Zeppole San Giuseppe

Zeppole San Giuseppe

Everybody knows about St. Patrick's Day on March 17, but did you know that March 19 is St. Joseph’s Day, which is also Italian Father’s Day? One of the biggest St. Joseph's Day traditions is making the Italian pastry Zeppole San Giuseppe (St. Joseph's Fritter). This slightly healthy version bakes the dough instead of frying, but the taste is 100% delicioso! Buon appetito!

 

Recipe makes 1 dozen Zeppole

Ingredients For the Dough:

  • 1 cup of Water
  • 1 cup of All Purpose Flour
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 cup of Unsalted Butter
  • 4 Eggs at Room Temperature

 

Ingredients for the Pastry Cream:

  • 2 1/2 cups of Whole Milk
  • 1/4 cup of Granulated Sugar
  • 1/4 cup of All Purpose Flour
  • 2 Tbsp of Cornstarch
  • 1 Small Strip of Lemon Zest
  • 4 Egg Yolks

 

Directions:

Start by making the custard.

1) In a saucepan, add the milk and lemon zest and bring to a simmer. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until thick and pale (this takes a couple minutes) then whisk in the flour and cornstarch and when the milk is ready, remove the lemon zest and SLOWLY stream the milk into the egg yolk mixture and whisk until smooth.

2) Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook on medium-low heat until the mixture thickens. Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla and then put it into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and pop it in the fridge to cool completely.

3) For the dough, preheat your oven to 400 degrees, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

4) In a large saucepan, add the water, butter and salt and bring to a boil, add the flour and salt and cook stirring the whole time for about 3 minutes.

5) Add the dough to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a paddle attachment and let it mix for several minutes to cool the mixture a bit.

6) Add one egg and mix until incorporated and then continue to mix one egg at a time until you have a smooth mixture, then allow it to sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes.

7) Place the dough in a large piping bag fitted with a large star or round tip, then start piping out little nests about 2 1/2 inches wide and about 2 - 3 levels high a few inches apart from each other.

8) Bake them for about 40 minutes or until medium golden brown, allow to cool completely before cutting them in half and filling the center with the pastry cream. Top with a swirl of pastry cream and a maraschino or amarena cherry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recipe by Laura Vitale

https://www.laurainthekitchen.com/recipes/zeppole-san-giuseppe/