How could we not talk about cassata, the queen of Sicilian desserts? Cassata holds the sun and its colours: the dazzling white of the sugar paste, the orange and red of the candied fruit. What endless sweetness in its heart of ricotta, framed by marzipan and sponge cake. Before eating it we pause for a moment in contemplation, captivated by the dazzling harmony of its shapes. Did you know this dessert has Arab origins? Once again our culture, including our cuisine, blends with the Arab one. It seems it was invented around the year 1000 by the court cooks of the emir who lived in the Kalsa district of Palermo. The name comes from “Quas’at”, meaning “round bowl”. Its ancient origin is in any case documented by the Synod of Mazara of 1575, in which cassata is described as “indispensable at Easter”. The culprit always returns to the scene of the crime, and so I went back, armed with my cameras, to the workshop of the Palermo master pastry chef, Mr Nino, once again hoping to uncover the secrets of his wonderful Palermo pastry shop. I let the pictures describe the preparation and edited this little video for you – and at the end, as usual, I had to “sacrifice” myself for the tasting. Someone had to do it 😉
Until next time
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