1 pound cake, loaf, 9x5
2 cup ricotta cheese
4 oz chocolate, semi-sweet
1 oz orange liqueur
1 1/2 cup raspberry jam
2 cup chocolate frosting, or
2 cup whipped cream
1 toasted whole almonds (opt)
Directions
Chill pound cake for 1 hour. Trim edges and uneven pieces so cake is
level on all sides and top. Slice cake horizontally into 1/2" slices
and place on serving platter.
Force cheese through a sieve into a bowl and beat until smooth. Chop
chocolate into fine bits in a blender. Mix chocolate bits with
liqueur and jam.
Spread a portion of cheese on the bottom layer; then spread that with
a portion of jam mixture. Repeat until all layers are used, leaving
top plain. Press down gently. Use a spatula to even all sides. Cover
with plastic wrap and refrigerate 24 hours.
Before serving, frost with chocolate frosting or whipped cream and
garnish with almonds.
Servings: 10 servings
Cassata Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Cake; Italian
The History of Recipes
We are able to read the history of written recipes back into distant history, in truth as far back into history as ancient Egypt, and quite possibly further than that. Interesting though that is, sadly, these old cookbooks were just primitive pictorial recipes for preparing meals.
The truth of the matter is, the most ancient recipe discovered so far, according to historians is a series of tablets in ancient Sumerian describing the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making people feel `blissful`. As we move on, we have two interesting recipe books which appeared in the fourteenth century ; one book called `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary entitled `Curye on Inglish`. The titles are somewhat misleading tho`, these books are not about the spicy food that is popular today, but rather descriptions of the types of meals on the tables of the upper classes of those days. During the next few centuries, the wealthy families of Europe tried to serve up the most exotic meals, and because of this the best chefs and their recipe collections were greatly in demand. However, it wasn`t until the nineteenth century the formal cooking and recipe collections became really popular. The Famous Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Farmer in the USA, dedicated the best years of their lives to assembling, testing, and publishing recipes to allow everyone to enjoy them. By the advent of the 20th century, recipe books were increasing in popularity mostly as a result of higher levels of literacy, people having increased free time and having more money. |
We hope you enjoy this Cassata recipe.
