Zeppole di San Giuseppe are traditional Italian cream filled pastries which are made for the Feast of St Joseph. Use this step by step Zeppole di San Giuseppe recipe for perfect results every time.
Originally published on March 18, 2016.
You know that Italians have particular dishes and recipes for every special day, event, holiday, celebration, etc., right?
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Well, St. Joseph’s Day is no exception. March 19th is dedicated to St. Joseph and you may recall that last year, I posted these delicious rice fritters for the occasion.
What are Zeppole di San Giuseppe?
This year, I’d like to introduce you to another treat that’s made especially for St. Joseph’s Feast Day. They are named after him: Zeppole di San Giuseppe. Giuseppe is Italian for Joseph. Although there will be a Zeppole di San Giuseppe recipe that varies from Italian to Italian, they are mostly all the same.
However, I will remind you that all of my recipes are honest to goodness, tried and tested in my kitchen. I just found a photo of my zeppole with another recipe–its so wrong! You will not get these results with a different recipe. Why are they using (stealing) my photo? Obviously, theirs is either not a tested recipe or they didn’t turn out well, right? Sadly, this happens a lot.
Zeppole di San Giuseppe are made from a very slightly sweetened choux pastry. They are filled and topped with pastry cream, dusted with powdered sugar and crowned with a syrupy Italian cherry. Nothing super fancy, and overall, zeppole are quite simple to make.
How do I Make Zeppole di San Giuseppe?
I’m glad you asked! Let’s get right to the zeppole recipe.
Zeppole di San Giuseppe Recipe
(St. Joseph’s Day Traditional Italian Pastries)
Printable recipe below.
Ingredients for pastry
- (4 oz) 1/2 cup butter
- 1 ½ teaspoons of sugar
- (8 oz) 1 cup water
- (5 oz) 1 cup flour
- 4 eggs at room temperature
Filling
- (6.75 oz) 2/3 cup milk at room temperature
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp (5 oz) sugar
- 2 ¼ tbsp potato starch
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- powdered sugar to sprinkle
- Fabbri cherries these are the most authentic topping, but omit if you can’t find them
Heat oven to 400ºF (200ºC)
Begin preparing the choux pastry by placing the butter, sugar and water in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Bring it to a rolling boil. Next, add the flour all at once, and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon for about a minute until the mixture forms a ball.
Remove from heat, add an egg and beat well until well incorporated, before adding the next. Repeat with remaining eggs until the batter is smooth and satiny.
Next, place the mixture in a piping bag with a 2D or other tip, or spoon onto a baking tray lined with a silicone sheet or parchment paper. Pipe or shape into small puffs, about 3″ apart. If piping, shape the upper part of the pastry so there is a small hole in the center, or make one with the back of a teaspoon.
Bake for about 30 minutes. Turn off oven, and leave for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack.
While the cream puffs are baking, make the filling.
How to Make Crema Pasticciera
Place the egg yolks, sugar, potato starch, salt and vanilla into a pot and whisk together. Begin pouring in the warm milk, then turn the burner on a low heat.
Continue whisking and pouring, and gradually increase the heat. Cook until the mixture thickens and is cooked (it will be a few minutes). Cool the pastry cream stirring occasionally.
How to Assemble Zeppole di San Giuseppe
Make a hole with a skewer into the side of the choux pastry bun and fill with pastry cream using a piping bag.
Now, pipe more filling onto the indentation on top and dust with powdered sugar. See, I told you my Zeppole di San Giuseppe recipe was easy with my step by step instructions!
Finally, top with a cherry, or whatever you’d like to use.
Repeat with the rest of the pastries. Enjoy!
Please let me know what you think of my Zeppole di San Giuseppe recipe if you make them. I love to hear from you!
Zeppole di San Giuseppe (St. Joseph's Day Traditional Italian Pastries)
Ingredients
Ingredients for pastry
Filling
Instructions
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
16
Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 151 Total Fat: 8g Saturated Fat: 4g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 3g Cholesterol: 86mg Sodium: 80mg Carbohydrates: 17g Fiber: 0g Sugar: 9g Protein: 3g
And how about Welsh Cakes for St. David’s Day (March 1st)?
