Crocetta di Caltanissetta

The Crocetta di Caltanissetta (translated as the Cross of Caltanissetta) is an old sweet produced in Caltanissetta until the end of 1908, then forgotten and recently rediscovered. The Corcetta di Caltanissetta and the “Spina Sacra” (translated as the Holy Thorn) are two sweets known as the Sweets of the monastery. They used to be prepared for the Holy Crucifix festivity by the Sisters of the Benedectine Monastery. This was situated next to the Church of the Holy Cross, from which the sweets take the name.

The pastry chef who rediscovered them (plus four women of the neighbourhood of the Holy Cross) only knows the recipe of these sweets. The rediscovery was possible thanks to 20 years of research that began with a person living in the neighbourhood who remembered how the traditional recipe was passed from mother to daughter over time.

Ingredients

The ingredients of the Cross of Caltanissetta are typical of the area of Caltanissetta at the beginning of the last century. They are: almonds sugar, sweet lemon puree, oranges or other fruit typical of the area, pistachio and powdered sugar.

The Crocetta is produced in two variants. One is lemon flavoured and covered in powdered sugar. The other one is orange flavoured and it has pistachio grind on top.