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Saint Joseph’s Day Zeppole

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Saint Joseph Zeppole

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.

Cream Puffs

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.

Unfilled Cream Puffs

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.

Zeppole

This recipe makes 12 small or about 8 large pastry shells. I make 8 most of the time; one for each of us.

Amarena Cherries

 

Happy Saint Joseph’s Day!

Saint Joseph Zeppole
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Saint Joseph's Day Zeppole Recipe

Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 8 large
Calories 506 kcal
Author Olives-n-Okra

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:

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Using an ice cream scoop or a large cookie scoop, drop 8 large or 12 small pastries onto parchment lined baking sheet.
  5. 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.
  6. 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:

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

Nutrition Facts
Saint Joseph's Day Zeppole Recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories 506 Calories from Fat 180
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 20g 31%
Saturated Fat 11g 55%
Cholesterol 246mg 82%
Sodium 237mg 10%
Potassium 241mg 7%
Total Carbohydrates 67g 22%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Sugars 32g
Protein 12g 24%
Vitamin A 16.7%
Calcium 17.3%
Iron 13.3%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

I shared this recipe at these fantastic parties.

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Comments

  1. I love zeppole and pretty much all Italian food — probably due to my Italian relatives! Thanks for sharing your recipe and story at Snickerdoodle! 🙂

    Reply

  3. 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.

    Reply

  4. 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!

    Reply

  5. 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

    Reply

  9. 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!

    Reply

  11. 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.

    Reply

  14. Oh, this does look yummy! Thank you for sharing at Snickerdoodle. These are one of my all-time favorite desserts! Yum.

    Reply

  15. 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 🙂

    Reply

  20. 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

    Reply

  21. 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!

    Reply

  22. 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

    Reply

  26. 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!

    Reply

  29. 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!

    Reply

  32. 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?

    Reply

Trackbacks

  8. […] I recently bought a 2 pound can of Amarena cherries in heavy syrup to make a couple of Italian desserts. I used some of the cherries to make Amarena Cherry Gelato, a sweet and creamy ice cream filled with sweet, dark cherries. Amarena cherries are dark bitter cherries found in the Bologna and Modena regions of Italy. The cherries are usually preserved in syrup. I also use these cherries to make Saint Joseph’s Day Zeppole. […]

    Reply

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