Catania’s sweet tooth

Sicilian delight

I thought I had my sugar addiction well under control. I did, at least until I arrived in Catania. After that all good intentions were lost. One look at the colourful vitrine displays and I succumbed to the heavenly melt-in-your-eye-and-in-your-mouth Sicilian delights.

Sicilian desserts are big window showstoppers. At first you will fall for their sultry looks, but ultimately it is the harmonious taste of perfectly combined ingredients melting in your mouth that will seal the love. Obviously too many years had passed since my last visit to Catania and I had forgotten the rich, luscious pleasures lying in store in Sicilian pastry shops. Shame on me.

Granita

Sicily has an abundant variety of traditional sweets a lot of them revolving around dried fruits such as almonds, walnuts and pistachios. The most notorious offspring of this is the so-called pasta di mandorle (almond paste) used in the making of many local desserts.

Besides this there is also the more refreshing and very popular granita, a thicker, grainier version of sorbet ice-cream. Granita is produced in different fruit flavours depending on the season. In Catania, however, the locals are very fond of the almond, pistachio or coffee variations. Often the locals take to eating their granita in combination with another local favourite, the soft and airy local brioche. An interesting combo.

Sicilian ricotta-based cassata and cannoli

However, the sweet scene in Catania is ruled by two major players: the cassata, a soft sponge-based cake filled with creamy ricotta, tiny bits of candied fruit and/or chocolate chips all delicately covered by a soft almond paste. This cake also comes in the reduced form of cassatina, a more bite-sized and sexy format (my personal imagination).

The other being the cannoli which are crunchy, fried pastry tubes traditionally filled with ricotta cream (nowadays there are variations in mascarpone and cream), eventually some chocolate chips and sometimes have their ends blissfully dipped in ground pistachio nuts hence acquiring a little pop of colour and an extra crunchy richness.

My heart is always divided when it comes to these two local goodies. I must say it is often the tender cassatina that steals my heart at first, but then I eat a cannolo and I am once again perplexed and assaulted by feelings of betrayal. To those of you unaware of what these delicacies entail let’s just say they should be on any sweet lover’s bucket list.

Both cassata and cannoli rely on one simple, pure and major ingredient, the local creamy ricotta and it is this which grants them a heavenly-melt-in-the-mouth quality. If you are thinking about the ricotta available to most of us in our local supermarkets abroad, forget it. It has nothing in common with the local Sicilian sheep-based variety and that is why I assume it must be so difficult to recreate the perfect cassata away from its island homefront. Then again, that goes for most things uprooted from their local habitat.

Pasticceria Prestipino

Following local advice we tried out two of the most popular haunts for sampling these local sweets. One, Pasticceria Prestipino a family institution spanning over more than 40 years and second, Pasticceria Savia located on Via Etnea and founded in 1897. Prestipino, conveniently located on Piazza Duomo is the all-day, go-to place for most locals in search of a coffee, dessert, a brioche to go with the granita or even a savoury snack such as the local arancini. Everything in this bar-pasticceria-gelateria looks and tastes good and service is efficient and friendly.

Pasticceria Savia

Pasticceria Savia, on the other hand, warrants a long walk all the way to the other end of Catania’s central thoroughfare of Via Etnea. Weary from both walk and heat, upon arrival we decided to cut to the chase. There was no time for lazy terrace lounging under the cool shadow of the trees. There were no free tables anyway. Anyhow, the pastry shop’s tasteful modern interior is cool and welcoming on a hot day and we were there to check out the cassata and how it compared with the previous ones tasted.

The cassatina at Savia has a slightly different texture compared to the former ones. Maybe the almond paste icing is slightly more prominent in the mouth. Nonetheless, it is also, oh so good and I just can not say which I prefer. At least not yet. Another trial round is required on a less full stomach.

With our sugar levels peaking ominously it was time to burn off some calories with a vigorous, long hike back to our humble sleeping abode where one of us finally crashed in blissful afternoon slumber. After all, sweet dreams are made of this…