Zeppole di San Giuseppe are delicious Italian pastries made to celebrate the Feast of Saint Joseph. Choux pastry filled with Crema Pasticcera (pastry cream) and topped with amarena cherries. They look fancy but are fairly simple to make and taste incredible!
March 19th is a day to celebrate in Italy. It's both Saint Joseph's Day also known as the feast of Saint Joseph and Father's Day.
Bakeries are filled with lots of delicious treats to celebrate the occasion and one that's impossible to miss is Zeppole di San Giuseppe!
They're made with choux pastry, filled with the most delicious smooth and creamy Crema Pasticcera (pastry cream) and topped with cherries soaked in syrup, so delicious!
These Italian Zeppole come in two variations; baked or fried. Our recipe will show you how to make the baked version which is really easy, lighter and last for longer too.
See the recipe below including notes on ingredients, step by step photos, tips, variations and a video tutorial. For the full printable recipe scroll to the bottom or click the recipe link below
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Ingredients - what you need
See the photos below that shows you everything you need to make our Zeppole di San Giuseppe recipe plus some important tips on ingredients!
- Butter - make sure to use unsalted!
- Flour - you can use Italian 00 flour or all-purpose flour.
- Sugar - use caster sugar (fine sugar) if possible.
- Eggs - use large eggs.
- Cherries - traditionally cherries soaked in syrup are used such as Fabbri amarena cherries.
- Milk - the milk must be full fat, don't use low or half fat.
- Vanilla - we used vanilla bean paste but vanilla extract or a whole vanilla bean can also be used.
- Cornstarch (known as corn flour in the UK) - this is an important ingredient for thickening the custard.
- Citrus peel - the peel of a lemon or orange is optional but gives the pastry cream a delicious flavour.
Step by step photos and recipe instructions
Preparation Tips!
- Make a batch of Italian Pastry Cream before starting the zeppole (instructions in the recipe card below).
- Pre-heat the oven to 190C (375F).
- Line a large baking tray with parchment paper.
Step 1) Heat the water and sugar until the sugar has dissolved then add the butter and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil then turn down low (photo 1-3).
Step 2) add the flour and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until a dough has formed and it comes away from the sides easily (photos 4-6).
Step 3) Transfer the dough to a clean bowl then add a little bit of egg at a time whilst stirring letting the egg fully absorb between each addition. The dough should be smooth and sticky (photos 7-10).
Step 4) Add the dough to a piping bag with a star nozzle and pipe 3 inch sized zeppole onto a lined baking tray. Bake at 190C (375F) for 10 minutes then turn down to 170C (340F) for 30 minutes (photos 11-12).
Step 5) Let the zeppole cool completely then cut in half and fill with pastry cream. Pipe more pastry cream on the top and top each one with a cherry (photos 13 & 14).
Recipe tips and FAQs
- Cooking the pastry - it's important to cook the dough (while stirring) for at least 5 minutes so enough water gets a chance to evaporate. If you don't do this the dough will be too runny once the egg is added and will be hard to pipe.
- Tip for piping the zeppole dough - think of it as if you are frosting a cupcake, you pipe it into a ring and overlap it in the middle.
- Different filling options - you can flavour your pastry cream with citrus zest, alcohol such as limoncello or strega or vanilla. You can also go for a chocolate version and use our Chocolate Pastry Cream (Crema al Cioccolato).
If your pastry is too runny and can't be piped it's likely that it hasn't been cooked for long enough before the egg was added. If enough water hasn't evaporated the mixture will be too wet. Unfortunately, you can't add more flour to choux pastry. You'll need to make another half batch of dough without adding more eggs and add that into the wetter mixture or start again.
Zeppole shells will last for up to 3-4 days. Filled zeppole will keep well in the fridge for up to 2 days.
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📖 Full Recipe
Zeppole di San Giuseppe
Ingredients
- 1 cup Italian 00 flour or all purpose flour (140g)
- 3 oz butter (85g)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 pinch fine salt
- ¾ cup water (170ml)
- 8 cherries soaked in syrup such as Fabbri
For the custard
- 5 large egg yolks
- ⅓ cup sugar (70g)
- ¼ cup cornstarch (30g)
- 2.5 cups full-fat milk (590ml)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla paste or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Peel of 1 lemon or orange optional
Equipment
- Piping bag and star nozzle
Instructions
To make the Crema Pasticcera (custard)
- Heat the milk, vanilla and citrus peel if using in a saucepan until boiling them turn off immediately to avoid it overflowing.
- In a large bowl mix the egg yolks and sugar together until combined then mix in the cornstarch.
- Remove the citrus peel then slowly pour the milk into the egg a little at a time whilst whisking until thoroughly combined. Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan and heat it on medium-low.
- Stir the mixture until thickened (about 10 minutes) if lumps appear, turn the heat lower and use a whisk. It should be thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
- Once thick, transfer the mixture to a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap (cling film). Make sure to place it directly on top of the custard so a skin doesn’t form.
- Set aside to cool completely.
To make the Zeppole
- Pre-heat the oven to 190C (375F). Line a large baking tray with parchment paper.
- Put the water and sugar in a large saucepan and heat until the sugar has dissolved. Once dissolved, add the butter and a pinch of salt and bring to a boil.
- Turn the heat down low and add the sifted flour to the butter mixture. Mix it vigorously with a wooden spoon until a dough had formed and is no longer sticking to the edges. Make sure to cook the dough whilst stirring for at least 5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl. Mix the egg into the dough a third at a time making sure the egg is fully absorbed before adding more egg. The dough should be smooth and sticky.
- Transfer the dough to a piping bag with a star nozzle and pipe the zeppole in a ring overlapping it in the middle (as you would frost a cupcake) about 3 inches in size. Make sure to pipe them 2 inch apart.
- Bake them in the oven at 190C (375F) for 10 minutes then turn the heat down to 170C (340F) for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a cooling rack.
Fill the Zeppole
- Once cooled, add the custard to a piping bag (we used a star nozzle but any will do). Cut the zeppole in half and fill them with custard. Top each zeppole with a little more custard and top each one with a cherry.
Notes
- Cooking the pastry - it's important to cook the dough (while stirring) for at least 5 minutes so enough water gets a chance to evaporate. If you don't do this the dough will be too runny once the egg is added and will be hard to pipe.
- Tip for piping the zeppole dough - think of it as if you are frosting a cupcake, you pipe it into a ring and overlap it in the middle.
- Different filling options - you can flavour your pastry cream with citrus zest, alcohol such as limoncello or strega or vanilla. You can also go for a chocolate version and use our Chocolate Pastry Cream (Crema al Cioccolato).
- Storage - Zeppole shells will last for up to 3-4 days. Filled zeppole will keep well in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Nutrition
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use this brand for the best results and flavour
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
Carmela
Tried your St Joseph Zepoli and they turned out great!! Thanks for this beautiful r
Emily
So happy you enjoyed them! 🙂
Noreen
St Joseph’s Day is my birthday. I will be 68 years young! My Nana made an alter every year in honor of him. Looking forward to trying this for sure! Thank you!
Emily
Happy Birthday for when it comes, I hope you have a lovely day! Enjoy the zeppole 🙂