Recipe: Strawberry Custard Cassata Cake (Cleveland Cassata), Strawberry Custard Cassata

Hough's Bakery recipes are almost impossible to find. Here are Cleveland version Strawberry Custard Cassatta Cake recipes and another Strawberry Cassata Cake recipe. Perhaps you can tweak them to the way you remember them. Good luck and please share your results with us.

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STRAWBERRY CUSTARD CASSATA CAKE
OR CLEVELAND CASSATA
Source: Adapted from the Strawberry Chiffon Shortcake at Smitten Kitchen, and the Strawberry Cream Cake published in the June 1997 issue of Gourmet.

When Eitan first rattled off his list of ideal birthday cake qualities - cool, moist, custardy, and chock full of strawberries - a cake from my childhood in Cleveland immediately came to mind. Cassata cake. I began my research with a search for cassata cake recipes, but one after another they called for ricotta cheese instead of custard between the cake and strawberry layers. I was baffled. It was surely custard in the cakes that I remembered.

With a little more digging, I found that, while the majority of cassata cakes are indeed made with ricotta, Corbo's bakery in Cleveland has long produced a custard and strawberry cassata. Their Sicilian family recipe traces back 100 years. Apparently, this cake got the attention of Chef Mario Batali who, according to this site, said, "Corbo's Bakery has the best cassata I have tried in the USA." Other bakeries and supermarkets in the Cleveland area took their cues from Corbo's and made their cassatas with custard, too. To reproduce this Cleveland classic, I grabbed the cake from one recipe, the custard from another, and did my best to piece together a cassata the way I remember it.

Yes, this cake is a bit of a project in that it involves several components and takes some time to put together. But difficult it is not. To keep things manageable, you can make the custard and the cake the night before - it's best to refrigerate the cake before splitting the layers, anyway, to decrease the risk of breakage - and then just split the layers, macerate the berries, whip the cream, and assemble the next morning.

For the cake layers:
2 1/4 c. cake flour
1 1/4 and 1/4 cups sugar, divided
1 T. baking powder
1 t. salt
3/4 c. cold water
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 t. lemon zest
1 t. vanilla extract
5 large egg yolks at room temperature
8 large egg whites at room temperature
1/2 t. cream of tartar

For the custard:
6 large egg yolks
1/2 c. sugar
2 c. half and half
3 T. cornstarch

For the macerated strawberries:
3 lb. strawberries
2 T. sugar

For the whipped cream:
2 c. chilled heavy cream
1 T. sugar

Make the custard: (you can do this step the night before)
Whisk together all of the custard ingredients in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-low heat, whisking constantly. Turn down the heat so that the mixture just simmers, and whisk until thick, 1-2 minutes. (The key words here are whisk constantly. The custard will tell you in no uncertain terms when it is done. It's like magic. One moment you can comfortably whisk your way through the liquid, and the next it is undeniably a thick custard. Cornstarch is neat like that.) Transfer the custard to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a round of wax paper, and cool. Then, chill custard, covered, for at least 3 hours, or up to 2 days.

Bake the cakes: (you can also do this step the night before)
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line the bottoms of two 9-inch round cake pans with lightly oiled (I use cooking spray) parchment paper . Otherwise, leave the pans ungreased.

Sift together the flour, 1 1/4 c. sugar, baking powder, and salt twice into a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, use an electric hand mixer on high speed to beat together the yolks, water, oil, zest, and vanilla until smooth. Stir into the flour mixture.

In another large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Add the remaining 1/4 c. sugar, and beat on high until the peaks are stiff but not dry.

Using a rubber spatula (and a very light touch), fold about a quarter of the fluffy egg whites into the egg yolk mixture. Then fold in the remaining whites. Be very gentle. The goal here is to incorporate the egg whites without allowing them to deflate significantly. It is all of the air that has been whipped into the egg whites that will make for tall and light cake layers. As soon as the egg whites are no longer visible, stop folding.

Scrape the batter into the two prepared pans and spread evenly. (Here is a trick for making sure you have poured an equal amount of batter into each pan: Grab two toothpicks and stick one into the center of each batter-filled pan. Then, pull them out and see if the amounts of batter on the picks line up.) Bake for approximately 35 minutes, until the top springs back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

For the next step, and for the splitting, wax paper is your friend. Any surface that carries a cake layer, I line with wax paper for easier transfer.