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Made the pastry (and baked) the day before, the cream the night before (refrigerated with plastic wrap sealed against it to prevent any hard layer forming), piped them the next day, and all went flawless. This is the best recipe out there by far, and the pastry rose incredibly fluffy. I had to go to a local Italian food store for the potato starch (though the starch itself was from Germany, no English (or Italian) on the box at all), and worked great. Any one looking to make these definitely need to follow this recipe, and definitely don’t swap out the potato startch for corn starch, as makes that cream infinitely better! Thanks Christina for this great recipe!!
What a lovely review! Thank you, Mike, and the suggestion to not switch out the starch is helpful, since so many have asked. Glad you loved them! Thanks again! CC
I made these and they were absolutely amazing! I doubled the filling amount because we like to fill ours with lots of custard. The recipe was easy to follow and they looked and tasted wonderful!
Lovely to hear this, Amanda! Thank you SO much for letting me know! :) Hope you find some other recipes to enjoy on my site!
[…] in the morning we made zeppole for the first time, for St. Joseph’s feast day, using this reasonably simply recipe. It’s important to dress correctly for this project. […]
[…] Do you want to make this amazing pastries? Try the recipe! […]
I just made these and they turned out great! The shells raised perfectly and did not deflate by the next day. (Yes, that happened to me with a different recipe that I used last year.) I did not make your cream, but am not regretting it. I didn’t make your cream because I wasn’t sure where to get potato starch, is there something I could in place of it? I know it may not turn out as good, but was just curious.
I’m so happy you were happy with the results of the zeppole pastry! Potato starch should be available at any grocery store, Tiziana. Where do you live?
For some reason my pastry was a little loose…its 4 eggs not egg yolks correct? added little extra flour….yet was not able to make a high mound
That’s really strange, Lynne! Yes, 4 eggs is correct. The only thing I can think of is if you used cups and your flour wasn’t quite enough, it might have caused this, but you did say you added more. Sorry I can’t be of more help. Hope they turned out after baking?
[…] to this time of year, including the Portuguese Holy Ghost Society fish fry, St. Joseph’s Day Zeppoles, and all the ice cream stands opening soon!! Sometimes it makes sense why we have seasonal […]
[…] zeppole, delicious enough to tempt anyone! Find a recipe here (they’re not as hard as they […]
Hello Christina:
I would like to make your San Guisseppe pastries for St. Joseph’s Day and am wondering, is it whole milk that is used or can skim milk give the same results. I will use whole if necessary. They look, so good, as I remember living in the Bronx as a little girl. Thank you.
Hi Fran, I think you’ll really like them! Please do use whole milk as I’ve never tried with skim and would be afraid if that produces poor results. Thanks, and let me know how they turn out!
How many zeppole can you make with these ingredients?
It truly depends on how large or small you make them, but I made 16 with this recipe (it’s listed in YIELD in the recipe card below). Enjoy, Cristina!
Any advice on getting the custard to set a little better? Mine came out a little runny, should I refrigerate over night to get that?
Oh sorry, Maranda, I was in Australia when you wrote to me. Not sure why it was runny, but you can refrigerate it. Don’t think that would solve the runniness though. I think you might want to add potato starch. Let me know how it ended up. CC
Hi, I think you over cooled the cream. If you cool cream that has starch in it for too long, the starch releases the water that it is suppose to hold. This is known as weeping. I would heat the cream and half the sugar to a light boil. While that is heating, mix your yolks, starch, and the rest of the sugar with a whisk. Then pour 1/3 of the hot milk into your yolk mix and stir it, this is called tempering your eggs. Pour the tempered yolk mixture back into the pot and stir or whisk constantly. The custard should be heated over med to med-high heat, because you want it to bubble or boil if you will for 1.5 to 2 minutes. If your arm gets tired, remove the pot from the heat and you can stir more slowly. But remember that that is not boiling so stop your timer or count and pick up we’re you left off when you return the pot to the heat. After that, strain and cool the cream. And remember the cream is only good for 3 days. After that it will weep no matter what. The starch can only hold the water for 3 days. Good luck.
Sorry it says cool the cream too long, typo, it’s cool the cream too long.
