This year, please forgive me for sharing my dessert for St. Joseph’s Day, and so also for Father’s Day, quite late! I had very busy days and only today managed to complete its drafting. No matter, this cake will be perfect for any occasion! I decided to use my tried and true recipe for choux pastry to prepare a delicious typical Neapolitan dessert with a wow effect, the zeppole cake! It is a more scenic version of the classic baked zeppole of San Giuseppe, which last year I prepared with a delicious vegan mandarin and strawberry cream. The zeppole cake, just like the zeppole, is made with a choux pastry base and usually filled with custard or chantilly cream. Instead, I chose to garnish it with a egg-free mascarpone cream, lightened with Greek yogurt and flavored with strawberries. A rather happy choice that gave it a fabulous pink color and a sweeter and more delicate taste, which will conquer everyone, even your children. The only caution, however, for a perfect outcome of the dessert, which you must not underestimate, is the baking. It is important that the cake bakes in the oven first at a high temperature and then lower, so that it rises slowly without deflating, even after it’s taken out of the oven! The rest is child’s play and you’ll make a great impression!
Also try these other ideas:
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 25 Minutes
- Portions: 10
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Father's Day
Ingredients:
- 250 g strawberries
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 250 g mascarpone
- 100 g strawberry coulis
- 100 g Greek yogurt (plain)
- 80 g whipping cream (already sweetened)
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 150 ml water
- 150 g all-purpose flour
- 80 g butter (soft)
- 4 eggs
- 1 pinch salt
- 180 g strawberries
Steps
Start by preparing the strawberry coulis following all the steps of the recipe, which you will use to flavor the mascarpone cream. Once ready, set aside and store in the refrigerator.
At this point, prepare the choux pastry by pouring the water, the soft butter cut into pieces, and a pinch of salt into a saucepan. Then put it on the fire over low heat, stir to melt the butter, and bring to a boil.
As it reaches boiling point, that is, as soon as you see the first bubbles on the surface, pour the flour all at once. Continue to stir until the dough becomes firm and detaches from the sides of the pot.
Then turn off the heat and let it cool at room temperature for about 10 minutes. When it has cooled, add the eggs one at a time.
Make sure they are absorbed very well by the mixture before adding the next one.
This step is very important whether you add the eggs by hand or with a stand mixer. The perfect dough for the zeppole cake should look almost like a cream but with a stickier and firmer consistency, meaning it should not drip from the spoon at all.
To create the zeppole cake, use proportions by drawing a circle no larger than 7 inches on a parchment paper sheet, using a mold of those dimensions*. Now, draw a smaller circle in the center using a glass with a diameter of about 3 inches.
Transfer the choux pastry into a piping bag with a medium-large star tip. Turn the parchment paper over a baking sheet so the graphite doesn’t come into contact with the dough and make the first round following the edge of the larger circle.
Then make two more rounds, one next to the other to fill the drawn circle but without invading the smaller circle.
On top of the 3 rounds just made, make another 3 without closing the small circle, so your zeppole cake will rise beautifully during baking. Bake in a preheated oven at 392°F in the middle part of the oven for about 18-20 minutes. You will see the zeppole cake puffing up a lot, so lower the oven to 356°F and continue baking for another 20 minutes**.
Turn off the oven and leave a slit open with a spoon to let the air pass, keeping it inside for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Meanwhile, prepare the mascarpone cream by mixing mascarpone with yogurt and sifted powdered sugar in a bowl for a minute.
Whip the very cold cream already sweetened until stiff peaks form and incorporate it little by little into the mascarpone mixture with slow movements from bottom to top.
Finally, also add the strawberry coulis, always a little at a time, and with gentle movements to avoid deflating the cream.
Blend until fully absorbed.
When the zeppole cake is very cold, cut it in half, transfer the mascarpone and strawberry cream into a piping bag, and fill with a first layer.
Add a first round of strawberries, previously cleaned, washed, and cut into pieces.
Continue to create a second layer of mascarpone and strawberry cream to have a nice high and delicious filling.
Add the other half of the zeppole cake over the filling you just made and garnish as desired with more mascarpone and strawberry cream as for a paris brest.
Decorate with the remaining strawberries and serve. If you prefer, you can simply garnish with powdered sugar.
And voila… the zeppole cake is ready to be enjoyed!
Bon Appetit from La Cucina di FeFè!
Storage
👉 Although the zeppole cake is definitely fresher and better if consumed on the day it is made, you can store it in the refrigerator for 2 days. Freezing is not recommended.
Tips, notes, variations, and suggestions
🟣* The zeppole cake will rise quite a bit in the oven, and you will get a cake of 9 – 10 inches. Thus, I advise against exceeding a diameter of 7 inches to avoid an excessively disproportionate cake.
🟣** If during baking you see the zeppole cake deflating slightly, raise the temperature to 374°F, but don’t worry, as a physiological drop for the first few minutes is normal. You will see that with a stable temperature, it will start to puff up again. However, if you notice that the zeppole cake is darkening too much towards the end of baking, you can add a sheet of parchment paper on top.
🟣** If during baking you see the zeppole cake deflating slightly, raise the temperature to 374°F, but don’t worry, as a physiological drop for the first few minutes is normal. You will see that with a stable temperature, it will start to puff up again. However, if you notice that the zeppole cake is darkening too much towards the end of baking, you can add a sheet of parchment paper on top.
🟣** If during baking you see the zeppole cake deflating slightly, raise the temperature to 374°F, but don’t worry, as a physiological drop for the first few minutes is normal. You will see that with a stable temperature, it will start to puff up again. However, if you notice that the zeppole cake is darkening too much towards the end of baking, you can add a sheet of parchment paper on top.
