St. Joseph’s zeppole are the traditional sweet for Father’s Day celebrated on March 19, the feast of St. Joseph, but because they’re so delicious we can make them any time of the year. They are soft choux pastries, baked or fried, filled with pastry cream and garnished with sour cherries in syrup and a dusting of powdered sugar. In my case, since sour cherries aren’t much liked, I garnished them with cream and wild strawberries 😋
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Moderate
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Cooking time: 40 Minutes
- Portions: Circa 10 zeppole
- Cooking methods: Stovetop, Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
ZEPPOLE WITH WILD STRAWBERRIES
- 1 cup water
- 7 oz butter (about 14 tbsp — roughly 1 3/4 sticks)
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (00 flour)
- 7 large eggs eggs
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (for the pastry cream, about 100 g)
- 4 1/4 cups milk
- to taste lemon zest
ZEPPOLE WITH WILD STRAWBERRIES
PASTA CHOUX
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’s important to incorporate one egg at a time, mixing with a wooden spoon.
Place the mixture in 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.
Zeppole should be baked in a hot oven at 356°F until they detach from the bottom of the baking sheet with a spatula and take on a golden color. PASTRY CREAM
Heat the milk with the lemon zest, taking care not to let it boil. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until light and frothy, then incorporate the flour. Start pouring the warm (but not boiling) milk onto the egg mixture, mixing vigorously, and cook until the cream has thickened. Transfer it to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming, and let it cool.
Take the zeppole and the cream.
Whisk the pastry cream again to make it smooth and transfer it to a piping bag fitted with a star tip.Cut the zeppole in half and fill them with cream and wild strawberries, then place the other half of the zeppola on top.
Dust generously with powdered sugar and pipe a rosette of cream with the piping bag. Finish with a handful of wild strawberries on each St. Joseph’s zeppola.
Serve immediately. They can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two days.
