Torta Savoia is a layered chocolate cake that hails from Sicily. It consists of several sponge layers coated in a rich chocolate hazelnut cream. The entire combination is covered with a glossy chocolate glaze, and in some variations, sponges are lightly soaked with rum.

It is said that the cake was created when Sicily was merged with the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. The legend says that the Benedictine nuns from Catania thought of the recipe and included hazelnuts from Piedmont to honor the House of Savoy—hence the cake's name. 

Named after Salome's dance to make Herod crazy with lust, torta setteveli (cake of the seven veils) unsurprisingly achieves more or less the same results. This traditional Sicilian birthday cake consists of an alternating combination of chocolate and hazelnut layers.

From bottom to top: chocolate sponge, praline crunch, hazelnut Bavarian cream, chocolate sponge, hazelnut Bavarian cream, chocolate mousse, and finally, a layer of chocolate glaze on top. It is still unclear who had created this delicious cake, so some credit Capello of Pasticceria Capello in Palermo, while others claim that Luca Mannori from Prato made it first (and won the 1997 Pastry World Cup in France).

Arguably Sicily’s most famous dessert, this traditional cake consists of liqueur-drenched genoise sponge cake layered with sweetened ricotta and fruit preserves, decorated with a marzipan shell and colorful candied fruits. It is believed that cassata originated as a simple sugar, egg, and ricotta cheesecake while its name is thought to have been derived from the Arabic word qas’ah, which refers to the bowl used to make the cake.

This is traditionally a winter and spring specialty, and it is most often served around Easter. It’s usually chilled for 3 hours before serving. By the 14th century, cassata had become a dessert of the aristocracy, and even today, few people outside of the culinary world are brave enough to prepare this elaborate delicacy at home. 

This classic Italian dessert whose name translates to Easter lamb was supposedly first prepared in the early 1900s by Dominican nuns of the Collegio di Maria convent in Favara, Sicily. Agnello Pasquale is traditionally made with a mixture of almond and pistachio meal, which is flavored with either lemon zest or vanilla and often studded with candied fruit, raisins, and almonds.

The dish is baked in a lamb-shaped cake mold and then covered with butter frosting. During Eastertime, you can find this traditional delicacy in numerous pastry shops throughout the country.

Another timeless classic among southern Italian desserts, buccellato is a delectable, ring-shaped cake that is typically prepared during the holiday season. This fruitcake was once also associated with the celebration of family milestones, and was traditionally exchanged as a gift among family members as a representation of good fortune and prosperity.

In the Sicilian dialect, buccellato is known as cucciddatu, and even though its origins are vague, this rich fruit and nut cake is yet another dish showing the Arab influence in Sicilian cuisine. Buccellato is made with shortbread pastry, which is often sweetened with honey and filled with dried figs, dates, raisins, candied fruits, chocolate, and all kinds of nuts — almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, or even pine nuts. 

Cassata al Forno is a traditional Sicilian baked dessert and a simpler variation of the iconic cassata siciliana. Unlike the more elaborate version with marzipan and candied fruits, cassata al forno is baked and has a rustic charm, particularly popular in Palermo and other parts of Sicily.

It features a buttery shortcrust pastry (pasta frolla) shell filled with a mixture of sweetened ricotta cheese, chocolate chips, and sometimes candied citrus peel. The dough is rolled out to line a baking dish, and the ricotta mixture is placed inside, covered with another layer of pastry or latticework, and baked until golden.