Cooking class: almond pastries

An artisanal pastry experience to learn how to prepare three typical island specialties made with organic almonds and pistachios, concluding with a final tasting of the baked sweets.

You will be welcomed into a traditional kitchen workshop where the stars of the day will be the symbolic fruits of the territory: Sicilian almonds and pistachios. During the activity, you will learn the secrets and techniques for working with these raw materials, crafting three of the most famous and beloved confectionery specialties with your own hands.

We will try our hand at preparing the Agnello Pasquale (Easter Lamb), a historic sweet made from a marzipan dough (pasta reale) with a soft pistachio heart, a recipe still handed down from generation to generation. You will handle both the creation of the dough and its characteristic final decoration. Next, we will move on to making Ricci (almond and pistachio curls), small pastries that are crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, prepared using just three ingredients: nuts, sugar, and eggs.

Once baking and preparation are complete, you will savor the sweets you have made with your own hands, all accompanied by fresh fruit and a glass of homemade almond milk.

1. Hands-on pastry workshop: Guided practical session focused on traditional techniques for working with Sicilian almonds and pistachios.

   Crafting the Agnello Pasquale: Hand-kneading almond marzipan paste, filling it with a soft pistachio center, and completing the traditional surface decorations.

   Making almond and pistachio pastries (ricci): Mixing and shaping classic local sweets crisp on the outside and soft inside, made with just nuts, sugar, and egg whites.

   Tasting of handmade pastries: Final sampling of all the regional sweets prepared during the masterclass.

   Seasonal snack and homemade almond milk: Post-workshop refreshment featuring fresh seasonal fruit and a glass of chilled homemade almond milk.