Cassatella di Sant'Agata

When ever I walk into a pasticceria I always admire all the beautiful sweets behind the glass counter... At home, I then enjoy creating my own sweet treasures. Profiterol, Torta di ricotta, Lo sfoglio Polizzano, Cuddura cu l'ova, and Hazelnut Biscotti are just a few delicacies that I found the inspiration from one of the many pasticceria siciliana. One dolce, that has been taking my fancy lately, is the Cassatella di Sant'Agata (cassatedda di sant'Àgata in dialect). The Cassatella is a traditional sweet from Catania that can be found in almost every bar during the festival of St. Agatha. The cassatella is in fact a small sicilian cassata (in catanese dialect, minnuzzi ri Sant'Àjita) in the form of a breast, to symbolize the martyred saint of Catania, St.Agatha, as her breasts were amputated. She is therefore often depicted iconographically carrying her excised breasts on a platter.
(Last year we attended the Festival of St. Agatha. Check out the amazing devotion the towns people of Catania have for her.)

The original Cassata captured many of the traditional Sicilian ingredients; the intense green pistacchio of Bronte, the perfumed almonds of Noto, and the many citrus fruits of the island. It has been an ongoing joke between me and my friends to find the perfect Cassatella, and this past weekend I decided to dive in and attempt just that, with the help of Mandi and Diana!

One very important ingredient is the Marzipan, pasta di mandorle. I made sure not to make it too sweet, often times I do not enjoy marzipan because of it's sweetness. I used more almonds and the taste of mandorle filled your mouth with flavor.

Pan di Spagne, a type of sponge cake, is the next ingredient that is layered into the mold after the marzipan. To achieve a light and fluffy cake, the egg and sugar mixture should be mixed no less than 20 minutes to create a nice frothy texture before adding the flour.

The principle ingredient in the Cassatella is the ricotta di pecora, fresh sheep's milk ricotta. Our nearby pastore, shepherd, passed by the night before and delivered a kilo for me. I added less sugar to the ricotta than when I make the Torta di Ricotta because of the sweet marzipan wrapped sound the filling.

The molds were then inverted and ready for the glasse di zucchero...

We then got a bit creative and made one VERY big one...

However, we added a few extra cherries...

What a day! We were so thrilled with the results, and so were all the lucky recipients who got a taste... Thank you ladies for the wonderful afternoon and the memories!

Hello!  Ok, better late then never, right... ;)

I have so many people ask me how to make these little beauties, so here we go! Once all the parts are finished, follow the pictures with their step by step assembly.


Pan di Spagna (Spong cake)

6 eggs, 180 grams sugar, 180 grams flour

Just mix the eggs and sugar for at least 15 minutes, until they write. (Very important!) They, little by little, sift in the flour.  Pour into a large buttered and flowered cake pan, and place into a preheated oven 180°C for 30 minutes. Once cooled, slice into thin pieces and set aside.

Marzapan

400 grams almonds, skinned. Sliced almonds will give you the result much faster.

400 grams powdered sugar (plus extra for kneading)

Grind the almonds until they have a very fine consistency. Add the powdered sugar and a touch of water. Very small amounts of water at a time. If you add too much at the beginning, you will have to add more powdered sugar. Like making a pie crust, fold and knead until you reach a compact texture. (see picture)

At this point, when I wrote this post I added a few drops of green food color. Nothing fancy unfortunately. However now, I prefer to stay away from colors. You can completely create this sweet omitting the color and you are left with a beautiful, delicate alternative.

Roll out thin like you were making cut out cookies, cut, and line a baking form that was already covered with plastic wrap.

Ricotta

The flavor is all about the fresh sheep’s ricotta. Let it sit in the fridge for a least a day to drain all the excess liquid. Then add 120 grams of sugar to 500 grams of ricotta and mix.

Glasse di zucchero

I choose to simply use 250 grams of powdered sugar and water. Again, add very small amounts of water at a time, one tablespoon, two tablespoons at a time, until the glasse is nice and runny.

