St. Joseph’s Day means it is time for the famous Zeppole di San Giuseppe.
St. Joseph’s Day not only an Italian-American Tradition
St. Patrick may get all the attention, a few days ago (he was also Italian ;)), with all the parades and green beer and Irish food, but for some people it means only two more days until St. Joseph’s Day.
Growing up in an Italian American family, like most, St. Joseph’s Day was always looked forward to because of these wonderful creamy sugary fried delights that we call Zeppole di San Giuseppe. You can make zeppole without the cream, and just dust them with powdered sugar, but, the zeppole with the cream is a treat!
If you are wondering who St. Joseph is, here is a little excerpt from Google. Saint Joseph’s Day, also called the Feast of Saint Joseph or the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, is in Western Christianity the principal feast day of Saint Joseph, husband of the Virgin Mary and legal father of Jesus Christ celebrated on 19 March. And this is also the Italian Father’s day.
I don’t always put a bunch of text in front of recipes, but, this is a holiday… It seemed Fitting. See below for pictures of various steps if you have doubts. Ciao Y’all!
Zeppole with Coffee Mascarpone Cream
Equipment
- pastry bags
- large star tip
Ingredients
Ingredients for Zeppole
- 3 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/4 cup of butter
- 1 cup of all-purpose flour
- 1 cup of water
For the Coffee Mascarpone Cream
- 1 cup of Mascarpone cheese
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons coffee made in the moka
For Frying
- Oil
Instructions
- First thing: prepare the coffee and let it cool.
Making the "Choux" zeppole dough
- First make a choux pastry, by pouring water and butter into a sauce pan.
- Heat this up over medium heat, stirring so the butter melts. Do not bring to a boil.
- Then pour all of the flour in at one time and mix vigorously with a wooden spoon.
- Cook until the dough comes off the sides of the pan and there is a whitish residue on the bottom.
- Transfer the dough to the bowl of a standup mixer, using the paddle attachment, mix at medium-low speed.
- In a separate mixing bowl, beat the eggs and the yolk together.
- Once the choux in the mixer stops steaming, add the eggs a little at a time. Take your time with this step.
- When the mixture has become smooth and mixed well, turn off the mixer and transfer the dough into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip.
- Place in the refrigerate until ready to fry the zeppole.
Making the Coffee Mascarpone cream
- When the coffee is cold, pour the mascarpone into the standup mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
- Stir on medium-low for a few seconds to soften the cheese.
- Add the Cream and whisk at medium speed adding the powdered sugar a little a time.
- When the cream starts to mount, add the coffee in.
- When The cream is smooth and mixed well and mounted with stiff peaks, transfer it to a pastry bag with a large star tip and transfer to the refrigerator to cool.
Frying the zeppole
- Prepare 10, 4inch squares of parchment paper, set aside.
- Pour the oil into a pan for frying and bring it to a temperature of 350F.
- Now take the choux zeppole dough from the fridge and squeeze out a “zeppole” onto the parchment paper.
- The zeppole circle should be about 2.5″ in diameter.
- Transfer the first two zeppola inside the pot, upside down, by holding the parchment paper, The parchment paper will come off by itself after a short time, remove the paper with tongs once it is separated.
- Once the paper has been removed, turn the zeppole on the other side with tongs or a skimmer.
- The zeppole will should to cook about 3 minutes per side, when they are golden brown, drain and transfer them to a plate lined with paper towels, to remove excess oil. Continue cooking the zeppole, and transfer them to a plate.
- Once all of the Zeppole are fried
- Decorate them with a dollop of coffee cream, add a sprinkling of cocoa powder and serve!
Want a tutorial on Coffee in the Moka:
