Cassata Infornata Sponge Cake (Silversea)

500 grams (4 cups) all-purpose flour

100 grams (½ cup) sugar

4 grams (½ tsp) ammoniaca or baking powder

170 grams (12 tbsp) butter

1 egg plus enough milk to equal 100 ml (a little less than ½ cup)

8 grams (1 tsp) honey

12 ml (1 tbsp) dessert wine

Pinch of salt

Zest of ½ lemon

3 eggs

75 grams (6 tbsp) sugar

75 grams (½ cup + 4 tsp) all-purpose flour, sifted

⅛ tsp lemon zest

1.25 kg (44 oz) fresh sheep’s milk ricotta, left to strain overnight.

350 grams (1 ¾ cups) granulated sugar.

50 grams (¼ cup) chocolate chips or chopped bittersweet chocolate

25 grams (2 tbsp) candied mandarine or orange (optional), chopped.

Pour the flour, sugar, salt, and ammoniaca (or baking powder) onto a work surface or into a bowl and mix thoroughly.

Work the butter into the flour until the mixture is crumbly.

Make a well in the centre, add the egg, milk, honey and wine then stir to blend. Knead for as little as possible; the dough should be soft.

Wrap the dough in plastic and leave to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F).

Butter and flour a 6” round cake pan. Put the eggs into the bowl of a mixer and beat for 10 minutes. Add the sugar and lemon zest and continue to beat until the mixture forms a ribbon, about 15 minutes.

In 2-3 parts, gently fold in the sifted flour, then pour into the pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool on a cake rack and set to the side.

In a large bowl, whip the ricotta and sugar by hand with a whisk until creamy or with an electric beater. Fold in the chocolate chips, then keep in the refrigerator until needed.

Butter the 9-inch spring-form pan, and dust with breadcrumbs.

Divide the pastry dough into two pieces, one slightly bigger than the other. Roll out the larger piece of pastry dough between two pieces of lightly floured parchment paper until 1 cm (less than ½ inch) thick.

Peel off one layer of parchment paper, invert the pan over the dough and carefully flip it over. Peel off the second layer of parchment paper and press the dough into the bottom and sides of the pan, smoothing it out as much as possible.

Crumble two thirds of the sponge cake evenly onto the bottom of the dough. Spread the ricotta cream on top of the crumbled sponge cake, then crumble the remaining sponge cake on top of the ricotta, pressing down lightly.

Roll out the smaller piece of pastry dough to fit the top of the cake and pinch the edges to seal completely.

With a sharp knife, make a small cross on top to allow air to escape. Bake at 175°C (350°F) for about 30 minutes until golden brown.

Rest until cooled slightly, then remove from the pan and leave to cool completely.

Dust the top with powdered sugar before serving.

“Short pastry obviously is important and needs to be good, but this is something not too difficult to do. Make sure that the shortbread pastry rests for a couple of hours once you’ve made it, because that allows the flakiness to come back. You don’t want to melt the butter, you want the pastry to hold on to the fat with some consistency. That allows you to have a nice crunchy crust.”

“Ricotta should be strained. When we buy fresh ricotta or I buy from the shepherd, it’s like a fluffy marshmallow, super cloudy, and this kind of creamy cheese, so it would be impossible to do anything with it. We let it strain for three days in the fridge, so it loses weight and compacts. If you try to whip that with sugar right away, it will turn to a liquid.

“With industrial ricotta,” she added, “strain for just one day.”

“I recommend not using too much sugar. 250 grams per kilo.”