Allow the cakes to cool in their pans on a cooling rack for at least an hour. When completely cool, run a knife around the sides to release the cakes, cover each pan with a wax paper-lined plate, and flip. Gently lift the pans off of the cakes, and carefully peel back the pieces of parchment, taking care not to take the very tops of the cake with you. (I did end up pulling off a teeny tiny bit of the top of one layer, but it didn't matter, since the cake would ultimately be covered in whipped cream.)

Wrap the two cakes in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least three hours, or overnight.

Meanwhile, prepare the strawberries:
Slice the strawberries thinly (but not too thinly - you want the slices thick enough so that you can really taste and feel the berries even once they are smothered by custard, cake, and whipped cream!), and place in a bowl. Sprinkle with the 2T. sugar, and stir. Allow the strawberries to macerate for 1 hour. Their juices will release and pool at the bottom of the bowl. Every so often, give them a stir. Strain the berries, reserving the released juices.

When the cakes are thoroughly chilled, and thus a little sturdier, it's time to split them in two. Using a long serrated bread knife, carefully saw each layer in half. Place each layer on a wax paper-lined baking sheet or plate.

Whip the cream:
Whip the cream and sugar together until stiff.

Assemble the cake!
(I experimented with my layering technique: custard alone between the first and second layers, strawberries alone between the second and third layers, and strawberries and custard between the third an fourth layers. In the future, I'll put strawberries and custard between every layer.)

Place one cake layer on a wax paper-lined baking sheet. Brush the top of the layer with 1/3 of the reserved strawberry juice. Cover with a layer of strawberries, and then with a layer of custard. Top with the next layer of the cake, and repeat: strawberry juice, strawberries, custard, cake layer. And again.

Using a spatula, cover the entire cake with whipped cream. Top with either leftover macerated strawberries, or a few "raw" strawberries. (Next time, I'll go with the latter.)

Chill the cake for at least 8 hours before serving, so that the cake has time to absorb the strawberry juices. Bring to cool room temperature before serving.

(To transfer the cake from the baking sheet to a cake stand, use the wax paper to gently scooch the cake from one surface to the other, then tear away the visible wax paper.)

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STRAWBERRY CUSTARD CASSATA CAKE
Source: Dee Dee's Delights, 4/25/2010

At work, I always have a co worker that talks about Cassata Cake. She wanted the recipe. I would find several for her, but she always said no that not a cassata cake. She talked bout how it has strawberries and custard. She insisted that was cassata cake and that was her daughter's wedding cake. So I decided since, what I was finding her, despite the name, wasn't her cassata cake, to do more research. I came to find out what she describes as cassata cake is in fact called the Cleveland Cassata. A bakery in Ceveland, called Corbo's, started this version so that is why in looking for recipe I could not find what she wanted, basically it a Cleveland thing. I'm from Pittsburgh, so it is why I had no idea what she was referring to. I guess Pittsburgh has the infamous sandwich, Cleveland has this cake. I did find a really nice article all about this Cleveland Cassata and a recipe. So to Honor my friend I am posting her beloved cassata she keeps asking me to make for her and I have to admit it is quite good. It is a lot steps but it is easy. I'm going to post the recipe different then i normally do, because it is from the site I hyperlinked above. I'm putting her words in italic

For the cake layers:
2 1/4 c. cake flour
1 1/4 and 1/4 cups sugar, divided
1 T. baking powder
1 t. salt
3/4 c. cold water
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 t. lemon zest
1 t. vanilla extract
5 large egg yolks at room temperature
8 large egg whites at room temperature
1/2 t. cream of tartar

For the custard:
6 large egg yolks
1/2 c. sugar
2 c. half and half
3 T. cornstarch

For the macerated strawberries:
3 lb. strawberries
2 T. sugar

For the whipped cream:
2 c. chilled heavy cream
1 T. sugar

Make the custard: (you can do this step the night before)
Whisk together all of the custard ingredients in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-low heat, whisking constantly. Turn down the heat so that the mixture just simmers, and whisk until thick, 1-2 minutes. (The key words here are whisk constantly. The custard will tell you in no uncertain terms when it is done. It's like magic. One moment you can comfortably whisk your way through the liquid, and the next it is undeniably a thick custard. Cornstarch is neat like that.) Transfer the custard to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a round of wax paper, and cool. Then, chill custard, covered, for at least 3 hours, or up to 2 days.

