St.Joseph Zeppole
St.Joseph Zeppole are delicious Italian pastries made to celebrate the Feast of Saint Joseph. Choux pastry filled with Crema Pasticcera (pastry cream) and topped with amarena cherries. They look fancy but are fairly simple to make and taste incredible!
Perfect for March 19, or Father's Day but also for St. Joseph's Day, the Zeppole di San Giuseppe are truly extraordinary traditional preparations!
These are small donuts of choux pastry which are then filled and decorated with custard and sour cherries in syrup. They are delicious, soft and creamy! I like to call them Italian Funnel Cakes!
Baked St. Joseph's Zeppole
Want a lighter version of this St. Joseph's dessert? Prepare the zeppole di San Giuseppe in the oven!
Making them will be really easy! After forming the dough, form the donuts on a pan lined with baking paper and then cook at 400°F for about 25 minutes or until golden brown. Once cold, you can fill and decorate the baked donuts thus prepared.
Zeppole di San Giuseppe: origins
The zeppola di San Giuseppe is a sweet that belongs to the tradition of Campania but which has now become a real classic of the feast of San Giuseppe which is celebrated on March 19th.
According to the Campania tradition, the donuts of San Giuseppe or funnel cakes are fried but also baked. What we are going to prepare together is the traditional recipe but now there are many different versions, all delicious and delicious!
A dessert with very ancient origins, which if desired can be declined in many different variations, for example by using other creams or other fruit to decorate.
Let's find out together how to proceed, step by step.
Recommended items to make this recipe:
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[instagram-feed feed=1] [kofi]Zeppole di San Giuseppe (St.Joseph Pastries) are the sweet symbol of the feast of San Giuseppe which is celebrated on March 19th. Let's prepare them in the original and traditional recipe, rigorously fried, with custard and black cherries.
- 150 g 00' flour (or pastry flour)
- 240 ml water
- 60 g butter
- 3 1 large eggs (jumbo)
- 1 pinch salt
- 250 ml milk (I used almond milk)
- 2 1 egg yolks
- 25 g corn or potato starch
- 80 g sugar
- 1/2 1 vanilla beans
- 8 1 black cherries
- 1 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle)
To prepare the zeppole di San Giuseppe you have to start from the preparation of the custard. Add the egg yolks to a bowl.
Then pour in the granulated sugar and start working with a whisk until it forms a cream.Only then can you add the cornstarch and continue working with a whisk. Continue until you have a smooth cream.
In the meantime, heat some milk in a saucepan.
Add the seeds and pod of half a vanilla bean to the milk and bring the milk to the boil.
Add a little of the now hot milk, deprived of the vanilla pod, to the mixture with the yolks.Work with the whisk to form a very smooth pastel, which you will have to pour back into the saucepan together with the remaining milk.
Put it back on the heat to work on low heat with a whisk until the custard starts to take on consistency. It will take a few minutes. Now pour the custard into a bowl and cover with contact film. In this way, a skin will not form on the surface.Let it cool to room temperature
DO NOT OVERCOOK THE CUSTARD OR IT WILL BECOME HARD - TOFU CONSISTENCY AND YOU WILL HAVE TO START AGAINNow dedicate yourself to preparing the zeppole. In a saucepan, pour the water, a pinch of salt and the butter. Cook over medium heat until the butter has completely melted.
Now pour in the flour all at once and mix quickly with a wooden spoon.
A compact loaf will have to be formed, which detaches from the walls. Pour the mixture into a bowl and let it cool.Now add the eggs, one at a time, continuing to work with a fork. You will have to obtain an elastic and well homogeneous mixture.
Pour the mixture into a pastry bag with a star tip. You will have to form circles, going over twice, on a sheet of parchment paper. Once the donuts have been formed, cut the parchment paper around them so as to form squares of parchment paper.
Now you can move on to cooking the zeppole, which must take place in very hot seed oil. In order for the donuts to keep their shape, you must immerse them upside down in the oil. This way you will prevent the donut from being damaged by changing.
Keep it upside down for about 4-5 minutes on medium heat. Gradually the parchment paper will come off so you can remove it with pliers. Then turn it upside down and let it brown for a few more minutes so that the zeppola will have a very homogeneous colour. Continue in this way with all the donuts.
Always pass them on a sheet of absorbent paper to remove excess oil.Once cold you can move on to the filling. Take back the custard and after having worked it quickly with a whisk to make it creamy, place it inside a sac à poche with a star tip and create a tuft on the fried donuts.
Finish by decorating with a sour cherry in syrup and half a teaspoon of the syrup itself. Your zeppole are then ready. All you have to do is give a light dusting of powdered sugar and you can serve it.
Instead of custard you can also use whipped cream or chantilly cream. The zeppole will always be excellent.
Another very good and delicious version consists in passing the donuts in granulated sugar immediately after frying. We will then proceed to the filling with cream and decoration with black cherries.
The zeppole di San Giuseppe can be kept for a maximum of 2 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
