Today’s sweet recipe: baked chocolate zeppole.
What would Father’s Day be without zeppole, whether classic white, fried, baked, large, small, or chocolate, the important thing is to celebrate our dear dads with a sweet and enveloping treat just like their embrace.
On St. Joseph’s day, these typical sweets made of choux pastry are present on every table at the end of the meal, filled with custard, mascarpone cream, chocolate, or whipped cream, and, of course, topped with a luscious and red syrupy cherry. The choux pastry is a simple mixture of water, butter, flour, and eggs, cooked twice, and though it’s considered tricky to make, I assure you it won’t be difficult if you follow my recipe.
My dad prefers the classic version of zeppole but this time we will surprise him with the chocolate version filled with simple whipped cream, I’m sure he will appreciate them a lot.
Let’s see together, step by step, how to realize this recipe.
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- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Very cheap
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 6 zeppole
- Cooking methods: Stove, Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Father's Day
- Energy 245.94 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 10.05 (g) of which sugars 1.39 (g)
- Proteins 4.43 (g)
- Fat 21.44 (g) of which saturated 5.35 (g)of which unsaturated 3.37 (g)
- Fibers 0.87 (g)
- Sodium 90.57 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 50 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for Chocolate Zeppole
- 3.4 oz water
- 3.5 tbsp butter
- 0.5 cup all-purpose flour
- 1.4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 medium eggs (approximately)
- 0.85 cup whipping cream (cold)
- 6 syrupy cherries
Tools
- 1 Saucepan
- 1 Wooden Spoon
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Pastry Bag
- 1 Baking Tray
Let’s Prepare the Chocolate Zeppole Together
In a non-stick saucepan, put the water, butter, and a pinch of salt, turn on the stove flame, and when the butter is melted and bubbles start to appear, lower the flame slightly, then pour the flour and cocoa in all at once. Stir with a wooden spoon and let it cook, stirring constantly, until a brown film appears on the bottom of the pan.
Turn off the flame and transfer the obtained dough into a bowl, spreading it out to cool it down faster. You can put it in a bowl and continue by hand, or you can pour the dough into the bowl of a stand mixer and proceed with the next step using the machine.
I used the stand mixer with the paddle attachment or K hook. Once the dough has cooled enough, start adding the eggs one at a time. Add the first egg, and when it is fully absorbed by the dough, add the other, letting the machine work until it fully absorbs the second.
Transfer the obtained dough into a pastry bag with a 1 cm star nozzle. Take a sheet of parchment paper and draw six circles of 6-7 cm in diameter, then turn the sheet over and place it on the baking tray to avoid having the drawing in contact.
Form rings following the drawing we made, make a first round of dough following the drawn circumference, pressing the pastry bag strongly, and then a second round, pressing less, placing it on top of the first but more internally to leave a not too large hole. Continue until all six zeppole are formed. In detail, you can see well the shape taken by my classic zeppole.
Bake in a preheated oven at a temperature of 392°F for 15 minutes, then lower to 374°F and cook for another 10 minutes without ever opening the oven. When they are cooked, open the oven but leave the tray inside for another 5-10 minutes to dry them further.
In the meantime, prepare the whipped cream. Pour the liquid cream into the stand mixer and whip it; if you are using unsweetened cream, you can gradually add 50 grams of powdered sugar while whipping the cream.
Put the whipped cream in a pastry bag with a star nozzle, then cut the zeppole in half and fill them by making tufts of cream, close them and create a large tuft of cream in the center. Once finished filling the zeppole, place a syrupy cherry on top of each, if desired, you can sprinkle with some powdered sugar.
A Curly Cook’s Tip
The chocolate zeppole keep well in the fridge for a couple of days; if you desire a sweeter dough, you can add a teaspoon of sugar to the water and butter of the choux pastry.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
How do you make fried zeppole?
To make fried zeppole, just follow the whole procedure for the baked ones until you form them on the parchment paper. Once done, cut the parchment paper, one square for each zeppola. Heat the oil and, when it reaches the right temperature, immerse the zeppola with all the parchment paper, which you will remove shortly after.
