Ingredients
-
250 gr 00 Flour
-
75 gr Unsalted butter
-
2 Eggs
-
Vanilla essence
-
1 Lemon
-
40 gr Dark Chocolate
-
35 gr Sugar
-
250 gr Sheep's milk ricotta
-
Salt
-
6 Candied Cherry
-
40 gr Candied fruit
-
70 gr Icing Sugar
Directions
These traditional sweets, called “Minne di Sant’Agata” (St. Agatha’s Breasts) are typical of the Feast of St. Agatha, patron saint of the city of Catania, but are found throughout the year as a very typical dessert of this Sicilian town.
They have an unmistakable appearance – they’re made of an hemispherical shell of shortcrust pastry, which is stuffed with ricotta cheese, chocolate and candied fruit on top. The shape is linked to the martyrdom of Saint Agatha: her breasts were torn off by order of the Roman proconsul Quirino, after he had been rejected by the young Christian virgin.
It also seems that their origin was prior to the devotion to Agatha, since there is evidence of breast-shaped sweets even on the occasion of ancient feasts linked to the cult of Isis and Demeter
Steps
|
1
Done
|
Mix 250 g of flour, one egg and one yolk (set the egg white aside), 70 g of icing sugar, butter and a few drops of vanilla extract. Make a homogeneous dough, give it the shape of a sphere and wrap it in the film. |
|
2
Done
|
Let the dough rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. In the meantime, mix the ricotta with the sugar, candied fruit and chopped chocolate in a bowl. |
|
3
Done
|
Roll out the shortcrust pastry into a pastry sheet a few millimetres thick, working on a floured surface. Make discs 7-8 centimetres in diameter, a few centimetres wider than the moulds. |
|
4
Done
|
Line the hemispherical moulds with the dough circles. Fill with the filling and close with a disc of dough. |
|
5
Done
|
Bake at 180°C for about 45 minutes, bake and let cool. |
|
6
Done
|
Prepare the icing by whipping the egg white with a pinch of salt. Add another teaspoon of icing sugar and the lemon juice (We suggest half a lemon, but that's up to you!). Spread the icing on the hemispheres, which you have put on a grill. Complete with the candied cherry, let it dry and serve. |
