Zeppole di San Giuseppe

Ingredients

For 12 servings.

Pastry cream

• 500 ml whole milk
• 5 pcs egg yolks
• 150 g caster sugar
• 50 g 00 flour or cornstarch
• 1 pc lemon, zest only
• 1 pc vanilla pod or extract

Choux pastry

• 250 ml water
• 80 g butter
• 150 g 00 flour
• 4 large eggs
• a pinch salt
• a pinch sugar
• 1 litre sunflower oil for frying

To finish

• 12 pcs amarene (sour cherries in syrup)
• to dust icing sugar

Method

1. 1. Make the pastry cream

   Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, flour, and vanilla until smooth. Heat the milk with the lemon zest until just below boiling, then pour it slowly into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Pour everything back into the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring continuously, until it thickens. Transfer to a shallow dish, press cling film directly onto the surface, and refrigerate for at least an hour.

   Cling film touching the surface prevents a skin forming. The cream needs to be completely cold before piping.

2. 2. Make the choux pastry

   Bring the water, butter, salt, and sugar to the boil in a saucepan. Remove from the heat and tip in all the flour at once. Stir vigorously until it comes together and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Return to medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring, to dry it out slightly. Transfer to a bowl and cool for 10 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each, until the dough is smooth and glossy.

   Adding eggs to dough that's too hot scrambles them. The dough is ready when it's warm but no longer hot to the touch.

3. 3. Pipe the rings

   Fit a piping bag with a large star nozzle (1.5cm or bigger). Fill with the choux dough. Cut squares of baking paper about 10x10cm. Pipe a ring on each square, about 8cm diameter, joining the ends.

   The baking paper squares are the trick: lower each ring into the oil on the paper, and after 30 seconds it floats off and you can fish it out with tongs. Transferring choux rings without it usually ends badly.

4. 4. Fry

   Heat the oil to 175°C (345°F) in a deep pan. Lower the zeppole in one or two at a time on their paper squares. Remove the paper with tongs after 30 seconds. Fry for 4 to 5 minutes per side until deep golden. They'll puff and expand. Drain on kitchen paper.

   If the oil is too hot they brown before the inside cooks. If it's too cool they absorb oil and turn greasy. A thermometer makes this easier.

5. 5. Fill and top

   Once completely cool, pipe or spoon pastry cream into the hollow of each ring. Top with an amarena cherry and a small spoon of its syrup. Dust with icing sugar just before serving.

   Fill them as close to serving as possible. Filled zeppole sitting in the fridge for hours go soft. The contrast between the crispy shell and the cold cream is the point.

Nutrition per serving

• 290 kcal
• Protein: 7g
• Carbs: 30g
• Fat: 16g

A bit of history

Zeppole are tied to St. Joseph's Day on the 19th of March, which also happens to be Father's Day in Italy. The connection between fried dough and the feast of San Giuseppe goes back at least to the early 19th century, when street vendors in Naples would set up fryers outside churches on the day.

The choux pastry version became the standard for pasticcerie over time, replacing older and simpler fried dough versions. The baked alternative became popular in the 20th century as something lighter, though the fried version is the one most Neapolitans consider the real thing. The amarena cherry on top has been there for as long as anyone can remember.