There are 2 types of Zeppole (fried or baked), in this recipe I fried them.. Fried Zeppole tends to be the more popular choice of the two.. The original Italian cream puff pastry has a faint crunchy crust with a soft airy inner texture, paired with custard cream and cherry syrup it just knocks your taste buds to a whole new world.. Literally!!
Zeppole Di San Giuseppe is a pastry that traditionally was made on the feast of St. Joseph’s Day celebrated in southern Italy… Today, in Italy and around the world these cream puffs are served as a dessert all year round. You will find them in high class restaurants, bakeries, and even at some local diners. They make them in all shapes and forms paired with different condiments, some even call them Italian Fried Donuts..
This Zeppole recipe has the traditional ingredients and Zeppole shape that is often seen in Italy. The original Italian pastry recipe is way superior both in taste and texture. Try this recipe and I promise you that you won’t regret it, these zeppole’s are insanely delicious.
Italian Custard Cream Puffs Recipe (How To Video)
How To Make Zeppole Pastries
1. Making The Zeppole Dough: Pour 250g of water in a saucepan on medium high heat, add the butter and stir until it starts boiling.. Add a pinch of salt then the “00” flour, bring down the heat and cook slowly while mixing until it forms into a smooth dough.
2. Once the dough is smooth and blended well with no lumps place it in a mixing bowl and let it cool down.. Set aside the eggs for later. While the dough is cooling you can start to prepare the custard cream.
3. Making The Custard Cream: Pour 250g of milk in a saucepan on medium heat without boiling. Let the milk get very hot but don’t let it boil.. Peel a lemon with a peeler and add the slices of lemon peels in the milk. 1 Lemon is enough.
4. In a new mixing bowl, add 1 whole egg and 3 egg yolks with the sugar and whisk then add corn flour and vanilla extract. Continue whisking until you see no lumps and all ingredients are blended well.
5. Place a strainer on the mixing bowl and add the milk with the lemon peels to the whisked eggs, the strainer will capture all the lemon peels.
6. Pour the custard cream batter from the mixing bowl into a saucepan on medium heat and whisk until it forms into a cream. Once it forms into a cream remove saucepan and let it cool.
7. Finishing The Zeppole Dough: In a small bowl add 3 whole eggs, 1 egg yolk and beat until they are scrambled.. Pour a little at a time into the cooled dough. Mix and add a little more until the eggs are completely absorbed into the dough..
8. When the dough forms into a thick like creamy texture you can get it ready for piping.. Place parchment paper on a baking sheet and start making the zeppole.. Use a star tip on the pipe and make two round twirls on top of each other. Then cut the parchment paper in squares leaving one zeppola on top of each parchment paper. (See Pic)
9. Heat up a pot with sunflower oil to (320 degrees F) and fry the zeppole until they are crispy and almost brown in color.. Once you fried them all you can start topping them with the custard cream.
10. Pour the cooled custard cream into a pipe and slowly make one or two round twirl on top of the fried zeppole.. Then place a cherry in the center of the custard cream and drizzle some syrup on top.. (I used Maraschino cherries in this recipe.) You can then sprinkle sugar powder on top.
Congratulations! Im sure you made the best Zeppole’s on the planet :).. and they will get better every time you make them. Hope you enjoy eating and making them.. Any questions about this recipe feel free to comment below.
Recipe Ingredients
Cookware Needed For This Recipe
Mixing Bowls
Saucepan
Spatula
Peeler
Whisk
Strainer
Kitchen Tong
Piping Bag
Ingredients For The Zeppole Dough
“00” Flour (150g)
Butter (55g)
Pinch Of Salt
Water (250g)
3 Whole Eggs
1 Egg Yolk
Sunflower Oil
Ingredients For The Custard Cream
Milk (250g)
Corn Flour (20g)
Sugar (75g)
1 Teaspoon Of Vanilla Extract
1 Whole Egg
3 Egg Yolks
Lemon Peels
Ingredients For The Topping
Cherries In Syrup (Maraschino)
Powdered Sugar
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