[…] Zeppole di San Giuseppe are delicious choux pastry doughnuts filled with vanilla cream and decorated with an amaranth cherry. Usually prepared for Saint Joseph’s Day on March 19th, you can guilt-free enjoy them year-round in Italy. In Padua, I enjoyed my first Zeppole di San Giuseppe at Pasticceria Graziati and I definitely enjoyed it. Additionally, the Pasticceria, the bakery, has a lovely cafe with a gorgeous outside sitting area right next to Palazzo della Ragione in the historic centre of Padova. Highly recommended! Besides my creamy doughnut, I had a Caffe con pallina di gelato, another recommendation! If you’re looking for a recipe for the delicious treat, I can recommend christinascucina. […]
I followed the directions, word for word….but they didn’t rise. :0(. Was looking forward to serving them for Easter tomorrow…. Any idea as to what could have gone wrong? If I have the time, I’ll retry again in the morning- but will have to use the vanilla pudding as filling for lack of time. But before I use up a lot of ingredients again- any suggestions what I can do differently? Or maybe what I can do with the ones I’ve made? Thank you.
Hi Rose, I’ve never seen these not rise because of all the eggs in them. Maybe you cooked the egg by adding them too quickly (and cooked them?) Is your oven properly calibrated? Did they brown? That might be the issue. Don’t know what you could do with the ones you made as I don’t know how they turned out. Hope this helps.
Omg first time I made them they are fantastic the only thing I used cornstarch pastry piping wow. Cream was also delicous the only thing wasn’t thick so wondering what I did wrong veside cornstarch but making them again with potato starch. Bur input would be great. Again amazing. Ty
Oh Dorothy, I’m so sorry I missed your comment! I haven’t made them with cornstarch so I can’t advise you on that. Hope they turned out perfectly with the potato starch (as they should) :) Enjoy!
Lovely! They look just like a cream puff with a “twist”! I never knew there was a holiday just for these little pastries! Joseph was a lucky guy! ;-)
Yes, that’s exactly what they are!
Dear Christina, I don’t know where I went wrong. I have never made these before but grew up in Rhode Island and enjoyed them every St. Joseph’s Day. I now live in Palm Springs Ca and people here never even heard of Zeppole; forget a bakery carrying them. I enjoy and know how to bake. The zeppole did not rise very much; they were small. There wasn’t enough cream to fill what I made. I did not have enough to put any on top; I sifted some powder sugar on top to cover and I used a tiny dollop of lemon jam to hold the cherry in place. They were good just much too small. Back in R.I. they were big in size. I have re read the directions over and over and can not figure out what happened. A little disappointed here in Southern Ca. …….Mario
Hi Mario, sorry to hear you weren’t happy with the results, but I can tell you that the ones I made are very small (maybe 3″ in diameter when baked). If you tried to make them like the large ones from your bakery there would not be enough filling. I think you would probably need to double both the pastry and filling ingredients to make the large ones you are used to. In Italy, pastries don’t tend to be very large, that’s an American thing of “super-sizing” everything. I have never seen large zeppole so I would never have thought someone would try to make them that big. Again, sorry you were disappointed with the results. I hate it when I bake something and it doesn’t turn out as I had planned. CC
OMG! It looks amazing! Next party I`m treating everyone!
You’ll be a star! :)
Hi Christina,
Can’t wait to try this recipe for my husband Joseph. Is the butter salted or unsalted? Also, what can I use in case I don’t find potato starch??
Hi Marina, how sweet to make them for your husband on his name day! I used salted, but you can use unsalted and add about 2 pinches of salt. I’ve never subbed the potato starch, but I would guess corn starch? Let me know if you make them! Good luck! CC
Hello, have you ever made or come across a gluten free version? Thanks, deb
The King Arthur Flour website lists adjustments for a similar cooked cream puff dough to make it gluten free. Here is the link:
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/cream-puffs-and-clairs-recipe
(I haven’t tried it yet, but hope to by tomorrow.)
Looks like Noreen beat me to it. I have not ever tried making them gluten free, Debbie, but I’d trust the KA site. Good luck and let me know how they turn out, ladies! :)
Hi Christina! Do you think the pastry can be frozen? Without the custard of course. They came out perfect your recipe was spot on and so easy! Thanks
Hi Marybeth, yes I know choux pastry can be frozen as I’ve seen (and even tasted) some that people have served at parties (and they are filled with some sort of cream, probably not this kind). They were okay, but of course nothing is better than fresh. :) CC
Thanks so much! I tried to give you 5 stars rating but it wouldn’t let me! These were delicious!
I don’t know what’s wrong with the star rating system but it happens all the time. Very unfair to me, unfortunately. The only thing I can do is add a 5 star myself on this comment, which will at least bring it up to 4.5. Thank you so much!
