Lucullian delights
What a beautiful cake and now the blog world can see the fruits of your labor!
Looks great! Sounds like it is worth the effort getting organized to bake!
Wow, wow, wow. *Almost* too pretty to eat 
wow! beau-ti-ful!
OMG ... how long did that take you to make? And then to eat?? Wonderful ... a real labour of love for your semi-Sicilian husband!
Thanks for sharing
Joanna x
The dolce looks divine. Wish I could have a piece. I am off work today and having my morning coffee before starting todays food blog post 
I am doing perfectly fine though with a piece of chocolate cake made by my husband
Wow! this magnificnet cake may have to be my contribution to our family's Christmas dinner!
That actually looks like it would be a great DB challenge! Looks beautiful and probably tastes great too.
I am glad you attempted this. I have never made a cassata, either...I am hoping to take her recipe and your notes and attempt it soon!
Another blog from Italy! and I love food! YAY I've found you through Bleeding Espresso's blog. I'm so happy to have found you. I'll be back to visit! Your cake looks yummy.
Mmmm, I'm on my way over, put on the coffee
What an absolutely beautiful cake. This just might grace my Christmas Eve Calabrian dinner. Thanks!
These photos are absolutely gorgeous, definitely magazine-worthy! And of course it has to do with how wonderful you made this cake turn out. I am very, very impressed!
That looks so, so good. And sounds so good, too.
Looks delicious! and so pretty.
Wow!!! How beautiful is that? I love the silver balls. I just wish leftovers lasted longer, 'cause now I have to wait for company to make it.
That cake is beautiful! It looks like a really involved recipe but the cake sounds delicious
my, oh my, oh my, this looks really good. I can't wait to try it. It looks labor intensive but worth it!!
This is so beautiful!!!
I've had a similar cake at many family functions, made by *cugini* who would never share their secret recipe. HA!!! Now I'll make this baby and enjoy the stunned expressions as they wonder where I got the secret!!!
You've done it again, Ilva, & made a truly delicious cake that you should be proud of. It deserves to be a birthday cake for someone very special one day!!
What a work of art - the cake and the photography! Great event you are all doing.
That looks like a little bit of heaven.
This cake is so beautiful. Although I'm a fairly good baker, I doubt if I could get it to look as wonderful as you have!
I have only had cassata in restaurants and order it every time. Next time I have a potluck or dinner party, guess what'll be on the menu!
This is one of the most beautiful and appealing cakes I have seen...I so wish that could have a piece right now!
Italians are certainly love their pistachios I'll have to try that filling - it looks scrumptious...
Rosa
This is one of my favorite desserts and yours looks delicious.
What a thing of stunning beauty!!! I stopped my tongue about a cm from the screen Ilva, you can be really proud of yourself. I am sooo impressed!! And talk about being organized???? WOW!! I simply have to try this cake before I expire....I wish I lived next door to you so I could enjoy a slice with you right now!! This recipe book sounds just divine!! My kinda book!
Indeed, what a beautiful cake--also beautifully photographed. What about it makes it particularly Sicilian? Just curious. I suppose I'll have to read Gina's book to find out--so I hope to win it! Otherwise, I'll certainly be buying it.
Ohh, this looks like a cake my mom used to make! I've no idea what hers was called, though...I'll have to try this recipe sometime to compare! Gorgeous!
Based on your photography I'd take a bite even if it tasted like cardboard.
I know it's really good and tasty though.
Thanks for taking time to create such a lovely cake and share it with all of us.
Cake, now that is right up my alley!!! It took my breathe away, they height was incredible!! Vida x
I bet it doesn't take 24 hours to eat. What a fabulous cake it looks like a work of art.
If I made that I wouldn't let anyone eat it.
looking forward to giving this a try.
Beautiful Ilva. Hands down, you did a great job
Beautiful photo's of a beautiful cake! I have made this cake only once in my life,it is VERY time consuming! An important tip that I just learned from you was to soak the sponge with the rum and then chill it overnite otherwise it will be to dry.I swore I'd never do it again, but I just might give it another shot!! Thanks Ilva!
If a kitchen-klutz like me could ever succeed in making a cake like that, I don't know if I could bear to cut it and eat it... It's beautiful!
Your cassata looks like the "supermodel" of cakes!
Do you have any left? Can I come over?
