Buon Compleanno, Peter!
Palermo Palermo
I don’t have a prayer
When my heart shoots a flare in the sky
And as the flames in the air blow I’m leavin’ I swear
Though I can’t kiss Palermo
I can’t kiss Palermo goodbye
To finish the Roadside Assistance project and wish Peter Cincotti a very happy birthday, we present a Sicilian Cassata cake. Of course, this pairs with “Palermo”. We needed to make some changes to the traditional method to account for our limited skill set and available ingredients, but this came out amazing.
For the sponge cake, we followed this Martha Stewart recipe . It makes enough for a sheet pan plus a 9in round cake pan. We ended up just using the cake made in the sheet pan and eating the cake round plain while we decorated. If having extra cake bothers you, look for another sponge cake recipe.
The cake and filling can be made ahead of time.
For the filling:
2 lb ricotta cheese
1 lb powdered sugar
1 cup chocolate chips
If your ricotta is watery, use cheese cloth to squeeze out and separate the liquid. Whisk in the powdered sugar and chocolate chips
Assembly
After your sponge cake has cooled, Spread the filling out evenly. Gently roll it from the short end. Tightly wrap it in plastic wrap and allow to sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
To decorate, use candied fruit and marzipan to create a pleasing pattern. You may wish to cover it entirely in marzipan or use a glaze for part. We used a simple glaze everything and help the candied fruit stick.
For the glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1-2 tbsp milk
Whisk the milk into the powdered sugar a little at a time until desired consistency is reached.
















