Zeppole di San Giuseppe Napoletane

Make the crema pasticcera first so it has time to cool. Warm the milk with the vanilla seeds and lemon zest until just below a simmer. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until pale, then whisk in the flour. Pour the warm milk over the yolk mixture in a steady stream, whisking constantly, then return the mixture to the pan. Cook over a moderate heat, stirring without pause, until the cream thickens to a heavy, egg-yellow mass that holds its shape on the spoon. Transfer immediately to a clean bowl, press cling film directly against the surface, and cool completely before use. The cream must be cold and firm before it enters a piping bag.

Make the choux paste. Bring the water and butter to a full boil in a heavy saucepan. Remove from the heat, add the sifted flour all at once, and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture pulls cleanly from the sides of the pan into a smooth ball. Return briefly to a low heat and stir for one minute to drive off excess moisture. Remove from heat and leave to cool for two minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating each fully into the paste before adding the next. The finished paste flows slowly and reluctantly from a tilted spoon, falling in a thick, lazy ribbon — this is the test of correct consistency.

Cut twelve squares of baking parchment, approximately 12 × 12 cm. Fit a large piping bag with a large star nozzle and fill with the choux paste. Pipe a rosette on each parchment square — begin at the centre and move outward in a spiral of two full circles, finishing with a second layer on top of the first to give height. The rosette should be approximately 8 cm in diameter.

Heat the oil in a deep, heavy pan to exactly 165 °C. This is the step that decides the dish: a temperature of 170 °C or above sets the exterior shell before the interior can expand, producing a dense, doughy zeppola without the correct hollow. At 165 °C the choux puffs slowly and evenly from within. Lower a zeppola into the oil parchment-side up by gripping the parchment at its edges; as the zeppola releases from the paper and begins to float free, remove the parchment from the oil with tongs. Fry 3–4 minutes per side until the exterior is dark golden. Drain on a rack.

Allow the fried zeppole to cool completely on the rack — the interior must no longer steam when broken. Fill the cold crema pasticcera into a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle and pipe generously through the centre of each zeppola, continuing until the cream is visible at the opening and the zeppola feels substantial in the hand. A correctly filled zeppola will ooze slightly at the first bite.

Place one amarena cherry in syrup at the centre of each zeppola. Dust liberally with icing sugar immediately before serving. Zeppole are to be eaten on the day they are filled; the choux shell softens from the cream moisture by the following day.