The baked zeppole, delicious, delicate, and light, are choux pastry treats filled with custard and sour cherries, ranking among the top ten desserts I love the most. Of Neapolitan tradition, they are usually fried and not filled inside. But I prefer the baked zeppole filled, so I add a good amount of cream inside because, as they say, “abundance never caused famine.”
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- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 3 Hours
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Portions: 12 zeppole
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian Regional
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch sugar
- 3 1/8 cups milk
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup egg yolks
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract (or grated lemon peel)
- 12 sour cherries
Tools
- 2 High-edged Saucepan
- 2 Piping Bags
- 2 1M Tips
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Hand Whisk
Steps
Prepare the dough: in a high-edged saucepan, boil the water with a pinch of salt, sugar, and butter. Pour the flour in all at once and mix vigorously until the dough detaches from the sides of the pan. Off the heat, incorporate the eggs one at a time, ensuring each is well mixed before adding the next. Transfer the mixture into a piping bag with a 1M tip and, directly onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper, pipe circles about 2 1/4 inches in diameter, layering the dough twice. Bake the zeppole in a preheated oven at 392°F (200°C) for 15 minutes, then at 374°F (190°C) for 35 minutes. When the zeppole are ready, allow them to cool completely inside the oven with a wooden spoon inserted in the door.
Prepare the custard: pour the milk into a saucepan with the chosen flavoring and bring it to a boil. Turn it off and let it cool slightly. Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until you obtain a homogeneous cream. Sift the flour and add it gradually to the eggs. Then add the milk slowly and carefully. This step is very important as lumps may form. Return the cream to the heat at a low setting and bring it to a boil, stirring continuously until it thickens: cook for a couple of minutes and the cream is ready! Cover it with cling film touching the surface and let it cool.
Cut the zeppole in half. Insert the cream into a piping bag with a 1M tip and fill the zeppole. Finish the decoration with a dollop of custard on the “cap,” a sour cherry, and powdered sugar. Let the zeppole rest in the refrigerator before serving.
Notes
If you want to be precise when making the zeppole, draw circles with a pencil on the back of the parchment paper using a 2 1/4-inch round biscuit cutter. Flip the parchment paper, place it on the baking tray, and follow the lines you traced to form the zeppole.
This recipe is my mother’s.
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