Cassata is a famous Sicilian dessert, made with sponge cake stuffed with ricotta, candied fruit, chocolate flakes and covered with a coating of white and green icing. Its name seems to derive from the Arabic "quas at", a kind of large bowl, from which the cassata would have taken its typical shape. Once the cassata was the typical Easter cake and was prepared above all in convents. However, towards the end of the 16th century, the religious authorities of Mazara del Vallo forbade its preparation because the nuns, assigned to this task, neglected the religious practices of Holy Week. Today it has become a traditional Christmas dessert. The name of cassata also indicates a famous ice cream prepared in a dome-shaped mold, with two layers of cream and chocolate ice cream and a heart of cream with candied fruit. The dome is divided into segments.