Yesterday I spent the day in Catania with the magnificent Alessandro Marchese. Alessandro is an artist who specializes in making Frutta Martorana, or the marzipan (almond paste) sweets, shaped and designed to resemble fruit and vegetables. He sculpts each and every one by hand, and then he decorates them with the craftsmanship and skill of…
Tag: sweets
Sicily’s Almond Nougat
Freshly made almond nougat is prevalent at street festivals like Carnevale in Acireale, Sicily. The craftsmen who make the sugar and almond sweet, called cubaita in many parts of Sicily, put on a show right in front of your eyes, mixing and forming the boiling-hot, teeth-cracking bars in seconds as it quickly cools on the…
Of course, Sfince di San Giuseppe
For many, the highlight of the Saint Joseph’s Day feast is the sweet sfince di San Giuseppe. Sfinci are fried cream puffs served hot with a dusting of cinnamon, confectioner’s sugar, and honey, or cold and open-faced with a smear of sweet cream and decorated with candied orange. Depending on the town, sfinci may have…
Ancient Sicilian Secret
The cloistered Cistercian nuns of Agrigento’s Monastero di Santo Spirito, like many of their cloistered counterparts around Sicily, over the centuries have raised funds by selling baked goods. Pictured here is one of those goods–sweet couscous–for which the recipe is a secret. After eating it during our Experience Sicily tour in September, I can tell…
Up the Steps from Via Atenea
If you’re in Agrigento, follow the set of steps off of Via Atenea. Once you get to the top (There are many, many steps!), you’ll find the Monastero di Santo Spirito, pictured here, where, since 1290 Cistercian nuns have served the Church. Traditionally, the nuns were cloistered (meaning, they secluded themselves from the world). Today…
Depending on the town you are in, Sicily’s most famous dessert cannoli are dressed differently. These seen in Ragusa are donned with pistachios and almonds. #sicily #sicily_travel #sicilia #sicily_tourism #italy #ig_sicily #italia #siciliaph #ragusa #cannolo #cannoli #pistachio #almond #pistacchio #mandorle #dessert #sweets