st joseph pastry

St. Joseph pastries, also known as Zeppole di San Giuseppe, are enjoyed every year on March 19th to celebrate the Feast of San Giuseppe (Saint Joseph). They are a deliciously light Italian cream filled pastry. This recipe is for zeppole al forno, or baked zeppole.

St Joseph Pastries (Zeppole di San Giuseppe)

salted butter

sugar

water

all purpose flour

eggs

milk

cornstarch

vanilla extract

Lemon lemon

Confectioners sugar

cherries

In a pot over low heat, warm up the milk and vanilla until it starts to steam.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar, then add the cornstarch and whisk again until smooth.

Once the milk has warmed up, add about 1/2 cup of the milk to the egg mixture while constantly whisking. This will temper the eggs, so you don’t wind up with scrambled eggs.

Increase the heat on the stove to low-medium and add the egg mixture and lemon zest to the milk, whisking continuously. After a few minutes, the crema pasticcera will thicken up to a thick custard-like consistency.

Remove from heat, place in a bowl, and let cool on the counter for a few minutes.

Once the bowl is cool enough to handle, cover it with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic touches the cream. This will prevent it from forming a crust. Place in the refrigerator to cool further.

Crema Pasticcera (Pastry Cream)

Preheat oven to 400°F.

In a pot over medium heat, bring butter, sugar, and water to a rolling boil.

Next, remove pot from the heat, add all of the flour at once, and vigorously stir until it forms a ball.

Add eggs one at a time then stirring until each egg is thoroughly incorporated. Stir until it reaches a consistency like a thick icing (not like a bread dough at all!).

Let cool a few minutes.

Choux Pastry Dough

Prepare a baking sheet lined with either a silicone mat or parchment paper.

Place pastry dough in a piping bag with a star tip (or a ziploc bag with a small piece of corner cut off).

Pipe dough into circles measuring about 4 inches in diameter, working from the inside out, then make a second layer on top of the first, but leave a hole in the center of the second layer (this is where the pastry cream will be added later). Make sure to leave a few inches between each one, as they will puff up a bit while baking.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the dough turns a light golden brown. When lightly pressed with a finger, the zeppole will have slightly spongy feel, like a doughnut.

Let cool on the counter.

Baking

Once the zeppole have cooled, remove the crema pasticcera from the fridge and place in a piping bag with a star tip (or a ziploc bag with a small piece of corner cut off).

Pipe the cream into the center of each zeppole and continue around, making a circle of cream, then back to the middle for a tall center.

Lightly dust with powdered sugar and top with a cherry.

Putting It All Together

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