Culinary Corner: Silversea’s Sicilian Cassata Infornata

With the arrival of Silver Moon comes the debut of Silversea’s innovative Sea And Land Taste Program (S.A.L.T.). Heralding a new dawn for fervent foodies, the gastronomic concept is all about connecting travellers to destinations through the lens of food and drink. This rustic Cassata Infornata recipe takes us to Sicily, its creamy ricotta filling floating like a cloud on a bed of Italian sponge cake and light shortbread.

INGREDIENTS

For the dough:

• 500g plain flour
• 100g sugar
• 4g baking powder
• 170g butter
• 1 egg plus enough milk to equal 100 ml
• 8g honey
• 12ml dessert wine
• Pinch of salt
• Zest of ½ lemon

For the sponge cake:

• 3 eggs
• 75g sugar
• 75g plain flour, sifted
• ⅛tsp lemon zest

For the ricotta cream:

• 1.25kg fresh sheep’s milk ricotta, left to strain overnight
• 350g granulated sugar
• 50g chocolate chips or chopped bittersweet chocolate
• 25g candied mandarin or orange (optional), chopped.

METHOD

For the dough:

1. Pour the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder onto a work surface or into a bowl and mix thoroughly.
2. Work the butter into the flour until the mixture is crumbly.
3. Make a well in the centre, add the egg, milk, honey and wine then stir to blend. Knead for as little as possible; the dough should be soft.
4. Wrap the dough in plastic and leave to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

For the sponge cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 175°C
2. Butter and flour a 6” round cake pan. Put the eggs into the bowl of a mixer and beat for 10 minutes. Add the sugar and lemon zest and continue to beat until the mixture forms a ribbon, about 15 minutes.
3. In 2-3 parts, gently fold in the sifted flour, then pour into the pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool on a cake rack and set to the side.
4. In a large bowl, whip the ricotta and sugar by hand with a whisk until creamy or with an electric beater. Fold in the chocolate chips, then keep in the refrigerator until needed.

To assemble:

1. Butter the 9-inch spring-form pan, and dust with breadcrumbs.
2. Divide the pastry dough into two pieces, one slightly bigger than the other. Roll out the larger piece of pastry dough between two pieces of lightly floured parchment paper until 1cm thick.
3. Peel off one layer of parchment paper, invert the pan over the dough and carefully flip it over. Peel off the second layer of parchment paper and press the dough into the bottom and sides of the pan, smoothing it out as much as possible.
4. Crumble two thirds of the sponge cake evenly onto the bottom of the dough. Spread the ricotta cream on top of the crumbled sponge cake, then crumble the remaining sponge cake on top of the ricotta, pressing down lightly.
5. Roll out the smaller piece of pastry dough to fit the top of the cake and pinch the edges to seal completely.
6. With a sharp knife, make a small cross on top to allow air to escape. Bake at 175°C for about 30 minutes until golden brown.
7. Rest until cooled slightly, then remove from the pan and leave to cool completely.
8. Dust the top with powdered sugar before serving.