 Sorry it has taken me so long, Enjoy! 

The Breakfast Club

Monday morning, the girls all got together for breakfast by the sea... The sun was shining and the conversations were nonstop!
Thanks to Mandi, we expat ladies have all met! Living in a new place, with a new culture, and a new lifestyle, it's nice to meet up with those who are experiencing the same thing. We can share stories and laugh at the challenges we have been through... But, most importantly, we have a good time together!
Looking forward to next Monday!

Carnevale 2009, almost...

Everyone was all dressed for the event! But, unfortunately, the weather didn't want to cooperate... We'll have to wait till tomorrow for the big parade.

Here is Mario looking very sharp in his costume...

Some little guys were very unhappy that the Carnevale was postponed till tomorrow, while others enjoyed themselves the same under the raindrops.

Apple trees do need their rain... Wonderful work Mandi!

A little Bumble Bee and an Apple Tree stopped over at my house for a slice of chocolate cake since the parade was put on hold. They were very polite guests!

Enjoying their Hershey's Kisses sent over from the states...
Till tomorrow...

Profiterol

How can anyone resist freshly baked bigné filled with whipped sweet cream and custard? Then piled high lathered in whipped sweet chocolate cream and topped with slivers of rich chocolate? I certainly can't! Last Friday we were invited to Mandi's house, a good friend who lives near by, and I thought to bring along a sweet end to the night, the Profiterol. Known in these parts as a semi-freddo, the Profiterol is a sure crowd pleas-er.
As usual, I often enjoy looking at all the sweet delicacies at our nearby bakery Caffe' Cali'. My latest experimentation has been to re-create the Profiterol. There are many varieties, but one similar to what you might find around these parts is similar to what you see here.

Beginning with the Bigné:
250 ml water
100 g butter
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
150 g flour
4 eggs
-Bring to a boil the first 4 ingredients
-Turn off the fire and add the flour at at once
-Place back on the fire and mix until the dough detaches from the sides of the pan. When the dough is ready it will make a crick-crack noise.
-At this point turn off the fire and mix for another minute
-After the dough has rested, add the eggs one at a time mixing well.
-Once mixed let the dough rest for 30 minutes. Then place on cookie sheet.
-Cook on 250°C not ventilated until browned.




Now for the filling...

Crema pasticcera (custard):1 egg yolk
125 ml warm milk
41 g sugar
11 g flour
a touch of vanilla
-Mix well the yolk and sugar
-Add the flour and mix
-Then add a bit of the warm milk to the bowl, and mix. Take this mixture and add to the heated milk and bring to a boil.
-Continue mixing over the fire until it coats the back of a spoon.
-Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave in the refrigerator to cool.
Chantilly:400 ml panna, cream
powdered sugar
-Just whip the cream and add the sugar to taste

At this point you would mix both the Crema pasticcera and the Chantilly together and use this mixture to fill the bigné.

The cream that keeps it all together:
1000 ml of cream
unsweetened cocoa powder
powdered sugar
-Whip the cream adding cocoa powder and powdered sugar to taste...


Our profiterol was then topped with slivers of Lindt 70% and 99% cacao for a finishing touch.

The final step is to set aside in the freezer. Depending on the season, bring out and let it melt a bit. When serving, cut slices of the Profiterol too see all the cream filled puffs. An amazing semi-freddo! You can also scoop out each cream puff and serve it that way once it's smooth and creamy...

Day at the pool with the girls...

On Tuesday, a bunch of us "English Speaking" girls were invited to a poolside lunch held at our dear friend Mandi's house. We all had a great time, especially the little ones... I look forward to many more!

Funny how the world is so small... Many of us actually worked for Carnival Cruise Line in the past. Now, we each happen to find ourselves living on the same small island. (Eash married to a Sicilian...)


Mandi and I met in our hardware store, when she was passing through to pick up something for her house. She then introduced me to a few other English women who live in the area. It's great to hear experiences from other ladies who have settled in and enjoy this magical place!
Grazie!!