The choux pastry for zeppole is a basic recipe of French patisserie that should never be missing in our recipe books because with this recipe you can prepare not only excellent baked zeppole but also delicious cream puffs, which can be filled with custard or chocolate or can serve as a base for other delicious desserts, such as profiteroles, or savory appetizers.
Choux pastry or puff pastry is a very simple dough, made with few ingredients. The real difficulty lies in finding the right consistency and especially cooking it the right way to make it puff up perfectly and “empty out.” A perfect choux pastry, in fact, puffs up in the oven due to the heat generated and becomes completely hollow, despite there being no leavening agents, allowing you to fill and stuff zeppole and cream puffs with all kinds of creams.
To have beautifully puffed zeppole, it is important to follow certain steps. These tips apply to this recipe as well as any other choux pastry recipe, so if you have your favorite recipe, feel free to follow it, but also follow these tips, and I assure you your zeppole will turn out even better!
1. Weigh the eggs: it may seem like a trivial tip, but it is not. A perfect balance of ingredients is essential to achieve the right consistency, neither too hard nor too liquid. Eggs have different weights. It’s better to weigh them precisely without the shell and add them gradually.
2. Add the eggs when the dough is lukewarm: eggs should be added one at a time when the dough is neither too hot (the eggs might “cook” prematurely) nor completely cold (because you might have difficulty incorporating the eggs into the mixture).
3. Oven temperature: assuming that everyone knows their oven well, the best way to perfectly cook choux pastry for zeppole is “descending baking“: start at a high temperature, which can be 375°F-390°F (ventilated), because choux pastry needs the “heat blast” to puff up, then gradually decrease to 355°F and then again to 320°F. The high temperature in the first part of cooking will allow steam to develop and thus make the zeppole or cream puffs puff up; in the intermediate step, the choux pastry will cook, and in the final part of cooking, it will “dry out.” Let the zeppole cool in the oven with the door slightly open, placing the handle of a wooden spoon to create a draft.
4. Never open the oven during cooking: even if the temptation might be strong, absolutely do not do it. You could compromise all your work, and the zeppole would deflate.
By doing so, you will get perfect zeppole ready for filling. There are indeed many recipes. I followed pastry chef Simone Esposito’s recipe, but regarding cooking, I preferred not to follow his cooking method. I wanted to use the descending baking method, starting from a temperature of 355°F (ventilated), precisely because my oven is quite strong (I had already done a first test starting at a temperature of 375°F (ventilated) for 30 minutes, as Esposito suggested, and my zeppole came out a bit overcooked). That’s why I previously recommended adjusting based on your oven’s strength.
Good, now let’s move on to the recipe and see together how to prepare choux pastry for zeppole. I prepared it by hand, and by making half a batch, I got 8 large zeppole. If you want more, just double the doses you find in this recipe. If you want to prepare it with the Bimby, I’ll also leave you the recipe for preparing baked zeppole with the Bimby. If you then love cocoa, don’t miss my cocoa zeppole with milk cream with and without Bimby.
I’ll also leave you the links to creams with which to fill choux pastry for zeppole.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 5 Minutes
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4 People
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Father's Day, Winter, Spring
Ingredients to prepare choux pastry for zeppole
- 4 1/2 oz all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup water
- 7 tbsp butter (or block margarine)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 6 oz eggs (about 3 medium eggs – weight without shell)
Tools to prepare choux pastry for zeppole
- Pot
- Wooden spoons
- Piping bag
- Star nozzle
- Baking sheet
- Oven
Steps to prepare choux pastry for zeppole
Let’s see together how to prepare choux pastry for baked zeppole. It’s very simple and can be easily prepared by hand without major problems.
In a saucepan, place the water, butter in pieces, and salt.
Turn on the heat and allow the butter and salt to melt completely.
Wait for it to boil, then lower the heat to a minimum.
Add all the sifted flour and start mixing until you obtain a solid, yet still soft, consistency.
Turn off the heat, slightly spread the dough to cool it faster, and wait 4-5 minutes.
In the meantime, weigh the eggs until you reach 6 oz. These are about 3 medium eggs, but I still recommend weighing them and using the precise weight if you want to be sure of the consistency of your choux pastry.
Add one egg at a time or, if you have weighed all the eggs together, add them in 3 parts.
Mix with a spoon or spatula until the first egg is completely absorbed into the dough.
Only then can you add the second egg, and finally the third.
You need to reach the consistency you see in the photo: if you lift the spatula, the choux pastry should remain attached without sliding quickly into the pan.
Once ready, prepare a piping bag with a large star nozzle and fill it with the choux pastry.
Preheat the oven to 375°F (ventilated) and in the meantime, take a baking sheet, put a thin layer of oil, and place a sheet of parchment paper on top. This way, the sheet will not move.
With the piping bag, start making the zeppole by making two rounds of choux pastry, one on top of the other. Remember, do not make them too large, as they will puff up in cooking, and space them well apart. Do not place more than 8-9 zeppole on a standard baking sheet.
Bake your zeppole for 10 minutes at 375°F, 10 minutes at 355°F, and the last 10 minutes at 340°F. Please do not open the oven during baking for any reason. If your oven is very strong like mine, start from a temperature of 355°F and lower to 340°F and then to 320°F.
Once the 30 minutes have passed, turn off the oven and let the zeppole cool in the oven with the door slightly open. You can put a spoon handle, a rolled-up towel, or a ball of aluminum foil.
In this way, they will have time to dry and hollow out.
Once your baked zeppole are ready, you can fill them by cutting them in half or, using the piping bag, you can fill them from the center hole with a smaller star nozzle than the one used to make the zeppole. With the same nozzle, then make the classic swirl with custard and finish with syruped cherries.
Storage
Choux pastry for zeppole tends to soften over time. Humidity is the enemy of choux pastry. Therefore, I recommend preparing them fresh or storing cooked zeppole in an airtight container at room temperature.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
Can choux pastry be frozen?
Yes, it can be frozen. Once your zeppole (or cream puffs) are cooked, place them on a tray or in a container well spaced apart and place them in the freezer. Once frozen, they can be put in freezer bags. When you want to thaw them, just leave them at room temperature.
If the choux pastry has become soft, can it be made crispy again?
Yes, just put them back in the oven for 5-7 minutes at 355°F to dry out the humidity that the choux pastry has absorbed. However, be careful not to dry the choux pastry of zeppole and cream puffs too much.
Can margarine be used instead of butter?
Yes. In this case, however, you must use block margarine and not “spreadable” margarine, which could compromise the final result.
