CLEVELAND-STYLE CASSATA CAKE
Serves 10 to 12
ONE OF MY FAVORITE MIDWESTERN FOOD MEMORIES IS THE BIRTHDAY CAKE I requested for many years when visiting my father, known to me as “that strawberry and vanilla pudding cake”—a yellow sponge sheet in two layers, filled with fresh juicy berries and thick vanilla pastry cream, swathed in whipped cream frosting. As it turns out, that cake has a real name, and was actually just a more conveniently shaped version of the towering, round Cleveland-style cassata cake, a classic of the city’s Little Italy neighborhood.
Cleveland cassata derives from the centuries-old cassata siciliana—essentially a cannoli in cake form, with a ricotta cheese filling, jewel-like candied fruit, and lavishly decorated. The LaPuma family, which emigrated from Sicily to Cleveland in the late 1800s, is credited with creating the first “Cleveland-style” cassata in the 1920s at their family bakery. Turns out the LaPuma kids didn’t like the ricotta filling of the original (isn’t that always the way?) and so came the remix, using locally-available ingredients. LaPuma Bakery still cranks out the same “modern” cassatas today, as do many other Cleveland-area bakeries, such as Corbo’s and Presti’s, and other old-school bakeries throughout the Midwest.
My version of a cassata is flavor-boosted with a nod to its roots: extra-virgin olive oil, a hit of lemon, and a subtle splash of balsamic vinegar to make the rubied berries even more vibrant.
BERRIES:
1 pound/453 g fresh strawberries, hulled and chopped into ½-inch/1.25 cm pieces
1 tablespoon/25 g granulated sugar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
CAKE:
Nonstick cooking spray for pans
2 cups/120 g cake flour, sifted
1½ cups/300 g granulated sugar, divided
2½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
¾ cup/170 g ice-cold water
½ cup/113 g extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
7 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Prepare the berries: In a medium bowl, toss the strawberries with the sugar and balsamic vinegar. Let rest for at least 1 hour, or up to 1 day ahead in the refrigerator, tightly covered.
Prepare the cake: Position a rack to the center of the oven and preheat it to 325°F/170°C. Grease three 8-inch/20 cm round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray and line them with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together the cake flour, 1 cup/200 g of the sugar, and the baking powder and salt.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the cold water, oil, lemon zest, vanilla, and egg yolks until smooth. Pour into the flour mixture and whisk vigorously until smooth, about 1 minute.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the egg whites and lemon juice. Whisk on medium-high speed until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the remaining ½ cup/100 g sugar. Beat until the whites are firmer and opaque, but still soft in shape, about 1 minute more (overbeaten whites will cause the cake to collapse). Fold about a third of the whipped whites into the batter until smooth, then fold in the remaining whites. Divide the batter equally among the prepared pans.
Bake until golden, a toothpick inserted into the center of a layer comes out clean, and the top springs back when lightly pressed, 40 to 45 minutes (a toothpick will be clean a few minutes before the top springs back). Let cool completely in the pans on a wire rack—the cakes may shrink slightly as they cool.
Assemble the cake: Drain the strawberries well, catching the juice in a medium bowl.
When the cake layers have cooled, peel away the parchment paper. Place 1 layer on a cake stand and tuck strips of parchment under the cake to protect the cake stand from drips. Use a pastry brush to moisten the top of the layer with a few tablespoons of strawberry juice (you won’t use all the drained juice). Top with half of the berries. Spoon half of the custard over the berries. Repeat the process with the second cake layer, berries, and custard. Top with the final cake layer. Frost the cake with the whipped cream, finishing with lots of swoops and swirls. Chill for at least 3 hours. This cake is best served the day it’s assembled. Leftovers keep for up to 2 days, tightly covered and refrigerated.
TIP > This party cake is a make-ahead wonder: The custard, fruit, and whipped cream frosting can be made a day ahead, and the cake layers 2 days ahead, kept tightly wrapped (separately) and refrigerated.
