A heart of ricotta - Sicilian Cassata

Sicilian cassata is a traditional cake made with ricotta, sponge cake, pasta reale (almond paste) and candied fruit, and it is one of the island's most famous sweets, together with the cannolo.

The story of the origin of cassata takes us back to Arab rule in Sicily (11th century). The Arabs had brought in various products, including pistachio, citrus fruit and almonds.

According to tradition, one night a shepherd decided to mix sheep's milk ricotta with sugar, and called this sweet “quas'at” (“bowl”), after the bowl that held the mixture.

The colourful version known to the wider public today is the result of an evolution that continued in the Norman era with the invention, at the Martorana convent in Palermo, of pasta reale (or pasta martorana), made from almond flour.

Originally cassata was a product of the great confectionery tradition of Sicilian nuns and was reserved for the Easter period.

“Tintu è cu nun mancia a cassata a matina ri Pasqua” (“Pity the one who doesn't eat cassata on Easter morning”), goes an old saying from the island.

And indeed, whether at Easter or at Christmas, from Trapani to Syracuse, how could anyone say no to this extraordinary triumph of sweetness?