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cassatelle on a plate with blue cups, spoons in background
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Cassatelle with Chickpea and Chocolate Filling

Carnevale is typically associated with decadent sweets such as these Cassatelle with Chickpea and Chocolate Filling
Course Dessert
Cuisine Sicilian-Italian
Keyword cassatelle with chickpea and chocolate filling, cassatelle, Carnevale desserts
Prep Time 55 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Resting time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours 15 minutes
Servings 24 cassatelle
Calories 111kcal

Ingredients

For the dough

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • pinch salt
  • 2 tbsp cold butter cubed
  • 1 orange (or lemon) zest of
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tbsp Marsala wine (can be substituted with red Port)

For the filling

  • 1 1/2 cups canned chickpeas drained and rinsed
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 4 tbsp chocolate chips dark or semi-sweet
  • vegetable oil for frying
  • powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

Prepare the dough

  •  Place flour and sugar in the bowl of your food processor and pulse a few times to combine.
    Alternately, you can prepare the dough by hand as I did here for my cassatelle with ricotta filling.
  • Add cubed butter and orange zest. Pulse a few times until the butter has broken down and the mixture is crumbly.
  • Beat 2 eggs with Marsala in a small bowl.  With the food processor running on low, pour the egg mixture in through the top feeder. Process until a dough begins to take shape.
  • Dump the crumbly dough onto your work surface and knead for a minute or two until a dough is formed. Shape into a flat disk, cover in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for an hour.

Prepare the filling

  • Place canned chickpeas (which have been drained and rinsed) in the food processor or blender.  Blend until finely ground. Add cinnamon and powdered sugar and process until well combined.
  • Transfer to a bowl and stir in chocolate chips.

To assemble

  • Remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut into 4 pieces.  Use a pasta machine (or rolling pin if you don't have one) to roll out each piece of dough. I pass the dough twice through each setting until the second to last setting. 
  • Cut into approximately 12 cm circles. I used an empanada cutter to cut the circles but a doughnut cutter or even a glass will work.
  • Place a teaspoon of chickpea filling in the bottom third of the circle of dough.  Fold over pinching the edges together and use a fork to crimp the edges in order to seal them well. Continue with the remaining dough.

For frying

  • Fill a wide, deep skillet with approximately 2 inches of vegetable oil. Heat the oil. Verify if the oil is hot enough for frying by placing the handle of a wooden spoon in the center of the skillet.  If the oil immediately begins to bubble vigorously around the handle, it is ready. 
  • Carefully lower a few cassatelle, without overcrowding your skillet, into the hot oil.  When they are golden and the dough has bubbled, flip them over to brown the opposite side.  This will take 2-3 minutes.  Lift them out with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel covered surface to absorb excess oil.  
  • Let cool. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Baking option

  • Preheat oven to 350F. Place the filled cassatelle on parchment paper covered sheet pan.  Brush the cassatelle with a beaten egg and bake for 20 minutes, until golden. Let cool and dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Notes

 

  • If you don't have any Marsala wine on hand to add to the dough, try substituting red Port wine.
  • If you have time, you can cook your own chickpeas for the filling instead of using canned ones.
  • Vary the flavor of the filling by adding some grated orange zest to the chickpea mixture.
  • If you are health conscious and concerned about the frying, you can still enjoy your cassatelle by baking them as described above.
  • Once you have used all up your filling, you may have a few leftover scraps of dough left. Don't throw it out! Roll it out, cut into strips and fry to make chiacchiere.  Dust with powdered sugar.
  • Please note that the nutritional information provided is for the fried version but can vary according to exact portion size

Nutrition

Calories: 111kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 46mg | Potassium: 35mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 62IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 1mg