Christmas Cassata Semifredda

Enthusiasts of southern Italian cuisine will know that Cassata is normally associated with Easter, but with its glace cherries, chopped dark chocolate and fruit peel, and at the risk of offending purists, I can't help but think it belongs more naturally at Christmas.  There are numerous variations on the Cassata theme, the classic being the ricotta-filled sponge cake draped in green marzipan. This one, which is a derivative of the recipe given in Antonio Carluccio's The Collection, is the semifreddo, or icecream, version. I've made one two years running and it was a light and delicious way to end a hard day of eating.

What I love most about the cassata is that, a week out from Christmas, dessert is already prepared and sitting safely in the freezer. Whatever disasters may befall me on the day, I know I can bring the meal home strongly with this beauty.

Ingredients

200g egg whites (approx 4 eggs)
50g caster sugar
100g full-fat ricotta cheese (La Casa del Formaggio is my preference)
400ml double cream
75g honey, warmed so it's runny
100g mixed candied fruit peel
50g pinenuts, toasted
100g dark chocolate, chopped finely
1/2 cup red and green glace cherries, chopped into small pieces
1 tsp orange essence
1 tsp rum
2 tbsp strega (optional)

Method

Line a round bowl or pudding basin with clingfilm. 

Put the cherries, orange essence and rum into a bowl. Put the fruit peel and Strega in another bowl. Stir, then cover and let them sit while you get on with the rest of the recipe.

Get out 3 bowls. Put the egg whites in one, the ricotta in another, and the cream in the last one. Whisk the egg whites until stiff, then gradually whisk in the sugar.  With a fork, break up the ricotta until it is softened and somewhat smooth (if it's dry, add a little dash of milk to help with this process). Beat the cream until thick.

Gently fold the honey into the egg whites, followed by the ricotta and the cream. Then, fold in all the other ingredients, stirring until they are well-distributed.

Pour the mixture into your prepared round bowl or basin and smooth the surface.

In his book, Antonio Carluccio recommends serving this with a pistachio sauce (made by whizzing up 80g pistachios, 20g caster sugar and 20ml milk in a blender), but it would be fine on its own, or just with chopped pistachios scattered over.