History

Cassata's name traces to the Arabic 'qas'at' (a deep round dish); its modern form emerged from the Spanish Habsburg court of 16th-century Palermo when Genoese sugar refineries supplied the marzipan. The convent of Santa Caterina d'Alessandria in Palermo refined the recipe; cassata became Easter's defining Sicilian pastry and remains so.

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Eggs, Nuts

Make it at home

Yield 12Hands-on 2 hrTotal 24 hrDifficulty Advanced

Ingredients

  • 1 round pan di Spagna sponge, 24cm diameter, 5cm tall
  • 500g sheep's-milk ricotta, drained 24 hours
  • 200g icing sugar
  • 100g dark chocolate, finely chopped
  • 150g pistachio flour
  • 300g marzipan
  • Green food colouring (or natural pistachio paste)
  • 200g candied fruit (orange, citron, cherry)
  • 200g icing sugar for glaze
  • Marsala wine for soaking

Method

  1. Beat the drained ricotta with icing sugar until smooth. Fold in chopped chocolate.
  2. Slice the sponge horizontally into three layers. Brush each with Marsala.
  3. Roll the marzipan with green colouring into a strip 5cm tall and long enough to circle the inside of a 24cm cake tin. Press it against the tin sides.
  4. Layer sponge, ricotta cream, sponge, ricotta cream, sponge into the marzipan-lined tin. Cover and refrigerate 12 hours.
  5. Unmould onto a serving plate. Whisk icing sugar with a little water to a flowing glaze; pour over the top to coat.
  6. Decorate with candied fruit pieces in a traditional pattern. Refrigerate 2 hours before serving.

Tip from the editors. Sheep's-milk ricotta is structurally different from cow; if you can only find cow ricotta, drain it overnight in a cheesecloth-lined sieve to lose extra liquid.

Where to eat cassata siciliana

Cassata Siciliana in Palermo

I Segreti del Chiostro ★ 4.8

Sicilian€€loggiaDaily 10:00-18:00

I Segreti del Chiostro inside the Santa Caterina d'Alessandria monastery off Piazza Bellini in Palermo bakes Sicilian convent sweets from 21 historic.

Why locals love it: Tourists walk past the Santa Caterina monastery without knowing the active dolceria inside bakes from the 21 closed-convent recipe books of Palermo's monastic past.

Tip: Entrance is on Via Discesa dei Giudici 33, behind the Piazza Bellini facade. Cassata and cannoli are the canonical orders; closed during religious holidays.

Via Discesa dei Giudici 33, 90133 Palermo Book →

Pasticceria Cappello ★ 4.8

Bakery€albergheriaTue-Sun 07:00-21:00, closed MondayWalk-in onlySetteveli chocolate cake, Sicilian pasticceria

Pasticceria Cappello on Via Colonna Rotta in Palermo has run since 1950 under AMPI master pastry chef Salvatore Cappello, home of the Sicilian Setteveli.

Tip: Setteveli (the Sicilian seven-veil chocolate cake) is the headline order. Second branch on Via Nicolo Garzilli 19 in Politeama.

Worth the queue: Torta Setteveli (seven-layer chocolate cake)

Via Colonna Rotta 68, 90134 Palermo

Antico Caffe Spinnato ★ 4.4

Cocktail barCafe-bar aperitivo€€€politeama

Antico Caffe Spinnato's pedestrian terrace on Via Principe di Belmonte in Palermo's Politeama is the city's senior cafe-bar for aperitivo, drawing the local.

Signature drink: Aperol spritz, Sicilian wines by the glass

Food: Aperitivo plates, charcuterie

Tip: The pedestrian terrace fills first in summer. Aperol spritz and Sicilian wines by the glass.

Via Principe di Belmonte 107, 90139 Palermo

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