Zeppole di San Giuseppe: Neapolitan Tradition Recipe

A Dive into History

It seems that the tradition of zeppole dates back to ancient Rome, where they were prepared on March 17th for the Liberalia, pagan festivals in honor of the deities of wine and grain. The first zeppole were simply wheat fritters fried in hot lard. Over the centuries, when pagan festivals were banned, the tradition of zeppole was brought back to Catholicism, fixing March 19th as the day of preparation in honor of Saint Joseph. Their round shape with a hole in the center symbolizes the shape of Saint Joseph's cart wheel. In Neapolitan culture, this dessert is a sign of good luck, abundance, and prosperity.

The Ingredients

For the preparation of Neapolitan Zeppole di San Giuseppe, you will need:

• For the choux pastry: 250 ml water
• 100 g butter
• 1 pinch of salt
• 150 g flour
• 4 eggs

For the pastry cream:

• 500 ml milk
• 100 g sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 40 g cornstarch
• 1 vanilla bean
• Lemon zest

Preparation

Choux pastry:

1. In a saucepan, bring water, butter, and salt to a boil. Add the flour all at once and mix vigorously until you get a homogeneous dough. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture detaches from the walls of the saucepan. Let it cool.
2. Add the eggs to the dough one at a time, mixing well with a wooden spoon until completely absorbed.
3. Transfer the dough to a piping bag with a star tip.
4. Fry in hot oil at 170°C until golden brown. Alternatively, bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 20-25 minutes.

Pastry cream:

1. In a saucepan, bring the milk with the vanilla bean and lemon zest to a boil. In a bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar and cornstarch. Pour the hot milk gradually over the egg mixture, stirring continuously. Put the mixture back on the heat and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until you get a thick and homogeneous cream.
2. Fill the zeppole with pastry cream and decorate with glazed cherries and powdered sugar."