Doughnuts (Italian Zeppole di Giuseppe)

Zeppole Di San Giuseppe are traditional Italian pastries prepared every March 19 for the Feast of St Joseph’s Day which also happens to be Father’s Day in Italy. Zeppole are simply Italian doughnuts that come in a variety of forms. A very popular one are these Zeppole Ricotta Doughnuts. They resemble little doughnut holes and are so light and fluffy. These Zeppole di San Giuseppe that you see here today are more pastry-like. They’re also commonly known as Sfinci di San Giuseppe or Bigne di San Giuseppe, depending on which area of Italy one hails from. Although you can deep fry them, these are oven baked and filled with a creamy custard. Then they’re topped with an extra dollop of the custard, a generous dusting of confectioners' sugar and crowned with an Amarena cherry. The dough for these Italian pastries is much like a Choux pastry or even a puff pastry. It’s both light and hallow.

Custard:
4 large egg yolks
½ cup sugar
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour, unbleached
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
lemon zest, freshly grated (from 1 lemon)
1 Tbsp. Grand Marnier liquor or sweet Marsala wine
2 cups milk
⅓ cup cream

Pastry:
1 cup water
½ cup butter
1 Tbsp. sugar
¼ tsp. sea salt
1 cup all-purpose flour, unbleached
1 tsp. baking powder
4 large eggs
12 Amarena wild cherries, pitted (bottled in syrup)
confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Prepare the Custard:
In a medium sized sauce pot whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, flour, vanilla extract, lemon zest and the Grand Marnier over low heat until thoroughly mixed.

Whisk in the milk and the cream until combined.

Increase the heat slightly and continue whisking until mixture thickens and has the appearance of thick cream. Should take about 6-8 minutes.

Transfer the custard to a clean bowl and let it cool to room temperature. Then cover the custard with cling wrap, allowing it to touch the custard and chill for about two hours. The custard will thicken even more as it chills. Meanwhile make the pastries.

Prepare the Pastry:
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C/180°C fan, Gas Mark 6). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium sauce pan add one cup of water, the butter, sugar, salt and bring to a full boil until the butter melts. Add in the flour and baking powder beating vigorously with a wooden spoon until combined. The flour will absorb all the liquid and form a ball.

Continue cooking and stirring the mixture for about 2 minutes as this will get rid of the raw flour taste. Transfer the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat for about 1 minute. This allows the dough to cool slightly before adding the eggs.

Beat in the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition while stopping to scrape down the bowl occasionally.
When ready, the dough will be thick and smooth looking. Spoon the dough into a large pastry bag fitted with a star tip.

Pipe a rosette of 2” in diameter directly onto the parchment lined cookie sheet and top with a second layer of rosette. Basically one on top of the other. It will have the appearance of a bird's nest. Repeat with the remaining dough while spacing the rosettes 2” apart.

Bake for 25-30 minutes. The pastries should be light golden brown colour.

Allow the pastries to cool completely before filling with the custard.

When ready to fill the pastries, slice them in half with a serrated knife. Spoon the chilled pastry cream into a piping bag fitted with a star tip and pipe the pastry cream onto the bottom half of the pastries and place the tops back on.

Pipe some more pastry cream over the top centre of the pastries. Dust generously with confectioners' sugar and top each with an Amarena cherry.

Cook's Notes:

Amarena cherries are very small, dark coloured, Italian sour cherries. These wild cherries grow in the cities of Bologna and Modena, Italy.
You can find Amarena cherries bottled in syrup in Italian specialty shops. This bottled variety has such a sweet and intense cherry flavour and are typically used in desserts such as with these Zeppole di San Giuseppe.
if you can’t find Amarena cherries, Maraschino cherries will make a great substitute.

Make-Ahead:

These pastries are best eaten on the same day they’re baked because the pastry is at its crunchiest then but really they’re just as delicious on day 2 or even day 3.
The dough will simply be softer but they’ll still taste amazing.
So my make ahead tip would be to make the custard the day before you plan to serve the pastries. And let the custard chill in the fridge overnight.
The next morning, bake the zeppole and set them aside to cool. And then simply fill them with the custard just before serving. So simple yet so delicious.