I'm in Italy since 1998, and I've never even heard of them - which maybe isn't as strange as it sounds, since Italy is made up from incountable separate cultures, each with their distinct cuisines and food traditions, most of which never cross any "borders". A certain dish might be well known and seen as something very Italian in the US, while it's next to unknown to everybody but a few here.
The other day I searched the 'net for a particular bread that was very common in my MIL's town when she was a child, and the only site that talked about it and could offer a recipe was Australian. A lot of the genuine traditions is in the hands of emigrants it seems - I see it when I visit Norwegian emigrant sites and blogs, too. Almost any random person in Seattle knows what lefse is, but I doubt I can say the same about Norwegians.
I'm a marzipan addict (no yule without it), but here in Tuscany it's almost unheard of, and you can't find it anywhere, except in the horrible German supermarket chain Lidl during the first two weeks of December (I'm ashamed to say I do shop there then!), and then only as chocolate covered pralines. I have to depend on people I know in Scandinavia or Germany to send me some proper marzipan. I see the cassata is supposed to be completely covered by it - like a Swedish prinsesstårta! - so in Sicily it's apparently to be found! That's so unfair! ;D
Cassata is hugely popular here in northeast Ohio, has been for at least thirty years, now; and I seem to recall that it enjoyed tremendous popularity in Chicago, when I lived and worked there
( ... )
I am sure that in every city or town where there's a bakery making cassata cakes, there are fans of that bakery who are totally loyal to it and unwavering in their certainty that *that* cassata is supreme.
WOW, thank you for all the information. I have friends in Cleveland that I will send those links to (or they may just see them here).
My MIL used to make a hot milk cake with whipped creme icings and strawberries...and her family has always gotten holiday cannolies from Vaccaros (http://www.vaccarospastry.com/) in Baltimore. This cassata cake falls somewhere between and above the both of those.
If your friends in Cleveland have been in town any length of time and/or are big cassata cake lovers, I'm betting they've already found a bakery they love which sells it.
Corbo's is worth the trip to "Little Italy;" it's an interesting neighborhood. And Corbo's, a "dolceteria," is not to be missed, even if you're buying something "more ordinary," such as an ice. The quality is outstanding.
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The other day I searched the 'net for a particular bread that was very common in my MIL's town when she was a child, and the only site that talked about it and could offer a recipe was Australian. A lot of the genuine traditions is in the hands of emigrants it seems - I see it when I visit Norwegian emigrant sites and blogs, too. Almost any random person in Seattle knows what lefse is, but I doubt I can say the same about Norwegians.
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Do you make things with marzipan or eat it straight?
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http://www.hellocleveland.com/Articles/Attraction/2873/Corboandaposs_Italian_Bakery_From_cookies_to_cannoli_to_cassata_cake.Cfm
Other people prefer suburban Calozza's:
http://www.colozzasbakery.com/map1.htm
(click on "Cake flavors and sizes.")
I am sure that in every city or town where there's a bakery making cassata cakes, there are fans of that bakery who are totally loyal to it and unwavering in their certainty that *that* cassata is supreme.
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My MIL used to make a hot milk cake with whipped creme icings and strawberries...and her family has always gotten holiday cannolies from Vaccaros (http://www.vaccarospastry.com/) in Baltimore. This cassata cake falls somewhere between and above the both of those.
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If your friends in Cleveland have been in town any length of time and/or are big cassata cake lovers, I'm betting they've already found a bakery they love which sells it.
Corbo's is worth the trip to "Little Italy;" it's an interesting neighborhood. And Corbo's, a "dolceteria," is not to be missed, even if you're buying something "more ordinary," such as an ice. The quality is outstanding.
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