Baked cassata

A shortcrust pastry shell encloses a filling of ricotta and chocolate chips. Here is the amazing baked cassata.

Among the typical Sicilian desserts there is one (or rather more than one to be honest) that can make everyone agree. We are talking about baked cassata, a variant that is certainly quicker but certainly not less tasty than the classic recipe.

Also in this recipe the undisputed protagonist is sheep's ricotta, enriched with chocolate chips . However, the casing is made from crumbly shortcrust pastry prepared according to the family with butter or lard. The result still remains an excellent Easter dessert to be prepared at least a couple of days in advance. As? Let's see it together.

How to prepare the baked cassata recipe

1. The day before, mix the sheep's ricotta and 300 g of sugar in a bowl. Cover with cling film and place in the refrigerator .
2. On the day you want to make the cassata, also prepare the shortcrust pastry . Combine the flour, sugar and cold butter cut into pieces in a bowl and mix quickly with your fingers to obtain a crumbly dough.
3. Flavor with grated lemon zest and vanilla extract, then add the eggs and a pinch of salt. Finish kneading to obtain a homogeneous dough and wrap it in cling film. Let it rest in the refrigerator for a couple of hours .
4. Then divide the pastry into two parts, one slightly larger than the other. Roll out the latter between two sheets of baking paper until it reaches a thickness of 5 mm and transfer it to the bottom of a springform mold (keep the bottom baking paper) with a diameter of 24 cm .
5. Add the chocolate chips to the filling and pour it into the mold. Distribute the crumbled biscuits on the surface with your hands.
6. Roll out the remaining pastry and use it to cover the cake, sealing the edges well and removing any excess pastry.
7. Cook the cassata in the oven at 180°C for an hour, then remove from the oven and once cool, turn it upside down onto a serving plate. Serve decorated with a sprinkling of icing sugar.

Some people usually flavor the filling with a pinch of ground cinnamon, the choice is yours. In any case, we advise you to take a look at the traditional Sicilian cassata recipe: try them both to find out which is the best.

storage

The baked Sicilian cassata will keep for 2-3 days out of the refrigerator , well covered with a cake cloche. If it is too hot, it is better to place it in the refrigerator given the presence of the ricotta.

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