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SOUPS/SAUCES/CONDIMENTS

CASSATA (Glazed fruit ice-cream cake with a fresh strawberry compote)

This dessert definitely has the wow factor and can be prepared well in advanced, therefore ideal for entertaining.

CASSATA

The sponge cake:
225 g/8 oz self-raising flour
½ level teaspoon baking powder
225 g/8 oz caster sugar
225 g/8 oz unsalted butter (melted and cooled)
½ cup/125 ml milk and water mixed
1 large egg
zest of 1 lemon
pinch of salt

The candied fruit:
4 tablespoons/60 ml candied fruit
4 tablespoons/60 ml rum

The vanilla ice-cream: 

As a time saver, use a good quality bought vanilla ice-cream.

150 g/5 oz sugar
6 free-range eggs
1 cup/250 ml milk
1 cup/250 ml full cream
beans of 1 vanilla pod
grated peel of 1 lemon

The cream:
2 free-range egg whites
75 g (2.6 oz) sugar
the soaked and drained candied fruit
¼ cup/60 ml crème fraîche, stirred until smooth

Any left over egg whites can be frozen and thawed for future use. Freeze each egg white in an ice-cube tray and then transfer to either a freezer bag or a container. Once thawed, whites will beat to a better volume if allowed to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

The strawberry compote:
1 cup/250 ml sugar syrup
½ cup/125 ml fresh orange juice
1 cup/250 ml fresh strawberries, hulled and roughly chopped

The garnish:
a selection of red berries (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/356°F. Grease a cake pan with a loose bottom, about 22 cm/8.6 in diameter, then dredge the inside with a mixture of flour and caster sugar.

Into a mixing bowl, sieve the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Whisk together the egg, butter, milk and water and mix into the flour until it forms a smooth batter.  Pour into the prepared cake tin and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, until well risen and golden. Remove from the oven and leave for 5 minutes. Remove the cake from the cake tin and leave to cool totally.

Cut the cake into strips of 2 cm/0.7 in thick each. Line 1 ℓ/1 qrt bowl with cling wrap, then line with the strips of the sponge cake.

Soak the candied fruit in the rum for about 4 hours or overnight.

Whisk the sugar and egg yolks in a bowl until pale. Bring the milk and cream with the vanilla beans to the boil and pour half of it onto the sugar and egg mixture.

The ice-cream recipe contains raw eggs and is not suitable for pregnant women, the elderly or very young children.

Whisk well, then pour the mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk and return to very low heat. Stir continuously with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon. Remove from the heat and pass through a sieve into a clean bowl placed over a bowl of ice cubes and water to cool the mixture as quickly as possible. Pour into an ice-cream machine and churn, otherwise you can still-freeze it.

Fill the cake lined bowl with the ice-cream, leaving an ample hollow space to fill later with the candied fruit cream. Put back into the freezer for about 1 hour or until frozen.

Beat the egg whites and sugar until stiff. Drain the candied fruits and add to the egg whites. Gently stir in the crème fraîche until the whole mixture becomes well blended. Fill the bowl (lined with the cake and frozen ice-cream) with this mixture and smooth with a knife. Cover and freeze overnight.

Bring the syrup and orange juice to the boil and pour over the strawberries. Leave to cool then refrigerate until ready to use.

To serve:
Turn the mold out onto a plate, slice it to reveal the center and pour the strawberry compote on the side. Garnish with a selection of the red fruits.

 

STELLA's avatar

By STELLA

I have had no formal chef’s training. Classical piano was my parents’ choice, and that took care of the first 20 years of my life. Journalism and radio followed (my own choices, this time), and these opened many doors for me into different countries, people, cultures — and, of course, foods. In a six week series on radio I used it as a platform for my love of food and shared lots of interesting recipes and food news with listeners.
My earliest memories of food come from the family kitchen at home; I can still remember the wonderful smells of the dishes my mother prepared. I became aware of the flavors of her creations at an early age. Some I enjoyed and preferred, while others depressed me with their lack of interesting flavors. My mother was a good cook, but not a gourmet, and sadly this often showed. What I did appreciate was that she always involved me in the preparation, sharing her knowledge of nutrition, flavor, color, and the harmonies of each plate she dished up. She was also a genius with leftovers and quick meals when unexpected guests arrived. This is one of the things that stands out in my mind, and it inspired me to create wonderful dishes from leftover foods myself.

I carried on with the tradition of carefully planning meals to combine nutrition, color and flavor, while at the same time offering variety and elegant presentation. In the process, I developed a passion for seeking out the best available products, adhering to each season’s offerings, and treating it with the respect it deserves, which eventually became part of my daily culinary life and travels. I did these things not because I wanted to become a chef, but to satisfy myself, family and friends with creations of gorgeous food and exciting flavors. All of which, I hope, is reflected in this blog.