Name: Italian Easter Cassata
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: Filling:; 6 eggs; 3/4 cup of sugar; 1-15-ounce container of whole milk Ricotta; 8 ounces chocolate bar grated( she always used milk chocolate Hersheys); 8 ounces of candied citron (mom always used this it's optional) I prefer this without it; 1/2 a jar of maraschino cherries chopped in chunky pieces blotted dry with paper towels; 1 tablespoon pure vanilla; Mix all ingredients (except cherries and chocolate)together then fold in the cherries and chocolate and set aside.; For the Crust:; Note For Crust: double the recipe for a lattice dough top and make thin strips; 2-1/2 cups flour; 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; 3/4 cup milk; 1 stick of butter ( equal to a 1/2 cup); 3/4 cups of sugar; 1 tablespoon baking powder; Note: this recipe can easily be doubled. This will make 2 - 9 x 9 thinly rolled out dough with a lattice crust. We like a thicker dough so I doubled the dough recipe. We use disposable square pans.

Cassata is an Easter Italian Cheesecake.

This is my mom's recipe the late Margaret Ann Fanelli Colenzo.

You're in for a real traditional Italian creamy ricotta-filled cheesecake that is bursting with cherries and chocolate!

Cassata siciliana is a traditional sweet from Sicily, Italy. Mom was from Bari, Italy and this is her version.

There are over 10 different varieties of cassata in Italy.

The cake is believed to have originated in or around Palermo, where sheep’s milk ricotta, pistachios, and citrus were prevalent.

The Italian cheesecake is moistened with ricotta cheese baked into a delicious crust that has fruits and chocolate in it.

It's a tradition in our family to make this cheesecake every Easter, everyone looks forward to it.

You may also like to try our Italian Easter Dessert Roundup of recipes we make traditionally every year, or our Best Easter Italian Recipes there's something for everyone.

Over the years, we preferred it without some of the traditional candied fruits in it called citron, which is an ingredient used in many bakery versions.

This is an Italian cheesecake made with cherries, shaved chocolate, ricotta cheese in a pastry crust

Mom Made So Many

She made several of these every year, one for everyone in the family.

This was her favorite dessert for Easter to make and everyone raved about this cheesecake.

A classic traditional cheesecake most Italians make every year at Easter with ricotta cheese, fruits, and chocolate.

Not like a traditional french cheesecake with cream cheese, this is much lighter and moist.

I have cut the recipe in half for years, now the family is growing and I make the whole recipe!

this is a ricotta Italian cheesecake called cassata made at Easter

Other Versions of Cassata from different Regions pastry shops in Italy(instead of chocolate and cherry additions)

lemon extract and lemon zest around 1 tablespoon of each
orange extract and orange zest same amounts as lemon
rum extract and chocolate grated instead of vanilla
citron or other dried fruits with limoncello
all chocolate no cherries

This is an Italian cheesecake made with cherries, shaved chocolate, ricotta cheese in a pastry crust made at Easter

Cassata Tips

The recipe makes 2 9x 9 square pans and I double the crust recipe for a thicker top
This recipe can be doubled to make 4 or larger cassata cheesecakes
I prefer a thicker crust so double the recipe for the crust.
The egg wash makes a beautiful sheen on top of the pie, so don't forget to brush the top
Spray your tins generously for easy removal or whatever baking pans you use or line with parchment paper.
Citron was not a favorite but an ingredient used often in cheesecake, I left it optional.
Don't stir the batter after the cherries are added or the whole batter will turn pink, fold gently.
This version that is very moist and delicious is from mom's Region of Bari, Italy
Cassata needs to be kept refrigerated.
Cassata will freeze well, just defrost in the refrigerator overnight.

this is the batter to make ricotta Italian cheesecake called cassata made at Easter

Ingredients You Will Need:

eggs
whole milk Ricotta
chocolate bar grated( she always used milk chocolate Hersheys)
citron (mom always used this it's optional) I prefer this without it
maraschino cherries
pure vanilla
flour
cinnamon
milk
butter softened
sugar
baking powder

This is the batter on how to make an Italian cheesecake made with cherries, shaved chocolate, ricotta cheese in a pastry crust

Try Some Of My Other Favorite Recipes

Best Easter Roundup

Pusties

Italian Cannoli

Holiday Cannoli Mousse

Pastry in Italy

This ancient queen of Sicilian pastries, we cannot leave behind her sister, the Cannoli.

One of our favorites to also make around Easter time.

That is a hard pastry is fried by immersion, preferably in the extra virgin olive oil, the cornerstone of Sicilian quality products, which type of frying makes it crunchy and fragrant.

After it has cooled, it is filled with ricotta filling cream and decorated with candied cherry or pistachio nuts depending on whether one is on the Eastern or Western side of Sicily

this is a lattice crust being cut out to a this is a ricotta Italian cheesecake called cassata made at Easter

Pin for later

Italian Cheesecake

No matter what Region in Italian, ricotta cheesecake is made in many different ways, you can adapt the recipe to however you prefer or your family likes the filling.

Some use only citron, lemon zest or all chocolate, mom's way was with the maraschino cherries and chocolate and still after all these years that past still our favorite Easter memory of her cassata.

Check out the recipe, there is no right and wrong the filling is a basic tool and guide that will be a great addition to your Easter Italian Dinner, Buona Pasqua.