Cassatelle with ricotta and chocolate

Questo post è disponibile anche in: Italian

Here is an amazing typical Sicilian recipe to prepare on the occasion of Easter but not only, the Cassatelle with ricotta and chocolate.

Cassatelle with ricotta and chocolate are prepared with a dough very similar to shortcrust pastry, filled with a very delicate cream of ricotta scented with cinnamon.

Cooking can take place not only in the oven the one I prefer but also in a saucepan with abundant oil of seeds.

INGREDIENTS FOR 20 CASSATELLE WITH RICOTTA AND CHOCOLATE:

FOR THE DOUGH

• 400 gr. of 00 flour
• 1 egg
• 80 gr. of granulated sugar
• 70 gr. of lard or butter
• milk to taste
• half a sachet of baking powder
• the grated peel of lemon
• machine for rolling out the dough or rolling pin

FOR THE CREAM

• 700 gr. of sheep’s milk ricotta from the day before
• 100 gr. of granulated sugar
• dark chocolate chips to taste
• the grated peel of half lemon
• cinnamon powder to taste
• icing sugar to taste

PREPARATION

In a bowl, put the sifted flour, egg, lard, sugar, the grated peel of lemon and add enough milk to obtain a smooth and homogenous dough.

Then take the machine and set it to n. 3, sprinkle the work surface with a little flour, cut a slice of dough a little at a time, mash it, flour it and pass it inside the machine a couple of times.

If you do not have a machine you can use a rolling pin

If you do not have a machine you can use a rolling pin to obtain a thickness of about 3 mm.

Take and form circles by a coffee cup, make thin cords with the scraps of dough to put inside along the circumference of each circle.

With your fingers ,give the shape of the cassatella by pinching the dough and start making the ricotta cream.

First of all, drain the ricotta from its own liquid, then take a narrow mesh strainer, place it on top of a bowl, pour it and sift it with a fork, crushing it well.

Add the sugar, the the grated peel of half lemon and some cinnamon powder, add the dark chocolate chips, mix and the cream is ready.

Meanwhile, turn on the oven to 200 ° C. static mode and fill the cassatelle with the ricotta cream, bake in the central part of the oven and cook for about 10 minutes or until they start to brown.

Remove the cassatelle from the oven and sprinkle with plenty of icing sugar.

You may also be interested in the recipe for Tuscan rice pudding.