San Giuseppe zeppole are a delicious dessert that is prepared for the feast of San Giuseppe, or Father’s Day. The term zeppola indicates a sweet donut or pancake prepared in some southern regions and is often used by the Neapolitan people both to indicate the typical zeppole of San Giuseppe, but also to refer to the rustic pancake, the so-called “zeppulella”. The dessert has very ancient origins, it is said that it dates back to 500 BC, when the Liberalia were celebrated in Rome , i.e. the festivals dedicated to the deities dedicated to wine and wheat. On this occasion, in addition to being served wine in large quantities enriched with honey and spices, wheat pancakes were fried in lard. Therefore the recipe for zeppole dates back to ancient Rome, although the modern recipe for Neapolitan zeppole di San Giuseppe is traced back to the famous Duke of Buonvincino, Ippolito Cavalcanti, who reports it in his cooking manual. Furthermore, during the eighteenth century, the fryers, to pay homage to Saint Joseph who is their patron saint, set up banquets outside their shops on March 19th and fried them on the spot to distribute them to passers-by. Having clarified the meaning of the term “zeppola” and its origins, I will now explain what dessert it is: they are soft choux pastry donuts cooked in the oven, or fried, garnished and decorated with custard and black cherries in syrup. In my recipe I will show you the step-by-step process for making the dough to perfection and I will explain in detail how to bake them or fry them to obtain, in both cases, an amazing and tasty result . Well then, I’ll let you follow the recipe for San Giuseppe zeppole accompanied by explanations and step-by-step photos, to prepare them in a simple way and have them puffy and golden!
Ingredients for San Giuseppe zeppole
- 120 gfarina 00
- 50 g burro
- 180ml water
- 3uova
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
For the custard
- 500 ml latte
- 2 tuorli
- 100 g sugar
- 30 g corn starch (maizena) (or potato starch)
- Half a sachet of vanillin
- Half a lemon (grated peel)
for the fried zeppole
- 500 ml sunflower seed oil
to garnish the zeppole
- Cherries in Syrup
- powdered sugar