Saint Joseph’s Day, or the Feast of Saint Joseph’s, is March 19. It is a celebratory day for Catholics and Italians, especially in cities where there is a large population of Italian-Americans. Like many American holidays, it’s all about the food.
Saint Joseph’s Day Zeppole, known as Zeppole Di San Giuseppe in Italy, is similar to a cream puff. The pastry can be fried or baked, then filled with a sweet custard cream or ricotta filling (these pastries are called sfingi), dusted with confectioner’s sugar, and topped with a sour cherry. I picked up a container of Amarena cherries in heavy syrup from Cavallari’s the other day, with these pastries in mind. Amarena cherries have a distinct flavor. They are grown in northern Italy and can be a bit bitter or sour. The cherries are almost dark burgundy or purple in color and are preserved in heavy syrup. You can find them in Italian specialty shops. Maraschino cherries or cherry jam works, too, if you can’t find Amarena cherries.
In my recipe for Saint Joseph’s Day Zeppole, I bake the cream puffs, scoop out the centers when cool, then fill them with a custard cream. In most Sicilian and Napoletana recipes, a tablespoon of grated lemon and orange rind is added to the pastry batter. The cream, too, can be flavored with dark rum or amaretto, but I like just plain vanilla. In ricotta filled pastries, known as sfingi, mini chocolate chips and grated orange peel are common.
This recipe makes 12 small or about 8 large pastry shells. I make 8 most of the time; one for each of us.
Happy Saint Joseph’s Day!

Saint Joseph's Day Zeppole Recipe
Ingredients
Pastry shells:
- 1 cup hot water
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 large eggs
Custard Cream:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- pinch of salt
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
- 5 egg yolks slightly beaten
- confectioners' sugar
- Amarena or Maraschino cherries
Instructions
To make the pastry:
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium saucepan, boil the water with the butter, salt and sugar. Add the flour all at once and cook over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture pulls away from the sides without sticking, about 1 minute.
- Remove the pan from heat and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Transfer mixture to a medium size bowl. Using an electric mixture, beat in eggs, one at a time, until mixture is smooth.
- Using an ice cream scoop or a large cookie scoop, drop 8 large or 12 small pastries onto parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 20-25, or until pastries are a medium golden brown.
- Remove the pastries from the oven and make a small slit in the top of each one to let steam escape. Return to the oven for 5 more minutes. Transfer to cooling rack and cool completely.
To make the custard filling:
- In the top of a double boiler, whisk together flour, corn starch, sugar, and salt. Slowly whisk in milk and vanilla. Cook until mixture is thick and bubbly. Remove from heat.
In a small bowl, slightly beat 5 egg yolks. Rapidly stir in one cup of the hot custard. Continue to stir until well blended. Transfer egg mixture to custard and whisk until blended. Cook for 3 minutes longer. Remove from heat. Cover custard with plastic wrap; refrigerate until chilled through.
- Slice each pastry in half and scoop out the center; fill with the chilled custard and replace tops. Dust with powdered sugar. Top with cherries.
Recipe Notes
Recipe makes 8 large or 12 small pastries.
I shared this recipe at these fantastic parties.
I love zeppole and pretty much all Italian food — probably due to my Italian relatives! Thanks for sharing your recipe and story at Snickerdoodle! 🙂
Wow, these are brilliant. I bought 2 jars of those cherries at a show I attended recently so I’m all ready to make these! 🙂
March 19th is my husband’s birthday. He is not much of a cake eater but I bet he will love these. Thanks for sharing.
Looks amazing, enjoyed learning about all the Italian treats when I lived in Manhattan not far from Little Italy, which sadly is dissappearing…..thanks so much for sharing on craft schooling Sunday!
Yes, I visited Little Italy about 2 years ago, and I was disappointed to see how little was left.
Just discovered your blog through Finding Silver Pennies link party. Being of Italian heritage, it is so nice to see those old traditional Italian recipes preserved.
