BEST Zeppole Di San Giuseppe Recipe (2024)

Preheat oven to 400℉—place rack in the center of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Beat the room-temperature eggs in a medium bowl, cover with cling wrap or plastic wrap, and set aside.

Whisk together flour, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

In a large, heavy saucepan, combine the water and butter over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. After boiling for about 30 seconds, remove the saucepan from the heat.

Add the flour mixture in one addition and stir with a wooden spoon. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon to combine the wet and dry ingredients.

Return the saucepan to the stove. Reduce the heat to medium-low and keep stirring until the mixture forms into a smooth ball and comes away from the sides of the pan (5 minutes total). This is KEY to letting some of the water evaporate- skipping this step yields to a runny dough.

Transfer the choux dough mixture to a large mixing bowl. Let cool for a few minutes.

Add the beaten eggs, ¼ cup at a time, mixing well after each addition with a wooden spoon, stand mixer paddle attachment or hand-held beaters.

It may seem like the dough won't incorporate, but it does- keep mixing.

Make Italian pastry cream and set it in the fridge to cool. Make it up to 24 hours ahead of time.

Spoon dough into a pastry bag fitted with an open star tip. I like to place my pastry bag in a tall cup for easy filling.
Pipe dough into 2" nests on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Turn off the oven and open the door slightly.

The dough resembles a donut's shape and size with a hole in the middle.
Place in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown.

Let the pastries cool for about 10 minutes in the oven.
Remove the pastry shells from the oven and let them cool completely.

Fill another pastry bag fitted with an open star tip with Italian pastry cream and pipe on one-half of the zeppole shells; you can also use a spoon for the pastry cream.

Cover with the other half of the baked zeppole and pipe another tablespoon over the top, OR make a small hole and pipe pastry cream directly in the cavity; and top with more pastry cream. You can also leave the tops plain.

Top the baked zeppole with amarena cherries and a dusting of icing sugar (powdered sugar). Enjoy!

Top Tips for Choux Pastry Dough (Zeppole di San Giuseppe)

Choux pastry sounds fancy but is pretty easy to make following the best recipe.

• Use room temperature ingredients.
• Stir the flour vigorously until combined with the hot liquid.
• Important to cook the pastry in the pan for 5 minutes so that the water can evaporate. If you skip this step, the dough will be runny, and the final choux dough will be flat and dense.
• Let the mixture cool immediately after it forms into a smooth dough ball.
• Beat the eggs first, then add ¼ cup additions to the dough.
• Cool the finished pastry in the oven with the door open.

What is choux pastry?

Italian baked zeppole uses a French choux pastry dough- don't ask me why! Pâte à choux is a classic French dough that starts on the stovetop with the wet and dry ingredients before adding the eggs. It is used to make cream puffs, éclairs, and more. Choux is pronounced like “shoe.” Choux meanscabbages in French; the baked puff pastry looks like small cabbages after they are baked.

Why is my choux pastry runny?

The most common reason for the choux pastry to be runny, causing the final pastry to be flat and rubbery, is not cooking the dough in the pot for enough time. Allowing the dough to cook for 5 minutes is critical to let the water evaporate and create a solid dough before adding the eggs. The initial cookingcauses the starch in the flour to gelatinize, helping the choux pastry hold onto steam and puff up when baking. This essential step will result in a choux pastry that is light and airy!

How do you know when choux pastry is done cooking?

Before baking choux pastry, you cook it on the stove. This is essential in achieving a light and airy choux. You will know when the choux pastry is done cooking in the pot when it is glossy, doesn't stick to the sides of the pan, and forms into a soft cohesive dough ball. Then it is ready to cool, add the eggs, and bake.

Why is choux pastry cooked on the stove first?

Cooling the choux pastries in the oven is recommended. After the recommended baking time- turn off the oven, open the oven door, and let the pastries cool for about 10 minutes.The remaining heat will further crisp the pastry without over-baking them.