Cassata or Cassata siciliana is a traditional sweet from Sicily, Italy. Cassata consists of round sponge cake moistened with fruit juices or liqueur and layered with ricotta cheese and candied fruit, a filling also used with cannoli. Cassata has a shell of marzipan, pink and green coloured icing, and decorative designs. Cassata may also refer to a Neapolitan ice cream containing candied or dried fruit and nuts.
Origin
Cassata is believed to have originated in Palermo in the 10th century, when under Muslim rule. The Arabic name al-Qassāṭỉ القشاطي (Arabic for 'cassata-maker') is first mentioned in Corleone in 1178 The Arabic word qas'ah, from which cassata may derive, refers to the bowl that is used to shape the cake.Historian John Dickie claims that the Sicilian word cassata did not derive from Arabic qashatah قشاطة (" bowl "), as is often claimed, but from caseata ("cheese concoction") Dickie observes that cassata did not signify a dessert until the late 17th century and did not take on its current striped form until the 18th century. "Cassata" he finds, "is the subject of an invented tradition based on the claim that its roots lie in the Muslim Middle Ages. Many other local food traditions purport to be as old."
Variations
Unlike the round, traditional shape some cassata are made in the form of a rectangle, square, or box. The word " box " in Italian is cassa, although it is unlikely that the word cassata originated from this term.Cassata Catanese, as it is often prepared in the Sicilian province of Catania, is made similar to a pie, containing a top and bottom crust, filled with ricotta, and baked in the oven.
The Cassatella di Sant'Agata (pl.
