Saint Joseph’s zeppole are the traditional dessert for Father’s Day, celebrated on March 19th, the feast of Saint Joseph, but because they are so tasty we can prepare them at any time of the year.
They are soft choux pastry dough rings baked or fried, filled with pastry cream and decorated with candied sour cherries and a dusting of powdered sugar. In my case, since the sour cherries are not much loved, I decorated them with cream and dark chocolate shavings 😋.
Below I leave you some very indulgent zeppole recipes 😉⬇️
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Portions: About 20 zeppole
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients for about 20 zeppole
- 1 cup water
- 7 oz butter
- 2 cups 00 flour (type 00)
- 7 eggs
- 5 g salt
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 2/3 cups flour
- 4 1/4 cups milk
- 1 packet vanillin (vanilla powder)
- lemon zest
- to taste dark chocolate shavings
- to taste powdered sugar
SAINT JOSEPH’S ZEPPOLE
SAINT JOSEPH’S ZEPPOLE
Let’s prepare the choux pastry for the zeppole together.
In a saucepan bring the water to a boil with the butter and the salt.
When the butter has melted, add all the flour at once and stir until all the water has evaporated and the dough pulls away from the sides of the pan.
Turn off the heat and let the dough cool in a bowl for a few minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time; it is important to incorporate one egg at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon.
Put the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a star tip and form the zeppole by piping a circle, or better a spiral that we will close inside, onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake the zeppole in a hot oven at 356°F until they come away from the bottom of the pan when lifted with a spatula and take on a golden color.
Heat the milk, taking care not to let it boil.
Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until fluffy, then incorporate the flour.
Begin pouring the warm (not boiling) milk into the egg mixture while whisking vigorously and cook until the cream thickens. At the end of cooking add the vanillin (an alternative to a vanilla bean).
Transfer the cream to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming and to avoid lumps, and let cool.
Take the zeppole and the cream.
Whisk the pastry cream until smooth again and transfer it to a piping bag with a star tip.
Dust the zeppole with plenty of powdered sugar and use the piping bag to make a swirl of cream. Finish with one candied sour cherry on each zeppola or, as in my case, with dark chocolate shavings.
Serve immediately. They can be kept in the refrigerator for up to two days.