Bake the cakes: (you can also do this step the night before)
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line the bottoms of two 9-inch round cake pans with lightly oiled (I use cooking spray) parchment paper . Otherwise, leave the pans ungreased.

Sift together the flour, 1 1/4 c. sugar, baking powder, and salt twice into a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, use an electric hand mixer on high speed to beat together the yolks, water, oil, zest, and vanilla until smooth. Stir into the flour mixture.

In another large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Add the remaining 1/4 c. sugar, and beat on high until the peaks are stiff but not dry.

Using a rubber spatula (and a very light touch), fold about a quarter of the fluffy egg whites into the egg yolk mixture. Then fold in the remaining whites. Be very gentle. The goal here is to incorporate the egg whites without allowing them to deflate significantly. It is all of the air that has been whipped into the egg whites that will make for tall and light cake layers. As soon as the egg whites are no longer visible, stop folding.

Scrape the batter into the two prepared pans and spread evenly. (Here is a trick for making sure you have poured an equal amount of batter into each pan: Grab two toothpicks and stick one into the center of each batter-filled pan. Then, pull them out and see if the amounts of batter on the picks line up.) Bake for approximately 35 minutes, until the top springs back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

For the next step, and for the splitting, wax paper is your friend. Any surface that carries a cake layer, I line with wax paper for easier transfer.

Allow the cakes to cool in their pans on a cooling rack for at least an hour. When completely cool, run a knife around the sides to release the cakes, cover each pan with a wax paper-lined plate, and flip. Gently lift the pans off of the cakes, and carefully peel back the pieces of parchment, taking care not to take the very tops of the cake with you. (I did end up pulling off a teeny tiny bit of the top of one layer, but it didn't matter, since the cake would ultimately be covered in whipped cream.)

Wrap the two cakes in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least three hours, or overnight.

Meanwhile, prepare the strawberries:
Slice the strawberries thinly (but not too thinly - you want the slices thick enough so that you can really taste and feel the berries even once they are smothered by custard, cake, and whipped cream!), and place in a bowl. Sprinkle with the 2T. sugar, and stir. Allow the strawberries to macerate for 1 hour. Their juices will release and pool at the bottom of the bowl. Every so often, give them a stir. Strain the berries, reserving the released juices.

When the cakes are thoroughly chilled, and thus a little sturdier, it's time to split them in two. Using a long serrated bread knife, carefully saw each layer in half. Place each layer on a wax paper-lined baking sheet or plate.

Whip the cream:
Whip the cream and sugar together until stiff.

Assemble the cake!
(I experimented with my layering technique: custard alone between the first and second layers, strawberries alone between the second and third layers, and strawberries and custard between the third an fourth layers. In the future, I'll put strawberries and custard between every layer.)

Place one cake layer on a wax paper-lined baking sheet. Brush the top of the layer with 1/3 of the reserved strawberry juice. Cover with a layer of strawberries, and then with a layer of custard. Top with the next layer of the cake, and repeat: strawberry juice, strawberries, custard, cake layer. And again.

Using a spatula, cover the entire cake with whipped cream. Top with either leftover macerated strawberries, or a few "raw" strawberries. (Next time, I'll go with the latter.)

Chill the cake for at least 8 hours before serving, so that the cake has time to absorb the strawberry juices. Bring to cool room temperature before serving.

(To transfer the cake from the baking sheet to a cake stand, use the wax paper to gently scooch the cake from one surface to the other, then tear away the visible wax paper.)

I told you lots of steps, but does help to make this the night before the custard. The author of this recipe does do a nice job of explaining, I really feel I can't break it down any more then she did. One word she used I think needs broken down is macerate, for the strawberries that means: To make soft by soaking or steeping in a liquid. So basically for making mushy berries. I would also make the cake part the night before as well. It just helps so much with the time and assembly of this masterpiece. I also saved whole berries and used as garnish, just looks nicer.

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STRAWBERRY CASSATA CAKE
Source: Uncle Phaedrus

To save time, substitute a cake made from a yellow cake mix for the Chiffon Sponge Cake. And don't forget to slice the tops off the cake layers to make them lay just right.

There will be leftover Pastry Cream; store in the refrigerator for
up to three days and use for other desserts or pastries. It does not freeze well.

