Zeppole di San Giuseppe are pastry cream-filled cream puffs eaten March 19th for St. Joseph’s Day. Originally from Italy, zeppole have found their way to Rhode Island where their spring arrival is much anticipated in bakeries across the state. I adapted Rhody Beat’s recipe.
Zeppole di San Giuseppe
Equipment
- oven
- hand mixer
- piping bag with a 1M tip (optional)
Ingredients
Custard Cream
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/2 C. granulated sugar
- 2 C. whole milk
- 1 lemon peel 1/2" x 2" slice
- 3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp. corn starch
- a pinch Kosher salt
Pastry Dough
- 1 C. water
- 1/2 C. butter, salted cut into 1" pats
- 1 C. all-purpose flour
- 4 eggs
- a pinch Kosher salt
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Garnish
- 8 maraschino cherries
- powdered sugar
Instructions
Custard Cream
- In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until pale yellow in color. Add flour and corn starch whisk to combine.
- In a medium saucepan add milk and lemon peel and heat on medium until it just about boils. Turn off heat.
- Ladle the hot milk into the egg mixture a ladle at a time, whisking well with each addition.
- When all the of the milk is combined, return the egg/milk mixture to the saucepan. Whisk continuously on medium heat until the mixture is thicken and reaches 180°F/82°C.
- Remove from heat and pour the custard onto a baking tray to cool. Press a layer of plastic wrap over the surface of the cream. Cool to room temperature before chilling in the refrigerator for at least a couple of hours.
Pastry Dough
- Preheat oven to 400°F/190°C or 375°F for a convection oven.
- In a medium saucepan add water and butter. Bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and pour in the flour. Mix to form a dough. Return to medium heat and stir continuously for 3 minutes. The dough should pull away from the sides of the pan and form a ball of dough.
- Transfer the dough to a large bowl. Use a hand mixer on low, to mix the dough for 2 minutes to speed up cooling. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well with each addition. Finish with a quick mix on high speed.
- Use a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe a disc of dough 3"-4" across, followed by an additional circle of dough on top to create a space for the custard, or simple mound the dough with a spoon. Make 8-10 mounds.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes. Do not open the oven before 25 minutes or the cream puffs will collapse. After 25 minutes take a toothpick and pierce a hole to allow excess steam to escape and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
- Remove the cream puffs from the oven and cool completely before filling.
- Use a paring knife and cut the pastries in half. Pipe or spoon a ring of cooled pastry cream inside, cover with the top half. Add a dollop of pastry cream on top and a maraschino cherry. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.
Notes
- In my opinion, zeppole are best eaten soon after assembly, so if you’re planning on serving them at a later time, keep the pastry cream and cream puffs separate and assemble right before serving.
Nutrition
Calories: 398kcalCarbohydrates: 49gProtein: 9gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 193mgSodium: 168mgPotassium: 160mgFiber: 1gSugar: 20gVitamin A: 684IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 102mgIron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Made these today for celebration of St Joseph’s Day as his intercession was greatly felt by our family this year with the selling of our house.
Easy recipe to follow and I was happy to also watch Emmys video. Once I assemble and try one tonight I’ll update my review. I’m super excited!!
i’ve made these maybe 5 times now and they’re always amazing. the custard turns about a bit watery but i’m pretty sure i’m just impatient and dont stir long enough. i tend to eat this as cream puffs and just cut a hole then add half custard and half whipping cream. always a hit with whoever i share them with. I will say i’m not sure how well these last as i always end up with them gone within an hour.
Made these today. Came out awesome!
Great recipe! Just wish I could post the photo here.
Above average instructions, recipe, tips, and the baker is a professional.
My family LOVED them, and said they were the best they’ve ever had.
Note: I used Einkhorn flour, from Italy. Because there is less gluten, they were extra light.
no where in the directions does it tell you when to add the salt in the custard or the dough, and it also doesn’t tell you when to add the vanilla. very frustrating as I had followed this recipe extremely carefully and only added what was noted, at the end I realized both of these I gradients were never added
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