Italian Ice Cream Cake

Name: Italian Ice Cream Cake
Yield: serves 8 or more
Ingredients: Butter, softened, for the cake pan; 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for the cake pan; 1/2 teaspoon baking powder; 6 large eggs; 3/4 cup granulated sugar; Zest of 1 small orange; 1 1/2 teaspoons gelatin powder; 3 cups fresh ricotta, drained; 1 cup confectioners’ sugar; 1/4 cup finely chopped bittersweet chocolate; 1/4 cup finely chopped candied lemon peel; 5 tablespoons granulated sugar; 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier; 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, plus more if needed; 3 tablespoons lemon juice

December 14, 2011

Incassare in Italian means “to put in a box,” and in this case the boxing consists of flavored ricotta in a light sponge cake, often decorated with candied fruits and chocolate. It is a dessert that, once filled and sealed, keeps well for a few days. That is why Italian American restaurants had it on the menu: low maintenance with good flavors. This versatile dessert can be filled with various flavors of ice cream, so try substituting that in place of the ricotta filling (in which case you will have to keep the cake in the freezer). Sicilian in origin, cassata is most easily found in areas of America that experienced a large influx of Sicilian immigrants, such as New Orleans.

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