Cassata Siciliana
Elenka product code 737N
A compound paste that reproduces the Sicilian cake rather than a single flavour, built on freeze-dried ricotta and candied fruit. The 250 gram dosage is high because most of what is in the pail is the cake's own components, not a concentrated flavouring.
Specification sheets are supplied to trade customers on request.
About Cassata Siciliana
Most pastes give you a flavour. This one gives you a cake, which is a different proposition and needs to be bought as one.
What it is
A compound paste built to reproduce cassata siciliana — the Palermo cake of sweetened ricotta, sponge, marzipan and candied fruit. Elenka's own description names freeze-dried ricotta and candied fruit among its components, and that is the key to everything else about the product, including why it costs what it costs and why it is dosed the way it is.
Read the dosage as a signal
At 250 grams per litre of finished mix, this is one of the highest-dosed products in the paste range, and the figure is not a sign of weakness. A pure pistachio paste is dosed at 80 because almost all of the pail is concentrated nut. Here, a quarter of the finished mix is the paste because the paste is mostly the cake.
The practical consequence is that this product changes your balance sheet more than any other paste on the site. A quarter of the mix arriving pre-composed means the sugar, the fat and the solids it brings are load-bearing, not incidental. Build the recipe around it rather than adding it to something that was already balanced — a white base designed for an 80-gram paste will come out sweet and soft when a 250-gram compound goes in.
The figure is quoted per litre of mix.
What it tastes like, and how to sell it
Sweetened ricotta first, then the citrus and spice of candied fruit, with the almond note of marzipan behind. It is a sweet, rich, unmistakably Sicilian flavour, and it is one of the few gelato flavours with a genuine story attached — which matters more on an Australian board than in Palermo, where the cake needs no introduction.
Sites that sell it well tend to name the cake, not the flavour, and to run it alongside the other Sicilian references in the range rather than as a lone curiosity. A pistachio and a cassata next to each other tell a customer what kind of gelateria they are standing in.
Beyond the tub
Because it carries the dessert's own components rather than an abstraction of them, it moves into cakes and moulded semifreddi more convincingly than most gelato pastes. That is closer to its origin than a tub is, and it is a straightforward way to get a second product out of one pail.
Pack size
Five kilograms, in cartons of two. At 250 grams per litre that is 20 litres of finished gelato per pail — a much shorter run than the number suggests, and worth planning against. This is a paste that turns over faster than its pail size implies.
What we do not publish
Ingredients, allergens, shelf life and storage conditions are absent from this page because no Elenka specification sheet is held for the Australian range. Absent means the data is not held, never that the answer is no. This product is a compound of several ingredients including dairy and, by Elenka's own description, candied fruit, so it is one where the declaration matters — request the sheet before answering an allergen enquiry.
Technical specifications
| Recommended dosage | 250 g per litre of mix — High by design: the paste carries ricotta and candied fruit, not just flavour. |
|---|---|
| Format | 5 kg pail, 2 per carton |
| Applications | gelato, semifreddo, cake, single-portion dessert |
| Elenka product code | 737N |
Full specification on request
The ingredient list, allergen declaration, shelf life and storage conditions for Cassata Siciliana are provided on the Elenka specification sheet. We supply it on request — please do not rely on the product name when answering a customer allergen enquiry.
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Frequently asked questions
Why is the dosage 250 grams when most pastes are under 100?
Because this is a compound rather than a concentrate. Elenka's own description names freeze-dried ricotta and candied fruit, so a large part of the pail is the cake's components rather than flavouring, and it takes more of it to build the flavour.
How does it change my recipe balance?
Substantially. At 250 grams per litre the paste is a quarter of the mix, so the sugar, fat and solids it brings are not a rounding error. Recalculate the balance sheet rather than dropping it into an existing white base.
Is there a version without candied fruit?
Elenka makes one, dosed much lower because it carries less of the cake. It is not currently on the Australian list — ask us and we will put the question to the manufacturer.
Can it be used for cakes and semifreddi?
Yes. Because it carries the components of the dessert rather than an abstracted flavour, it transfers well to cakes and moulded semifreddi, which is closer to its origin than a tub is.