Cleveland Cassata [aka Boyfriend's First Baking Project]
And so it came to pass that in April of 2011, Bort was due to celebrate another birth anniversary. And for this reason, the Russian wanted to do something special in commemoration. There is a tradition, in the brothers' family, to celebrate birth-anniversaries with a cassata cake from Corbo's Bakery in Cleveland. After first considering and discarding the idea of seeing whether Corbo's could ship a cake out here, the Russian thought to find a similar cake made by a bakery in the area. This is where our action picks up.
I started looking around online and found a bakery in San Francisco that made a Cassata cake, but it was nowhere near the same. Their cake was a Cassata Siciliana, made with ricotta cheese filling, not the custard and strawberries the Russian described. And so I turned to wikipedia and learned that what I was looking for was not really a Cassata cake, but a regional variation, a Cleveland Cassata.
So I re-tooled my online search and found a couple of recipes. They weren't difficult, really, but they were long and had a lot of moving parts. I emailed them to the Russian hoping he would say Wow, that sounds like a lot of work. Let's buy something else instead. Instead, he emailed me back saying "Hey, I found these recipes online. Think we could make this?"
I responded by pointing out that those were the exact same recipes I'd emailed him a few days before. "D'oh!" he said. But, somehow, he still takes credit for finding the recipe.
Whatevs.
On to the baking!
Most of the work of this cake is prep work, which made this a topsy turvy experience since, for the cakes I usually make, the prep is the easy part and assembly is the biggest pain. But, unlike with my usual buttercreamed beauties, there was no way I was going to seriously attempt to create a smooth whipped cream surface on the cassata cake so I didn't fuss about it.
This recipe involved doing lots of things I have never done before:
- making a sponge cake (we all know how I feel about sponge cakes right? no butter? what do you mean no butter?!)
- making a custard (and cutting up three pounds of strawberries)
- making a four-layer sponge cake filled with custard (and strawberries)
- etc.
My source material:
Sweet Amandine's version of the recipe was preceded by a very involved write-up, which gave me hope for getting through the process unscathed.
DeeDee's version had the more concise listing of steps and ingredients [and actually reference the Sweet Amandine entry, which I guess should heneceforth be known as the mothership].
And so I credit both of those lovely bloggers, along with my lovely assistant, the Russian--who had a steadier hand than I when it came to splitting a sponge cake in half--with how well this cake turned out.
By the end of the evening, there was this much left.
And, not too soon after, it was all gone.
Recipes [from http://deedeesdelights.blogspot.com/2010/04/strawberry-custard-cassata-cake.html]
(I made the custard and the cakes the night before.)
Cake
2-1/4 cups cake flour
1-1/4 and 1/4 cups sugar, divided
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup cold water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 large egg yolks at room temperature
8 large egg whites at room temperature
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line the bottoms of two 9-inch round cake pans with lightly oiled parchment paper. Otherwise, leave the pans ungreased.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, 1-1/4 cups sugar, baking powder, and salt. Then re-sift.
In a separate bowl, beat together the yolks, water, oil, lemon zest, and vanilla until smooth. Stir into the flour mixture.
And in another bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Add the remaining 1/4 c. sugar, and beat on high until the peaks are stiff but not dry.
Fold about a quarter of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture until well combined. Then gently fold in the remaining whites, stopping when you can no longer make out streaks of egg white in the mixture.
Transfer the batter into the two prepared pans and smooth the tops. (I tend to use a measuring cup, to make sure the amounts in each pan are equal.)
Bake for about 35 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Cool the cakes in their pans, on a cooling rack, for at least an hour. When completely cool, run a knife around the sides to release the cakes, cover each pan with a wax paper-lined plate, and flip. Lift the pans off of the cakes and carefully peel off the parchment.
Wrap the cakes in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least three hours.
When the cakes are thoroughly chilled, cut each in half. Place each layer on a wax paper-lined baking sheet or plate.
Custard
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups half and half
3 tbsp cornstarch
Whisk all the ingredients together in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking constantly (so the eggs don't scramble). Turn the heat down to a simmer and whisk constantly until thick. Remove from the heat, transfer to a bowl, cover with wax paper, and cool in the refrigerator for at least three hours.
Macerated strawberries
3 lb. strawberries
2 tbsp sugar
Slice the strawberries thinly and place them in a bowl. Add the sugar and stir. Let the mixture sit for at least an hour, giving it an occasional stir. When the strawberries have released their juices, strain the mixture in a colander, saving the juice in a separate container.
Whipped cream (The easiest part!)
2 cups chilled heavy cream
1 tbsp sugar
Whip the cream and sugar together until stiff.
Assembly (The second to easiest part!)
Place one cake layer on a wax paper-lined baking sheet. Brush the top of the layer with 1/3 of the reserved strawberry juice. Cover with a layer of strawberries, and then with a layer of custard. Top with the next layer of the cake, and repeat: strawberry juice, strawberries, custard, cake layer. And again.
