Cassata is believed to have originated in Palermo in the 10th century, when under Muslim rule. The Arabic word qas’ah, from which cassata may derive, refers to the bowl that is used to shape the cake. He observes that cassata did not signify a dessert until the late 17th century and did not take on its current traditional cannoli form until the 18th century. Cassata, Dickie 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. 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.
Minni di Vergini, meaning “virgin breasts”—is a similar dessert, but made in a smaller, personal-serving size, with a candied cherry on top, and often a specifically green-coloured marzipan. It is typically made in Catania for the festival of Saint Agatha. The version of the recipe followed in Messina is less sweet than the one used in Palermo. Cassata” can also refer to a flavor of ice-cream inspired by the sweet. In and around Northeast Ohio, particularly in the Cleveland area, the term “cassata cake” refers to a sponge cake soaked in syrup or rum, filled with strawberries and custard, and covered with sweetened whipped cream. In Portland, Oregon cassata has come to mean a cake soaked with coffee liqueurs and espresso, due mainly to it being offered on the menu of only one establishment in the area.
This version is made using Kahlua and espresso, with sweet ricotta and bittersweet chocolate shavings. In India, ‘cassata’ refers to a layered ice cream, similar to Neapolitan ice cream, with three flavors, usually pistachio, vanilla, and strawberry, on a base of sponge cake, topped with chopped nuts. Dai musulmani agli spagnoli: ecco le mutazioni della cassata siciliana”. Muslims and Christians in Norman Sicily: Arabic-Speakers and the End of Islam. La Puma Bakery – Cleveland Hot List”. Archived from the original on 2017-02-13.
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