Wednesday 21 March 2012

Zeppole

I recently baked Zeppole, an Italian tradition pastry prepared for St. Joseph's Day.


Ingredients:

1 cup of all purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1 cup of water
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
4 eggs
Directions:

1.  Place water and butter in a pan and bring to a boil
2.  Add flour and salt and stir until it forms a ball
3.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition
4.  Place parchment paper on baking sheet
5.  Bake at 450F for 10-15 mins and then 15 min at 325F



When finished making batter, you will need a piping bag and large star baking tip to shape the Zeppole.  Please a smidge of batter at the four corner of your baking tray and and place parchment paper.  The batter will serve as an adhesive so that parchment paper remains still.  Place batter on parchment paper and shape your Zeppole.  From this Recipe, you will make either 12 large Zeppole or 15 small Zeppole.  You can also make them just round with no custard in the middle. See image.  When baking, bake at 450F for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 325F for another 15 mins.  Turn OFF oven and leave oven door open and let stand in oven for another 20 mins to dry the inside of the pastry.  I will soon post the Recipes for the Fillings. P.S. You could also use the Zeppole Recipe to make Cream Puffs. Enjoy!

3 comments:

  1. No problem Julie. There will be more special Sicilian recipes to come. Please also add some of your Calabrese recipes!

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  2. Hey, Toni.
    Thanks for starting a blog. Looks like you'll be sharing a wealth of knowledge with your friends. Your zeppole recipe has the exact same ingredients as mine, except mine calls for vegetable oil. I used a recipe similar to this one on San Giuseppe (mine called for grated orange peel, 1tsp vanilla and 2 tablespoons of sugar)and fried them. Lui tried them and said they were like the benignes he had in New Orleans (but they must be eaten warm). Have you ever made them like this?

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    Replies
    1. Yes I have made them with using 1 cup water, 1 cup milk, 1 cup oil, bring to boil and add flour. But I baked them not fried. They turned out great too. I love using the butter in lieu of the oil because the batter is softer and silkier and they puff up better. Also I have in the past fried them but I found that they absorbed too much oil. I prefer baking my Zeppole.

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