The oven-baked cocoa zeppole are the dark alternative to surprise chocolate-loving dads.
We all know that traditionally zeppole for the occasion dedicated to fathers are fried or baked and filled with delicious custard and sour cherries; but since it’s also nice to change and offer alternatives, this year I dedicated to the dads and my own, who loved these pastries, the cocoa version.
The cream accompanying them can be either ricotta-based, which is what I chose, the traditional one, or whipped cream and spreadable cream.
Don’t be afraid if the dough seems difficult to work with at first because cocoa tends to break it apart; then, by adding the eggs, everything stabilizes.
So, do you want to try the cocoa zeppole?
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- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 5
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 352.92 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 26.89 (g) of which sugars 6.83 (g)
- Proteins 10.16 (g)
- Fat 23.74 (g) of which saturated 6.36 (g)of which unsaturated 3.52 (g)
- Fibers 1.35 (g)
- Sodium 61.10 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 60 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
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 pinch sugar
- 3/4 cup ricotta
- 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tsp powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips
- ground cinnamon (optional)
Steps
Use softened butter
– In a bowl, mix the sifted powders, add the teaspoon of sugar and set aside momentarily.
– Pour the water into a thick-bottomed pot, add the butter and wait for it to melt. As soon as the butter starts to sizzle, remove the pot from the heat and pour in the flour all at once and mix with the whisk. Put the pot back on the heat, continuing to mix.
In the dough without cocoa, the combination of water, flour, and butter normally forms a ball, whereas with cocoa it often doesn’t, but that’s normal!
– Transfer the dough to a bowl and wait for it to cool slightly, then start adding the eggs one at a time (wait for the first to be completely incorporated before proceeding with the second) and mix until you have a lump-free dough with the consistency of thick custard.
– Transfer the dough into a pastry bag with a star nozzle and squeeze two overlapping circles about 1.5 inches in diameter onto the perforated mat or the slightly greased baking sheet (no parchment paper, which inhibits the dough from rising in height when baking)
– Preheat the oven to 465/475°F
– Bake the zeppole for 15 minutes at 475°F, then lower the temperature to 430°F and bake for 10 minutes, and the last 10 minutes at 390°F with the oven slightly open. Let them dry in the oven until cooled.
– Mix the ingredients for the ricotta cream in a bowl, pass the cream into the pastry bag, cut the zeppole in half, and fill them.
Variations:
You can also fill the zeppole with custard and sour cherries or with whipped cream and nutella
You can also fill the zeppole with custard and sour cherries or with whipped cream and nutella
