A traditional Italian frozen dessert made with ricotta cheese, candied fruits, and nuts, often layered with sponge cake and topped with royal icing.
From Italian/Sicilian 'cassata,' possibly from Arabic 'qas'at' (round container), suggesting Arab-Norman influence during the medieval period in Sicily. The dish evolved from medieval Arabic confectionery techniques.
Cassata's origins in Sicily reveal how the Arab conquest (827-965 CE) transformed Mediterranean food—the Arabs brought sophisticated sugar refinement and almond cultivation techniques that Sicilians transformed into elaborate frozen desserts centuries before ice cream was invented in Italy.
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