Fish Cakes for Dessert by Martha

With Susan's "Gifts from the Sea" theme for our June meeting, it was a challenge to come up with a seafood-based dessert. I borrowed the cake recipe from Nick Malgieri's "A Baker's Tour" cookbook and adapted the decorations to fit our theme. The recipe was a little complex, and I must have read it about ten times to make sure I had it right. It's not a recipe for the faint hearted baker. But I would bake it again. It comes out like a cannoli in a cake form!

Ricotta-Filled Cake from Sicily

For the Pan di spagna
2/3 c all purpose flour
1/2 c cornstarch
5 large eggs, separated
1 c sugar
2 t vanilla extract
pinch of salt

For the Rum Syrup
1/3 c water
1/3 c sugar
1/4 c white rum

For the Ricotta Filing
2-1/2 pounds whole-milk ricotta
2 c confectioner's sugar
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 t ground cinnamon
4 oz. semisweet chocolate, cut into 1/8" pieces

For the Almond Paste Decoration
8 oz. almond paste
3 c confectioners sugar
green food coloring
5 tbsp. light corn syrup

10" round pan, 2" deep, buttered and the bottom lined with a disk of buttered parchment or wax paper. (If your baking pan is only 1-1/2" high, add a parchment collar.
10" sloping-sided pie pan lines with plastic wrap

1. Set a rack in the middle of the over and preheat to 350.
2. Stir the flour and cornstarch in a small bowl and set aside.
3. Place egg yolks in the bowl of an electric mixer with 1/2 c. sugar and the vanilla. Whisk by hand. place the bowl on the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip on medium speed until very light in color, about 3 - 4 minutes. If you have only one mixer bowl, scrape the mixture into a medium bowl and wash the mixer bowl with hot soapy water, then rinse and dry.
4. In the clean, dry mixer bowl, combine the egg whites and salt. Whip by machine with the whisk attachment on medium speed until the egg whites are white, opaque, and beginning to hold their shape. Increase speed to medium-high and add the remaining 1/2 c. sugar in a slow stream, continuing to whip the egg whites until they hold a firm peak.
5. Use a large rubber spatula to fold the yolks into the whites, then sift about a third of the flour and cornstarch mixture over the egg foam and fold it in. Repeat with the second and last thirds of the flour mixture, folding each time.
6. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake the pan di Spagna until it is well risen, well colored and firm, and a toothpick inserted in the center emerges dry, about 30 - 40 minutes.
7. Immediately unmold the cake onto a rack, removing the paper on the bottom of the cake. Place another rack against the bottom and invert. Remove the top rack so that the cake cools right side up. Cool the cake immediately.
8. For the rum syrup, place water and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat and cool. Stir in the rum
9. For the ricotta filling, gently stir the ricotta in a large mixing bowl with a rubber spatula, just until it is smooth. Gently stir in the confectioners sugar. Do not beat the mixture or it will liquify. Stir in the vanilla and cinnamon. Remove about 1/2 of the ricotta mixture and set aside for finishing.
10. Out the chopped chocolate in a small strainer and shake to sift away any very fine chocolate dust which would color the filling. Stir in the larger pieces of chocolate remaining in the strainer into the large bowl of ricotta filling (not the 1/2 cup).
11. To assemble the cassata, use a long, serrated knife to cut the pan di Spagna into 1/4 inch wide vertical slices. Line the prepared pie pan completely -- bottom and sides -- with cake. Sprinkle the cake slices with about a third of the run syrup and about half the ricotta filling with the chocolate bites in the lined pan. Arrange a layer of cake slices over the filling and sprinkle with another third of the syrup, then spread the remaining filling over the cake slices. Top with more slices of cake, but don't moisten them. (Once the cassata is inverted, this will be the bottom.)
12. Give a good press to the top layer of the cake with the palm of your hand and wrap the cassata in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight to set.
13. While the cassata is chilling, make the almond paste. Combing the almond paste and sugar in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Add 3 - 4 drops of green food coloring and pulse until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add the corn syrup and pulse until the mixture is about to form a ball. Scrape the almond paste from the food processor to a surface lightly dusted with confectioners sugar and knead it until smooth, making sure that the coloring is evenly distributed throughout. Wrap in plastic wrap and store at room temperature until needed.
14. To finish the cassata, unwrap it and place a platter over the pie pan. Invert the whole stack onto the platter and life off the pie pan, leaving the cassata on the platter. Use a brush to moisten the outside of the cassata with the remaining syrup. Spread the reserved ricotta mixture without the chocolate bits over the outside.
15. Roll the almond paste thinly on a surface dusted with cornstarch and drape it over the cassata. Trim away any excess almond past at the base of the cake. Use the scraps of almond paste to make a twisted rope to finish the bottom of the cake. Decorate the top of the cake with candied fruit in a symmetrical pattern.

Cover and refrigerate until service time. Wrap and refrigerate leftovers.