The gastronomic tradition of Palermo but also of the whole of Sicily is also characterized by desserts. Among the most famous are Sicilian cannoli, cassata, almond paste and martorana paste.
Cannoli are one of the typical desserts of Sicilian cuisine. Cannoli are made from a crispy, fragrant waffle that is fried in abandoning, boiling peanut oil. The wafer, once well fried and golden, is filled with a delicate cream made from fresh sheep’s milk ricotta and sugar. Once filled, tradition has it that the cannoli are decorated with different ingredients including candied fruit, pistachio grains, chopped hazelnuts and chocolate chips.
Ricotta is the central part of the cannoli and in Sicily two types of ricottas are used: sheep’s milk ricotta and cow’s ricotta.
In most of Sicily there are cannoli with sheep’s milk ricotta (Palermo, Catania, Messina), while in the Ragusa area there are only cannoli with ricotta from cows in the Hyblaean Mountains.
Another classic of Sicilian pastry, but specifically from Palermo, is the cassata. The cassata is made up of a sponge cake base filled with ricotta with chocolate, all covered with icing and candied fruit.
Almond paste, also known as royal paste, is a traditional Sicilian recipe: a basic pastry dough used to prepare almond pastries, small pastries decorated with dried or candied fruit typical of the Christmas period, martorana fruit and pizzicotti. Unlike marzipan, another well-known Sicilian dessert made with almonds, almond paste has a grainier texture because it is prepared with chopped whole almonds, but at the same time it is moist and crumbly.
The martorana fruit is a typical Sicilian dessert, it is real reproductions of fruits made with Sicilian almond paste and colored by hand.
