Cassata Cake in Cleveland: The Sicilian Original, Baked in Collinwood
Ask ten Clevelanders where to get a cassata cake and nine will send you to Little Italy. The tenth grew up on the east side. She knows better.
Cassata cake is Cleveland's cake. Other cities do sheet cakes and cupcake towers. Here, a birthday, a first communion, a retirement party or a Sunday with nothing to celebrate calls for layers of sponge, sweet filling and a box tied with string. The tradition came over from Sicily, and in our family it never left.
What a real cassata is
The original Sicilian cassata is sponge cake layered with sweetened ricotta and chocolate. It is the cake our family made in Messina, Sicily, before three generations of Mirabiles started feeding Cleveland in the 1930s. Somewhere along the way, Cleveland invented its own version with fresh strawberries and custard, and honestly, we love that one too.
The difference between a bakery cassata and a grocery store cake is the same as the difference between our bread and bagged bread. Everything at Messina Pizza & Bakery is made in the building at 1071 Ivanhoe Road. The sponge is baked here. The filling is made here. Nothing arrives on a truck and gets assembled.
Why the east side deserves its own cassata
If you live in Collinwood, Euclid, South Euclid, Richmond Heights or Bratenahl, driving to Murray Hill for a cake means twenty minutes each way and a parking spot that may not exist. We are on Ivanhoe Road, just off I-90 at E. 152nd. Street parking out front. In and out in five minutes, cake in hand.
And you are not settling. Our shop was honored as a Cleveland Italian American Heritage Month business in 2020. The recipes are the same ones Nancy and Charlotte Mirabile were photographed with in the paper years ago, holding a loaf of Old World Easter Bread. That is the kitchen your cassata comes out of.
How to order yours
- Call ahead: 216-761-7744. One day of notice is usually plenty.
- Holidays: Easter, Mother's Day and Christmas sell out. Call two or three days early.
- While you are here: grab a loaf of Italian bread for four dollars. You will not regret it.
Call 216-761-7744
Cassata questions we hear at the counter
Where can I buy cassata cake on Cleveland's east side?
Right here. Messina Pizza and Bakery, 1071 Ivanhoe Rd in Collinwood. Call 216-761-7744 a day ahead and it will be waiting.
How far in advance should I order?
One day is usually enough. For holidays, give us two or three.
Sicilian style or Cleveland style?
Sicilian means ricotta and chocolate. Cleveland means strawberries and custard. We grew up on the first and mastered the second. Tell us which one your family argues for.