Mary @ Orphans With Makeup
Glad you like it. Thanks for visiting, too!
These look wonderful! My mom makes cream puffs that look just like these! I have to try them soon! Thank you for joining the link party!
Ooo! Those look amazing! I LOVE how they “puff”! Thanks so much for taking the time to link up with us at the #HomeMattersParty – we’d love for you to tell a friend! And we hope to see you both again next week 🙂
Oh my gosh. Mouthwatering! They look like the most divine thing EVER!
oh man i can’t believe i have missed out on this holiday when it has such a delish dessert to go with it! I hope you can make these year round because I plan to make a batch and if I succeed in making mine as good as yours, I know I will have to make them again and again! Thanks for sharing the yumminess with Snickerdoodle Sunday!
Definitely lots of good eats!
These look delicious, lady! Thank you for sharing!
I’m not familiar with zeppoles, but I know I love cream puffs. These look delicious! I’m visiting from Tuesday’s Table link party.
These look amazing! Pinning so I can my hand at them. Thank you for sharing at Let’s Get Real Friday!
Thanks for sharing this at the link up! I’ve never heard of these before but immediately thought of my man’s mother- she’s a classic Italian woman with 2 ovens always full of something delish!
xoxo K
http://peeledwellness.com
Oh, this does look yummy! Thank you for sharing at Snickerdoodle. These are one of my all-time favorite desserts! Yum.
These are such beautiful desserts 🙂 I wasn’t familiar with this holiday, so I really enjoyed this post! Thanks for sharing your great post at Together on Tuesdays 🙂
These look so light and fluffy!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
Thanks for linking up with Waiting on…Wednesday @ While I’m Waiting!
Have a great day!
What lovely little pastries! Thanks for sharing these on Weekend Bites
Yum, these looks so good! Thanks for sharing at What’d You Do This Weekend? I hope you will join us again this Monday!
This looks incredible! I’m drooling right now. Pinned and tweeted. We are so thrilled to have you at our party. Please stop by on Monday at 7, so we can see your amazing projects. Lou Lou Girls
These are beautiful! St. Joseph’s Day was a big thing when I was growing up. It always makes me think of my grandpa. For years he wanted to set up a St. Joseph’s Day altar. A couple of years before he died, he was able to do it. He loved cooking for people. Thanks for sharing your zeppole…and for the memories!
I’ve never heard of this pastry before, it looks very tasty though. Thanks for linking up to Sweet and Savoury Sunday, stop by and link up again. Have a great day!! Laura@Baking in Pyjamas
Looks so good!
Thanks so much for sharing at AMAZE ME MONDAY!
Blessings,
Cindy
These are beautiful. I saw the picture at Jan Olsen’s and couldn’t resist. I think they will be lovely on my dessert table for Easter.
Yum!! Love this recipe!
These look absolutely divine! Thanks for sharing this post at the #PureblogLove Link party! The party begins againThursday night at 8 p.m. We hope you plan to link up again. We’d love to see more of your fantastic ideas!
Pinning! Thanks for sharing this at Totally Terrific Tuesday last week! Can’t wait to see what you have lined up for this week.
Sharon
Her Organized Chaos
Sherry, these look delicious and they are so pretty, too. I’ve never seen this, but I’m happy to have found your recipe.
These look delicious! I had never heard of these before, most likely because I grew up in a German Catholic community. Thank you for sharing a little history and the recipe with us!
I love zeppolis, but I’ve never made them at home because I don’t have a deep fryer. I will definitely have to try this! Thanks for sharing!
Yum your Saint Joseph’s Day Zeppole looks special and good to eat. I am definitely pinning and copying the recipe down for my recipe box
Listed in the ingredients for the custard it reads 5 egg yolks. In step 2 for making the custard it reads 4 egg yolks. which is the correct?
It’s 5 egg yolks. Thanks for catching this error. I updated the recipe.