1 recipe Pastry Cream (recipe follows)
1 recipe Chiffon Sponge Cake (recipe follows)
3 cups heavy whipping cream
6 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pastry bag fitted with large star tip
1 (10-inch) cardboard round
2 cups fresh strawberries, chopped
2 cups almonds, toasted and crushed
Cake plate or pedestal
12 whole strawberries (buy the huge Driscoll variety)

Prepare the Pastry Cream and refrigerate according to directions.
Prepare the Chiffon Sponge Cake and let the layers cool; wrap and store, if necessary.

When ready to assemble the cake, whip the heavy cream with the sugar and vanilla until stiff, being careful not to overwhip or the cream will become buttery. Place 1 cup of the sweetened whipped cream into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Place the bag into the refrigerator until ready to use.

Remove the Pastry Cream from the refrigerator and whip it by hand for no more than 1 minute to smooth out the lumps.

Place one of the cake layers, right side up, onto the cardboard round.
Spread a 1/2-inch-thick layer of Pastry Cream over the top of the bottom layer. Arrange a 1-cup layer of chopped strawberries on the cake layer and top with a thin layer of whipped cream, just enough to barely cover the strawberries.

Place the other cake layer, right side down, on top of the filling.
Refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes to set.

Remove from the refrigerator and ice the top and sides with the remaining whipped cream. If you are right-handed, hold the cake from the bottom with
your right hand and your palm flat up to the ceiling. With your left hand,
grab a handful of chopped nuts and gently press them into the side of the
cake. (Reverse for left-hand decorating.) Rotate the cake and continue
pressing on the nuts until the entire side is covered.

Place the cake on a cake plate or pedestal. Using the chilled pastry bag, pipe 12 rosettes of whipped cream on the top edge of the cake. To evenly space them, think of the top of the cake as a clock. Pipe a rosette at 12 o'clock, then one each at 6, 3, and 9 o'clock, dividing the cake into quarters. Pipe on the remaining rosettes. Top each rosette with a whole strawberry. Refrigerate the cake, up to 3 days, until ready to serve.

Makes 12 to 16 servings.

PASTRY CREAM

4 cups (1 quart) milk
3 eggs
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Place the milk in a large heavy saucepan and set it over medium-high heat.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs to break them up. Add the sugar and whisk to combine. Add the cornstarch, salt and vanilla, and whisk to combine.

When the milk comes to a slow boil, add 1/3 of it to the egg mixture, whisking constantly. (This is called tempering.) Bring the remaining milk back to a boil. Add all of the tempered egg mixture to the milk, continuously whisking over medium-high heat until thickened.

Place the cooked custard into a bowl, whisk in the butter until smooth and cover with plastic wrap so it touches the surface of the custard. Refrigerate until set.

CHIFFON SPONGE CAKE

For a taller three-layer cake, multiply the following recipe by 1 1/2 and divide the batter among three 10-inch round layer pans. Weigh the cake flour and sugar for best results. Otherwise, 14 ounces of cake flour is approximately 41/8 cups; 14 ounces of sugar is approximately 13/4 cups.

Butter, for greasing
8 eggs, separated
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup water
1 tablespoon vanilla
14 ounces cake flour
14 ounces sugar, divided
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Lightly butter the bottom of two 10-inch cake pans. Line the bottoms with a circle of parchment or wax paper, but do not butter the parchment or the sides of the pan. (Similar to angel food cake, this cake needs to cling to the sides while baking.)

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Place the egg yolks and vegetable oil into a deep bowl. Mix, then blend in the water and vanilla.

Into another bowl or onto wax paper, sift together the cake flour, 1/3 of the sugar, the baking powder and salt. Add to the egg yolk mixture and whip for about 2 minutes, either by hand or with an electric mixer.

In a very clean, deep metal bowl, whip the egg whites and remaining sugar until the mixture forms stiff peaks (when you can turn the mixing bowl upside down without the egg whites sliding out). Gently fold half of the egg whites into the yolk mixture. Leave the mixture streaky with egg whites so that you do not overfold. Fold in the remaining egg whites, being gentler than the first time. Carefully continue folding until there are no streaks of egg whites.

Divide the batter between the 2 cake pans and gently smooth the tops. Bake for about 25 minutes or until the cake springs back when lightly pressed in the center. Turn the pans upside down onto cookie racks to completely cool.

Gently run a knife around the sides of the pans. Tip the cakes out of the pans onto a flat surface.

The cakes can be double-wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Makes 2 round 10-inch cake layers.