Mini cassate al forno

To prepare the mini baked cassatas, start with the shortcrust pastry: in the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the sugar, butter cut into cubes (removed from the fridge 5 minutes earlier) 1, and a pinch of salt 2. Mix briefly to combine 3.

Then add the egg yolks 4 and lemon zest 5. Turn on the mixer to combine. Finally, add the flour 6.

Knead until you get a compact and homogeneous mixture 7. Form a flat dough disc 8, wrap it in cling film 9 and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.

Now focus on the filling: drain the ricotta well, then sieve it into a bowl 10. Add the sugar 11 and grated orange zest 12.

Add the dark chocolate chips 13 and continue mixing until a uniform cream is obtained 14. Place the mixture in the fridge until it's time to use it. Meanwhile, coarsely crumble the dry biscuits 15.

Take out the shortcrust pastry from the refrigerator, take 2/3 16, and roll out the pastry to a thickness of about 1/8 inch 17. Cut out 12 disks using a pastry cutter approximately 4.7 inches in diameter 18.

Butter and flour 12 molds with a diameter of 3.15 inches and line them with the pastry disks 19. Keep the scraps and a bit of pastry in the refrigerator to make the lids. Pour half of the crumbled biscuits on the bottom 20. Take the filling and transfer it into a piping bag without a nozzle, then squeeze it inside the baskets almost to the edge 21 and level it well with a spatula.

Now add the remaining crumbled biscuits on top of the filling 22. Roll out the leftover pastry to the same thickness of about 1/8 inch 23. Moisten the edges of the pastries with a little water using a kitchen brush 24.

Place the pastry disks on top 25 and seal the edges well by pressing lightly 26. Before baking, or after about 10 minutes of cooking, prick the surface with a toothpick to allow steam to escape. Bake the mini cassatas in a preheated static oven at 350-355°F for about 35-40 minutes, placing them on the bottom shelf 27.

Once baked 28, let them cool completely inside the mold. Finally, flip the pastries onto a serving tray, dust them with powdered sugar 29, and if you have a pie grid, use it as a stencil to create an elegant decoration. At this point, your mini baked cassatas are ready to be served 30.