Cleveland Style Cassata Cake
Layers of rum soaked Italian sponge cake are stacked with fresh strawberries and custard sandwiched between. Then the entire thing is 'frosted' with a homemade whipped cream and topped with even more strawberries.
Equipment
- rotating cake stand
- mixing bowl
Ingredients
FOR CREME PATISSIERE:
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups half & half or 1 cup milke + 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup sugar
- 6 egg yolks
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 6 tablespoons butter sliced
FOR ITALIAN SPONGE CAKE:
- 8 egg whites room temperature
- 1 teaspoon cream or tartar
- 2 ¼ cup cake flour
- 1 ½ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon paking powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 5 egg yolks
- 1 lemon juiced
- ½ cup canola oil
- ½ cup water
FOR STRAWBERRY SYRUP:
- 16 pz strawberries chopped, a few saved whole
- 1 ½ cup sugar
- 1 cup Grand Marnier
FOR WHIPPED CREAM TOPPING:
- 4 cups whipping cream
- 3 cups confectioners sugar
Instructions
- Begin with the creme patissiere (aka custard filling). In a sauce pot over medium high heat, whisk together the vanilla and half and half until lightly simmering. Do NOT bring to a rolling boil.
- In a small bowl, whisk together sugar, egg yolks, cornstarch and salt until a thick paste forms. Temper the mixture by slowly pouring in about a quarter to half cup of the hot milk mixture. Whisk constantly while pouring in the milk mixture to make sure the eggs do not scramble. The egg mixture should be smooth and a creamy, golden color.
- Slowly pour the tempered egg mixture into the lightly simmering milk while whisking constantly. Simmer for 5-8 mintues. Continue to whisk until the mixture starts to thicken and form a custardy consistency. Whisk constantly and remove from the heat. Add in the sliced butter and continue to whisk until the butter is fully melted in and the custard is creamy and smooth.
- Pour the custard into a new bowl, using a spatula to make sure to get every bit from the pan. Cool until no longer steaming - about 15 minutes. Then cover with a sheet of plastic wrap and lightly press the plastic wrap down until it is touching the surface of the custard. Cool to room temperature, about an hour, and then transfer the bowl to the fridge. Chill 10+ hour or overnight. The custard can be prepared up to two days in advance.
- For the cakes, preheat the oven to 325°F and grease two 9x9 cake pans with butter or cooking spray. Cut the parchment paper into circles to fit the bottom of the pans. Then cut strips to line the edges of the pans. The strips around the edges should be about a quarter to half inch higher than the sides of the cake pans. Lightly grease the inside of the parchement. Set the pans aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip together the egg whites and cream of tartar until very foamy. Slowly pour in the sugar while the mixer continues to whip rapidly. Continue to whip until stiff peaks form but the mixture doesn't look "dry" (if it looks "dry" and "crumbly," you have overmixed and will need to restart).
- In a separate bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt.
- Then in a smaller bowl, combine the remaining egg yolks with the lemon, water and canola oil. Use a hand mixer to whisk together until a pale cream forms, about 2-3 minutes.
- Stir the egg yolk mixture into the flour mixture. Then very gently fold the egg whites into the same bowl. Continue to fold until a smooth batter comes together. Do not over mix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans so that they are 2/3 full. Bake at 325°F for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean.
- Remove the cakes from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Let the cakes cool in their pans on the rack for an hour. Then flip the cakes out onto the cooling rack and continue to cool to room temperature. Do not remove the parchment yet.
- When the cakes are room temperature, carefully return them to their pans, cover with plastic wrap tightly and then chill overnight. The cakes can be prepared up to two days in advance.
- While the cakes and custard chill, chop the strawberries for macerating. Place the chopped strawberries in a sieve over a large bowl. Stir in the sugar and then let the liquids drip out of the strawberries for about an hour.
- Take the strawberry syrup and whisk it with Grand Marnier. Reserve the remaining strawberries. Chill the syrup and strawberries overnight. This can be made up to 24 hours in advance.
- On the day of assembly, make sure the above steps have been completed and all components have chilled 100% for at least 10+ hours in adance.
- Make the whipped cream frosting by whipping the heavy cream and confectioners sugar in a large bowl until a thick whipped frosting forms, or about 10 minutes. Tranfer the whipped topping to a piping bag.
- Transfer the custard to a piping bag. Remove each cake from its pan and carefully remove the parchment. Slice each cake in half so there are 4 layers of cake.
- Pipe a dab of whipped topping onto the bottom of the cardboard cake board and place it on the cake turn table. Pipe another dab of whipped topping on top of the cake board.
- Place the first layer of cake down. Brush the entire cake including the sides with the Grand Marnier syrup. Then spread on a layer of macerated strawberries. Then pipe on the custard in an even layer. Finally, place the next layer of cake on top and repeat with the remaining ingredients.
- Pipe about a quarter of the whipped frosting on the top and side of the cake. Use a flat scraper to create a crumb coat of frosting on the cake. FREEZE the cake on the cake stand for 20 minutes to set the crumb coat.
- Once the crumb coat has set, pipe the remaining whipped frosting on the top and sides of the cake, using the cake scraper and turn table to get an even quarter to half inch of frosting on the entire cake.
- Decorate the cake with dabs of frosting and whole and sliced strawberries. Chill until ready to serve or for up to 24 hours in advance. Enjoy while living in The Land!
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!