Cassata

I like to use the Victoria sponge recipe as the base for one of my favourite cakes, the cassata alla siciliana. No visit to any Sicilian town or city is complete without an early halt at the nearest pasticceria for an espresso and a slice of cassata. The classic cassata has pale green marzipan topping, originally made with pistachios, but now invariably made with green-tinted almond paste. And the filling is creamy ricotta sweetened with chopped candied fruit and grated chocolate. It is a recipe that adapts beautifully to floral-scented baking, and I particularly like the fact that, with a ricotta filling, the cake is much less rich than with a whipped cream or butter cream filling.