Cassata Siciliana is the most typical dessert of Sicily. The name comes from the Arabic “quas’at” which refers to the round container with which the cake is shaped. In the IX – XI centuries the Arabs had brought to Palermo oranges, lemons, limes, tangerines and almonds. To these ingredients they added the cheese produced in Sicily, thus creating the Cassata Siciliana. At first it was baked but later, in the Martorana convent in Palermo, a marzipan with herbal extract, called Martorana, was created, turning the Cassata into a cold dessert.
