The birth of almond paste (also known as pasta reale) is certainly to be attributed to Arabs, who introduced in Sicily rich and spicy dishes. Arabs therefore mixed sugar and ground almonds and spread this recipe in Sicily as well. The most credited history is that of the eleventh century, when monks and nuns in the Convent of Martorana in Palermo, dedicated themselves to the preparation of sweets made with water, sugar and almonds. The name "royal" probably refers to the fact that the cake was so good to be worthy of a king. The King in question would be Ruggero II, in fact the pasta reale was prepared in the church Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio Giorgio di Antochia, annexed to the Convent of Martorana. It is one of the most representative sweets of Sicily, where master pastry chefs work almonds in an artisanal way with honey, until obtaining a pure almond paste, which can also be flavored with lemon or orange as well as being covered with powdered sugar.