The cake looks divine, and the green tablecloth is absolutely magnificent. Fabulous colour contrasts!
Well, I see I'll have to add a bottle of rum now to my grocery list, won't I?
This sounds really great. Hope when I try it I don't muck it up.
That cake is killing me, and itīs 1am so I donīt need to get hungry! OR crave once again to visit Sicilia.
And Iīm in for the book, since I donīt know much about the sweet side of Italian cooking and Iīd love to learn.
I don't know which is better - the cake or your pictures of it. Brava.
Wow! Sounds almost like the Sicilian Rum cake the baker, next to my Grandfathers' market in Queens, used to make for all of our Birthdays!
MMMMM - that cake looks and sounds delicious. I'll file that recipe away for when I have something special going on.
Hai tutta la mia ammirazione! Wonderful
Growing up I spent a lot of time with my Australian aunt who married and Italian. She always bought an Italian Torte for celebrations. They are my Proust madeleine memory. That's a beauty Ilva.
Absolutely fabulous! That cake looks wonderful and ever so scrumptious! Yummy!
Cheers,
Rosa
THANKS TO ALL OF YOU! Your comments really make me feel proud of myself! and I hope you win the book all of you!
Wow Ilva! That is one beautiful cassata! My family is Sicilian and this cake sort of symbolizes a lot of what it means to be Sicilian American, as it is a sweet of Sicily that many people in America know of and it kind of brings together the Sicilian community. I love how food is so powerful!
Not really authentic due to vanilla content (face it, when making any "italian" recipe, if you can't find the ingredients in Italy....), but that one addition may make a "not one of my favorite desserts" worth spending 2 days making!
To repeat almost everyone - the photos are fantastic and the cake looks incredible (where did you get those silver balls?)...you are one talented lady
So pretty. I will mark this one! Looks like it should be my Christmas cake.
So beautifull. Thanks for sharing. This one is marked.
The last picutre is saying: Here's looking at you, kid!
What an elegant cake!
This will test my skills...or rather the lack of them;
But a challenge is hard to resist!
So Cassata alla Siciliana.....
is on my to do list!
(And I will certainly report back on my ....er...success *fingers crossed*!)
ps the Chocolate kisses, by the way, went down very well...and very quickly!
I'm not usually a fan of the cake filling, but with chocolate, pistachios, and ricotta, how could I resist?
Oh my gosh, that is the most amazing looking cake! It is so beautiful, I don't know if I could cut it and eat it. I'd just want to sit and look at it!
I'm going into Italian food overload with all these great sounding recipes!
24 hours? looks like it is worth it.
paz
elegantly delicious!
Oh my word, that looks delicious. HOw long did it take to make? I would love to win that cookbook!
Something is wrong here. I missed this one.
And the other thing wrong here is I really want to make another sweet thing. I'm having a really hard time sticking to my savory roots.
This is really really impressive. I had that book in my hands yesterday, with the coupon that came today I may have to go back for it.
Love this cake!
I love cassatta cake! This was a favorite from childhood at an Italian cafe in my neighborhood. Your photos are amazing. The recipe looks very hard, though.
I think we will all have to come over to you and sample some of your amazing recipes...looks absolutely tasty!!! Thank you for your comments on my holiday post x
I love cassata cake and you did a great job on yours, Ilva! Happy Holidays to you and yours
This looks positively regal. I just gasped when I saw the first shot.
wow, all these recipes look just amazing. this is so beautiful!
YUMMMMM....spongy layered frosing goodness...
Oh my! Absolutely exquisite. And it sounds exactly like the one my mom lost the recipe for. She has missed it for many, many years. Oh she will be so excited. It is gorgeous!
Denise
Yum! As I told Jen, I keep surprising my mother in law with all these Italian desserts. She is Sicilian; I am NOT. This one I cannot wait to make! Thanks for this choice
Great photos- I hope it tasted as good as it looks!!!!
I think my sister and I ate an ice cream cassata in Rome. Is that even possible?
Your photography is superb! It looks soo good!
I'm happy that so many of you are planning to make this cake, it truly deserves it!
Thanks for all the compliments, I blush! No not really but they make me happy!
and yes Amy, it sounds possible, I think there is ice cream with that taste. How they make it is another question!
Oh, that cassata is beautiful! I had planned to make the Daring Baker's Red Velvet cake for my birthday in January, BUT I may have to try this instead!
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