These cassatine are the snack version of the bigger and more famous Cassata Siciliana. They are pretty much the same thing (apart from the lack of candied fruits on the top), only smaller and more “street friendly” as they are often consumed on the go on the busy streets of Palermo. They are delicious little cakes filled with a sweet ricotta cream and chocolate and covered with marzipan and Royal Icing. These are so popular in Sicily that they had to be featured on the Sicilian Street Food New Year’s Eve PartyI organised for this month’s Foodbuzz 24×24 event! Enjoy!
Ingredients (for 2 cassatine of 10 cm in diameter and 4-5 cm in height):
2 heaped tbsp of cannoli filling (with chocolate)
A few pieces of Pan di Spagna, cut
Green marzipan (1/2 dose)
Water and sugar
Royal Icing
2 candied cherries
Start by making the marzipan (click here for the recipe). When ready, cover it with cling wrap and put it in the fridge.
Then bake your Pan di Spagna (click here for the recipe). Let it cool down overnight before using it.
Make the filling, which is the same as the one used to fill cannoli (click here for the recipe). Keep it in the fridge until you are ready to use it.
The day before you want to serve your cassatine, assemble them.
Start by preparing your moulds. You would need a round mould that tapers to the top and is not higher than 3 – 3.5 cm. I did not have a cassatina mould, so I used a ramekin which was a little less tapering and a little higher. It still came out fine. 😉
Place some cling wrap at the bottom and on the sides of your mould. This will help you to unmold the cassatine easily.
Roll out the marzipan into a long strip 3 mm thick and cut it to fit the sides of your mould. Place it in the mould. Now take a few pieces of Pan di Spagna (it has to be about 0.5 cm thick) and sprinkle some sweetened water on them to make them more pliable. Put some at the bottom of your mould and press well into place. Now add one heaped tbsp of cannoli filling and press well with a spoon. Finish off with another layer of slightly wet Pan di Spagna and press well. Cover with the cling wrap and put it in the fridge overnight. The following day, unmould your cassatine.
Make the Royal icing (you can use this recipe). Make sure it is quite fluid (as if you had to flood sugar cookies) and, using a spoon, fill the top of the cassatine with it. Add a candied cherry on the top and put in the fridge to set.
Serve and enjoy!
These are so pretty. I am a green colour maniac, so seeing this beautiful little green cakes prompts me to keep looking at them and hoping if only I could eat them …
Oh wow, anything with marzipan will be devoured by me in seconds – these look fantastic! 🙂
I’m not a big dessert eater, but I don’t think I could resist this. It is just so festive looking and I would think a wonderful dessert for a Christmas dinner.
How gorgeous are these! I am bookmarking them for Paddy’s Day – the day of green food. Happy New Year to you and your family, Manu. I’m just catching up with some of your recipes that I’ve missed – I can see I am in for a treat!
These are so pretty…love the step by step on assembling them too!
I can’t believe you had room for dessert after that feast you prepared! But then again, these look so delicious, I love the ricotta filling! And they are so festive looking too.
These little gems look so cheerful and would look really pretty at a Christmas table.
I love cassata, and I was looking for a recipe.. and you gave it to me! Great!
I love the look of these. They remind me of something you’d buy in Thailand but with an Italian filling, layered like a French gâteau. Sweet confusion!
Buonissime! I like the smaller version, better marzipan ratio hehe
Loove cassata! The problem is finding the right ricotta!
I know… it’s impossible to find sheep’s milk ricotta here… But I do find a very good cow’s milk one. Tip… add a pinch of salt to the cow’s milk ricotta, the final result will taste a little closer to the original. 🙂
Such a pretty delicious looking dish…especially love the marzipan in it.
Wow compliments! They look amazing!