Sicilian cassata

Whisk the eggs with the sugar for a long time until you obtain a well-aerated, risen, and foamy mixture. Flavor with vanillin.

Sift the flour over the mixture and fold it in, then pour the batter into the 20x30 cm rectangular mold, buttered and floured, and bake at 180° for 25/30 minutes.

Remove the sponge cake from the oven, unmold it, and let it cool on a rack.

Line the Ø 20 cm cassata mold with cling film and cover the bottom with a disk of sponge cake cut to size.

Also cut slices about 5 cm high and with slightly trapezoidal sides to easily line the sides of the mold.

Pass the ricotta through a sieve, add the powdered sugar and aroma, then whisk until creamy.

Add the candied fruit.

Fill the sponge cake shell with the filling, leveling it.

Cover with a second disk of sponge cake cut to size and place a plate on top, pressing lightly.

Refrigerate for 8 hours.

Unmold the cassata onto the rack, placing it on a rigid disk with a slightly smaller diameter that will allow you to move the cassata easily.

Brush the cassata with warm apricot jelly.

On a sheet of parchment paper dusted with powdered sugar, roll out the almond paste, already colored with a tiny bit of green food coloring, to a thickness of 3/4 mm.

Wrap the edge of the dessert, leaving a few extra mm.

Remove the remaining powdered sugar with a brush dipped in a little white liqueur.

Prepare the icing by whisking the indicated ingredients, set aside 100 g, and pour the rest over the surface of the cassata, covering it.

Strengthen the remaining icing with the 20 g of powdered sugar and, using a piping bag with a small round nozzle, place dots on the edge and the decoration on the green band.

Put it back in the fridge for a few hours and, before serving, finish the center of the dessert with a garnish of candied fruit.