Puglia, Campania, and Calabria — the zeppola di San Giuseppe is associated specifically with March 19 (Feast of Saint Joseph) throughout the south of Italy. The fried version is the southern Italian standard; the baked version (Neapolitan tradition) is an alternative. In Puglia, the zeppola fritta is the canonical version.
Zeppole di San Giuseppe are the defining pastry of the Feast of Saint Joseph (March 19), prepared throughout the south of Italy but with a specifically Pugliese version: large rosette-shaped deep-fried choux pastry (pasta choux piped through a star tip into hot oil), dusted with icing sugar, and topped with pastry cream and an amarena cherry in syrup. The baked version (al forno) is common in Campania; the Pugliese and Calabrian tradition is almost exclusively the fried version. The choux dough, when fried correctly, produces a dramatically puffed, hollow pastry with a crisp exterior and an airy, steam-leavened interior — one of the most technically demanding fry preparations in Italian pastry.
A well-made zeppola di San Giuseppe is light, hollow, and slightly crisp — the icing sugar melts on the hot dough; the pastry cream is cold and vanilla-sweet against the warm, airy fried dough; the amarena cherry in syrup provides a dark, acidic counterpoint. It is the taste of early spring in Puglia — March, celebration, and frying.
The choux dough: 250ml water, 100g butter, pinch of salt, pinch of sugar — bring to a full boil. Add 150g 00 flour all at once, stir vigorously off the heat until the mixture pulls away from the pan as a smooth ball. Cool slightly, then beat in 3-4 eggs one at a time until the dough is smooth, glossy, and falls from the spoon in a slow ribbon. Pipe rings (using a star tip, 15mm) onto lightly oiled squares of parchment paper. Slide gently into oil at 170°C — the parchment releases as the zeppola hits the oil and can be removed with tongs. Fry 4-5 minutes per side until deeply golden and hollow-sounding when tapped. Drain. Dust with icing sugar, pipe a rosette of pastry cream in the centre, top with an amarena cherry.
The zeppola is simultaneously a technical exercise and a flavour delivery — it must be fried slowly at a moderate temperature (170°C, not 180°C) to allow the interior steam to fully expand before the crust sets. A thermometer is essential. Pipe the rings directly onto small squares of parchment — this allows you to lower the dough gently into the oil without distorting the shape.
Oil temperature too high — the exterior browns before the interior has had time to puff and set. Piping too small — the rings should be generously sized (8-9cm diameter); small zeppole have an unfavourable crust-to-interior ratio. Not fully cooking the choux — the dough should be completely dry inside; a dense, under-cooked interior is the common failure. Pastry cream too thin — it should hold its piped form.
Carol Field, The Italian Baker; Slow Food Editore, Puglia in Cucina