flour is not available, increase the quantity of all-purpose flour by ½ cup.
**From “The Encyclopedia of Italian Cooking” and “Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia”**
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