The Solo-Dolce Cassata is a great Sicilian delight, filled with sweet ricotta and chocolate chips that of which recall the most famous Sicilian dessert, cannoli. I brought this treat to a neighbor’s get-together where there was live music and a nice relaxed atmosphere. By the end of the party, the cake was gone and I’m glad to say it was a great success! Later on, we watched a bit of the Olympics which was super exciting and the athletes deserve all the applause.
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How is Solo-Dolce Cassata different?
The traditional Cassata is made with a thin sponge cake at the base and almond paste on the sides, holding in the ricotta. Then it is covered with a piece of sponge cake which is then covered with syrup and finally topped off with candied fruit. Solo-Dolce Cassata does not include the almond paste on the side and rather than a thin base, I cut a sponge cake in half making both the top and base the same width. I kept the candied fruit as the decoration using the Paradise Candied Fruit and they were amazingly delicious.
Solo-Dolce Cassata
Ingredients
Sponge Cake
- 5 medium eggs room temperature
- 130 g flour 00 4.6 oz
- 30 g potato starch 1.1 oz
- 150 g sugar ⅔ cup
- 1 grated lemon peel
- 1 scraped vanilla bean
Orange Syrup
- 250 ml of fresh orange juice 1cup
- 40 ml of water ~3 tbsp
- 80 g of sugar 3 1/4 tbsp
Ricotta Cream
- 1000 g ricotta ~ 5 cups
- 400 g powdered sugar 2 cups
- grated orange peel
- dark chocolate chips
Instructions
Sponge Cake
- 1. Mix the eggs with the sugar, grated lemon peel, and 1 scraped vanilla bean.
- 2. Beat the mixture in a mixer for 15-20 minutes at medium speed.
- 3. Add the sifted flour and starch potatoes with a spatula from the bottom to the top to obtain a homogeneous consistency.
- 4. Put the mixture into the cake pan (24 cm in diameter – 9-inch round and 1 1/2 inch deep) properly greased and lightly floured.
- 5. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (356°F) for about 40-50
minutes, never open the oven before 35 minutes. - 6. Do the toothpick test to check cooking, insert it in centers, and has to come out clean.
- 7. After the time necessary to allow it to cool and remove it from the mold.
- 8. Allow the sponge cake to cool completely before slicing.
Ricotta Cream
- 1. Drain overnight la ricotta.
- 2. Work it incorporating the powdered sugar.
- 3. Add dark chocolate chips and orange peel.
Orange Syrup
- 1. Prepare the fresh orange juice (you need 3-4 oranges) and set it aside.
- 2. In the meantime, put the sugar water in a saucepan and place it on the stove.
- 3. Make sure the heat is low and mix the sugar and water solution until it comes to a boil.
- 4. When you notice that the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture has thickened, turn off the heat.
- 5. Add the orange juice and continue stirring and let it cool.
Assembling
- 1. First, let the sponge cake cool completely and then cut it.
- 2. Use two types of knives, one pointed and sharp and the other long with a smooth blade.
3. Basically, there are two steps in cutting the sponge cake:
- 4. Take a serrated knife and carve a line along the circumference of the cake which will guide us when cutting the cake in half horizontally.
- 5. By following this it will be easier to have two equal and level discs.
- 6. Take the long knife and start cutting from the guideline that you have created, and place a hand on the top of the cake so that you can feel the movement of the knife.
- 7. Before soaking the sponge cake, make sure that the sponge cake and the orange syrup are completely cold.
- 8. Once the syrup has cooled, you can brush it or pour it on your sponge cake (both layers) making sure it soaks in evenly.
- 9. Spread half of the ricotta cream on top of the lower disc of the sponge cake.
- 10. Cover with the other half of the disc and spread the rest of the ricotta cream leftover on the entire surface of the cake and the sides.
- 11. Decorate the cake with Paradise Candied Fruit by drawing flowers, and the stems of the flowers with green colored almond paste (Organic and Natural food coloring)
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