Then, cover the cake with the whipped cream and decorate it however you like.
Chill the cake for at least 8 hours before serving. Bring to cool room temperature before serving.
This entry was originally posted at http://stuberyl.dreamwidth.org/305820.html. Feel free to comment here or there (but not everywhere).
I started looking around online and found a bakery in San Francisco that made a Cassata cake, but it was nowhere near the same. Their cake was a Cassata Siciliana, made with ricotta cheese filling, not the custard and strawberries the Russian described. And so I turned to wikipedia and learned that what I was looking for was not really a Cassata cake, but a regional variation, a Cleveland Cassata.
So I re-tooled my online search and found a couple of recipes. They weren't difficult, really, but they were long and had a lot of moving parts. I emailed them to the Russian hoping he would say Wow, that sounds like a lot of work. Let's buy something else instead. Instead, he emailed me back saying "Hey, I found these recipes online. Think we could make this?"
I responded by pointing out that those were the exact same recipes I'd emailed him a few days before. "D'oh!" he said. But, somehow, he still takes credit for finding the recipe.
Whatevs.
On to the baking!
Most of the work of this cake is prep work, which made this a topsy turvy experience since, for the cakes I usually make, the prep is the easy part and assembly is the biggest pain. But, unlike with my usual buttercreamed beauties, there was no way I was going to seriously attempt to create a smooth whipped cream surface on the cassata cake so I didn't fuss about it.
This recipe involved doing lots of things I have never done before:
- making a sponge cake (we all know how I feel about sponge cakes right? no butter? what do you mean no butter?!)
- making a custard (and cutting up three pounds of strawberries)
- making a four-layer sponge cake filled with custard (and strawberries)
- etc.
My source material:
Sweet Amandine's version of the recipe was preceded by a very involved write-up, which gave me hope for getting through the process unscathed.
DeeDee's version had the more concise listing of steps and ingredients [and actually reference the Sweet Amandine entry, which I guess should heneceforth be known as the mothership].
And so I credit both of those lovely bloggers, along with my lovely assistant, the Russian--who had a steadier hand than I when it came to splitting a sponge cake in half--with how well this cake turned out.
By the end of the evening, there was this much left.
And, not too soon after, it was all gone.
Recipes [from http://deedeesdelights.blogspot.com/2010/04/strawberry-custard-cassata-cake.html]
(I made the custard and the cakes the night before.)
Cake
2-1/4 cups cake flour
1-1/4 and 1/4 cups sugar, divided
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup cold water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 large egg yolks at room temperature
8 large egg whites at room temperature
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line the bottoms of two 9-inch round cake pans with lightly oiled parchment paper. Otherwise, leave the pans ungreased.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, 1-1/4 cups sugar, baking powder, and salt. Then re-sift.
In a separate bowl, beat together the yolks, water, oil, lemon zest, and vanilla until smooth. Stir into the flour mixture.
And in another bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Add the remaining 1/4 c. sugar, and beat on high until the peaks are stiff but not dry.
Fold about a quarter of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture until well combined. Then gently fold in the remaining whites, stopping when you can no longer make out streaks of egg white in the mixture.
Transfer the batter into the two prepared pans and smooth the tops. (I tend to use a measuring cup, to make sure the amounts in each pan are equal.)
Bake for about 35 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Cool the cakes in their pans, on a cooling rack, for at least an hour. When completely cool, run a knife around the sides to release the cakes, cover each pan with a wax paper-lined plate, and flip. Lift the pans off of the cakes and carefully peel off the parchment.
Wrap the cakes in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least three hours.
When the cakes are thoroughly chilled, cut each in half. Place each layer on a wax paper-lined baking sheet or plate.
Custard
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups half and half
3 tbsp cornstarch
Whisk all the ingredients together in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking constantly (so the eggs don't scramble). Turn the heat down to a simmer and whisk constantly until thick. Remove from the heat, transfer to a bowl, cover with wax paper, and cool in the refrigerator for at least three hours.
Macerated strawberries
3 lb. strawberries
2 tbsp sugar
Slice the strawberries thinly and place them in a bowl. Add the sugar and stir. Let the mixture sit for at least an hour, giving it an occasional stir. When the strawberries have released their juices, strain the mixture in a colander, saving the juice in a separate container.
Whipped cream (The easiest part!)
2 cups chilled heavy cream
1 tbsp sugar
Whip the cream and sugar together until stiff.
Assembly (The second to easiest part!)
Place one cake layer on a wax paper-lined baking sheet. Brush the top of the layer with 1/3 of the reserved strawberry juice. Cover with a layer of strawberries, and then with a layer of custard. Top with the next layer of the cake, and repeat: strawberry juice, strawberries, custard, cake layer. And again.
Then, cover the cake with the whipped cream and decorate it however you like.
Chill the cake for at least 8 hours before serving. Bring to cool room temperature before serving.
This entry was originally posted at http://stuberyl.dreamwidth.org/305820.html. Feel free to comment here or there (but not everywhere).