Authentic Cassatelle Recipe Calatafimi, Italy

Crescents of pasta frolla flavored with either Marsala or white wine, filled with a mixture of sweetened, lemon-flavored, ricotta cheese bits of chocolate mixture, and dusted with powdered sugar or cinnamon — that in short, is cassatelle, sweets nowadays prepared in most of Sicily for Easter or carnevale, although they were originally conceived in Calatafimi Segesta, in the Trapani province. The dough is made with flour, lard, sugar, often eggs or egg yolks, and flavored with either white wine or Marsala wine. The typical filling is similar to the one used for cannoli — sweetened sheep's ricotta, mixed with chocolate drops, and in some cases, candied pumpkin. Typically, cassatelle are fried, but can be baked as well, and are served warm, dusted with either icing sugar or cinnamon. Typical variations include the use of chickpea filling, fig filling, and almond and cocoa filling, which is how they make it in the town of Agira and the Enna province.