Campania
Baked choux pastry rings filled with pastry cream and topped with candied cherries and a piping of cream — the Neapolitan celebration pastry for the Feast of Saint Joseph (Father's Day) on 19 March. The baked version differs from the fried version (zeppole fritte) in that the shell is crisp and dry rather than yielding. Both versions use a crema pasticcera densa (stiff pastry cream) and black cherries in syrup as the canonical toppings.
Rich, creamy and eggy; the pastry cream is dense and vanilla-fragrant; the cherry's sweetness and slight sourness cuts the richness; the crisp shell gives way to cream — Neapolitan celebration pastry at its best
{"Choux paste must be cooked properly — water and butter brought to a full boil before flour is added in one go and stirred until a smooth paste that leaves the pan sides cleanly","Eggs added one at a time and beaten fully incorporated after each addition — the dough must drop from a spatula in a V-shape, not fall in a blob","Pipe onto parchment in double rings (a large outer ring and a smaller inner ring on top) for the traditional shape","Bake at 200°C for 20 minutes, then open the oven 5 minutes (to release steam) and continue at 180°C for 10 more minutes — this ensures the shell dries completely","Fill only when completely cool — hot choux absorbs moisture from the cream and softens within minutes"}
{"A small amount of Strega liqueur added to the pastry cream is an optional Neapolitan enhancement","The black cherry in syrup (amarene Fabbri) is the canonical topping — fresh cherries are less appropriate here","Dust with icing sugar only at the last moment before service — it dissolves into the cream otherwise"}
{"Adding eggs to hot paste that hasn't cooled sufficiently — the eggs partially cook and the choux won't rise","Under-baking — soft zeppole collapse as they cool and can't hold the cream filling","Filling warm zeppole — the moisture from the cream softens the shell within minutes"}
I Dolci Napoletani — Tradizione e Pasticceria d'Arte