Cassatelle alla Siciliana

 

 

 These ricotta cream turnovers from Sicily are hard to resist and even harder to stop at only one.  The crunchy crust encases warm and oozing ricotta and chocolate.  They are best when warm.  Let me know if you could eat only one.  I couldn't!

 

 

Cassatelle alla Siciliana

Makes about 18 pastries

For the dough:

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3 tablespoons Marsala wine

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup water, plus more if necessary

For the filling:

24 ounces sweet ricotta

3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus more for the garnish

4 ounces chocolate chips

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

 

1 egg white

About 3 cups oil for frying

Mix together the flour, sugar, oil, wine, lemon juice and salt.  Add half the water and combine into a ball.  If the mixture does not come together, add more water as necessary to form a soft dough. (You should only knead the dough enough to form a homogenous dough—overworking it will make the crust tough.)  Divide into 3 disks and wrap in plastic.  Let rest for 30 minutes.

For the filling, mix together the ricotta and sugar until they are combined.  Add the chocolate chips and cinnamon and stir together.

Roll the dough to 1/8-inch thick and cut into circles about 5 inches in diameter.  Fill each circle with about 2 tablespoons of ricotta cream, brush edge with egg white, and fold over.  Use a fork to seal the closed edge.

Heat the oil to 350 degrees F in a sauté pan.  Fry the cassatelle, turning frequently, until golden brown, about 4 minutes.  (Do not overcrowd the pan.)  Drain on paper towels and dust with confectioners’ sugar.  They are best when they are still slightly warm.  Buon Appetito!

 

 

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Comments

[My Carolina Kitchen]

These creme turnovers are gorgeous. I certainly could not eat just one...
Sam

[Patricia Turo]

I will try these, they look interesting. I do mostly Italian desserts and will add this to my recipes.

[Paula Aiello]

Can't say I've ever had one of these. They have all the required ingredients (chocolate, mainly!)

[Jozee Pizzurro]

Being Sicilian and loving ricotta since I was a child, this is something I could eat everyday.
Ricotta with chocolate is a combination made in heaven.

[Linda Sposito]

Can you prepare everything and refigerate a day before you fry? I remember my grandmother making these when I was young.

[foodloverkathy]

Linda: Yes, you can definitely prepare them a day in advance and fry them before serving.