Cassata Cake (Italian Easter Cake)

Cassata Cake is an Italian cake layering fluffy yellow cake with sweetened ricotta cream, candied fruit, chocolate and nuts. Traditionally served for Easter, it’s a bright, creamy and indulgent treat for any special occasion.

The original version is quite ornate so I created a simpler version to enjoy at home.

And it just happens to be gluten-free and grain free!

This was published on March 17, 2019 and the recipe was updated March 15, 2020.

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This Cassata Cake is exactly what I had in mind when I started to envision this blog. The funny thing is, I’m Italian but I never had it growing up. You definitely don’t see it on restaurant menus or in most bakeries. But I started noticing it in every cookbook of traditional Italian recipes. Color me intrigued.

SO…WHAT IS IT?

It’s always a little different depending on who’s making it. The basic template is the same: yellow cake, sweetened ricotta cream, candied fruit. Almost like cake with cannoli filling just kicked up a notch. But from there, it can take a lot of turns. Some add chocolate, almond extract or even cinnamon to the ricotta. Others line the cake pan with thin strips of marzipan, or cover the whole cake with it. Some encase the cake in royal icing, i.e. the icing that holds together gingerbread houses. And the decorations can get very elaborate with the candied fruit and sometimes candied nuts. As you can tell, it’s a very sweet, very rich cake.

We’re simplifying things here. Those marzipan and royal icing blankets require a LOT of white sugar which a) I tend to avoid and b) make desserts too sweet for my tastes anyway. So! We’re going the naked route with exposed cake layers, not just because it’s trendy but because there’s something so charmingly home-spun simple about it. It still has the candied fruit on top, candied with honey in a process I pared down for ease. And the marzipan is omitted so to make sure it still has almonds involved (because almonds + chocolate + citrus is a winning combo), the cake is rimmed with crunchy, toasted sliced almonds.

Plus booze! Let’s not forget there’s booze. (Although there doesn’t have to be; other options are included below.)

Your guests may have no idea what a Cassata Cake is or what they’re looking at, but they’ll get it once they take a bite.

 

WHERE DID CASSATA CAKE COME FROM?

Good question! There’s a few theories on where Italian Cassata cake came from. It originated in Sicily, but some say it’s from when the Arabs ruled Sicily way back in the 10th century. Some say it wasn’t until the 18th century when Sicilian nuns would work around the clock to meet demand during the Easter season. Some point to various eras in-between. Whenever or whoever made it, Sicilians brought it to the U.S. Point being: the cake is ooooooooold. And you know if a recipe has survived this long, it must be good, right? Eater has a fantastic, fascinating history of Cassata. You think it’s all sugar this and ricotta that until you’re hit with this:

In some parts of Sicily, individually-sized cakes called cassatella di Sant’Agata are the norm. The small dome shape is completely covered with marzipan and topped with a single candied cherry. It’s meant to mimic the shape of St. Agata’s breast, an allusion to the torture — her breasts were amputated — the saint endured before her death.

Happy Easter, everyone!

But before we get too grim:

According to Wright, “cassata was so delicious and seductive that as late as 1574, the Diocese of Mazara del Vallo had to prohibit its making at the monastery during the Holy Week because the nuns preferred to bake and eat it than pray.”

I never knew 14th century Sicilian nuns were my heroes, and yet, here we are.

Apparently it’s also inauthentic to call it Cassata Cake. It’s just Cassata. Like Madonna. Or, with its brightly colored, almost garish exterior, it’s more like the Cher of the cake world. But I’m leaving the “cake” in the title here as mine is determinedly not authentic and I wouldn’t want to pretend otherwise.

Wait, I thought Cassata Cake had, like, strawberries and custard and stuff?

You’re thinking of the American version originating from Cleveland, OH, in the 1920’s. Still Italian in origin, this Cassata Cake layers its yellow cake with custard and strawberries. Sounds lovely, but I’ve never had it. We’re focusing on the OG Cassata for the time being.

I thought Cassata was ice cream…?

So apparently what I grew up calling Neapolitan ice cream – layers of vanilla, chocolate and pistachio or vanilla ice cream – is more commonly known in India as Cassata. I have no idea why this shares the same name as the cake when they have very little in common. But hey! There’s always room for more delicious desserts in the world.

 

HOW TO MAKE CASSATA CAKE

It might seem like there are a lot of steps but they’re all pretty straightforward.

• For the candied citrus, you’re going to simmer sliced citrus peels and add them to a mixture of honey and water (using a small saucepan like this sturdy one)
• For the ricotta cream, you’re going to blend together the ingredients (with either my favorite food processor or a sieve and a bowl)
• For the cake, you blend together the wet ingredients, add the dry ingredients, fold in whipped egg whites and pour the batter into cake pans and bake.
• Then you pile each layer on top of the other and poof! You’re done!

WHAT CAN I MAKE AHEAD OR FREEZE?

All instructions for what you can make ahead of time and how to store it once it’s made are included after the recipe.

WHAT TO SERVE IT WITH

This Italian Easter dessert is a showstopper after you’ve had:

• Limoncello Spritzes or Amaretto Mimosas
• Caesar Deviled Eggs or a cheese board with Cranberry Chutney
• Kale, beet and orange salad (which is a perfect way to use up the oranges after you make the candied orange peel for the cake)
• Lamb Ragu

I even show you how to fit it into my my Gluten-Free Easter Menu.

Okay! This is all nice and good but I really just want to get to the cake now.

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