Hi Christina can I make the dough the night before and bake off and fill in the morning?
Hi Danielle, I have never done this so I googled your question and the first thing that came up by a chef is NEVER refrigerate choux pastry. Always bake it right away. Hope this helps. CC
Can these be made ahead of time? If so, what the best way to store them and for how long? Thanks!
Hi Elina, you can make the pastries and store them (unfilled) in a tin for a day, but honestly, these are best served the same day. Once they are filled they will eventually go soggy, so filling them right before they’re served is best. I’ve seen them in bakeries in Toronto filled and put in boxes, but can’t imagine they taste very good after sitting.
Thanks for the quick response. I’m a little short on time so I might make the pastries the day before and fill them the day of. Hope it works. Thanks
Definitely better to fill them the next day! Good luck! :)
Hi Christina,
Is there any chance the pastry can be made with a Kitchenaid instead of using the wooden spoon? (Arthritic hands can’t make the choux by hand)
Hi Annette, I understand! I’m sure that would work just as well! Enjoy.
Ugh. Still need to try these! I am behind in all my friends’ recipes!
Same here, David!! Too many recipes and too little time!
While growing up, we always got St. Joseph Day off at school (because we had St. Joseph nuns!) and my dad would gather us all in the kitchen to make zeppole! Wonderful memories!
Hi Rosemary, what a tradition! That’s lovely! Thanks for sharing :)
Beautiful dessert … basically a pastry cream filled cream puff, I think, though with special presentation. :)
Yes!! Absolutely correct! :)
[…] Zeppole di San Giuseppe (St. Joseph's Day Traditional Italian Pastries) – Christina's Cuci… […]
Hi Christina,
I’m going to attempt your zeppole recipe, but I wanted to ask if cornstarch can be substituted for potato starch. Would really like your input and, if you say yes to cornstarch, am I using the same amount to sub?
Thank you,
Diana
Hi Diana, as I’ve not made this using corn starch, I don’t know what to tell you except that corn starch may make it thicker than you want, so you may need less (I’m guessing). You could omit the potato starch, in the pot to begin with and mix some corn starch with water or milk to make it smooth, then slowly add a little at a time whilst whisking until the correct consistency is reached. That’s what I would do. Let me know if it works for you! CC
Thank you for the quick response Christina! Im just going to follow your recipe. Can the filling be made a day in advance and refrigerated?
Diana
That should be fine, just not the pastries. Enjoy!
Oh my Christina, these are fantastic. I didn’t have a pastry bag but used a quart sized zip lock bag and cut a small piece from one of the corners. I was able to pipe but depending on how hard I pressed the bag, it determined the size of the piping. All in all the pastry was so light and delicious. The cream is to die for!!! Reminds me of the zeppole’s at the pastry shop named Lucibellos in New Haven, Ct. Now that I live in South Carolina , my husband and I always crave the Italian pastries. I made these for a card party we are having tonight. All four couples have at least one Italian spouse. I do have a question, do you have a recipe to make a chocolate cream filling? It would make most of us ladies so happy if you did. Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe.
Diane
Fabulous, Diane! So glad they turned out for you, and yes a pastry bag isn’t a necessity. If you want a chocolate filling, just add a little melted chocolate! Ta dah! Just be sure to use a good quality chocolate! No Hershey’s! Enjoy!
I am also a transplant from new haven and a lucibello’s fan! I’ve spent hours sifting through recipes, now I know which one I’m going to try :) Thank you!
Glad that Diane’s comment was helpful to you, Marisa! Enjoy!
Diane, I was married to a Lucibello in East Haven CT and I can tell you I have never found a better bakery than Lucibello’s in New Haven. Not even in Italy where their pastries tend to be smaller than in U.S. Love the Zeppole di San Giuseppe and the Sfogliatelle bur can’t get any here in Texas. Sadly, my wife was a terrific cook and baker but she has passed.
Hi,
Thank you for the recipe. I was very excited to make them. My pastries did not puff at all, maybe even came out a touch raw. After reading the previous comments I’m thinking I must have put the eggs in too quickly. Are you suppose to let the batter cool a little before mixing the eggs in? Our was quite hot. Could we even put the mixture in the fridge before adding the eggs?
Hi Nina, yes I think that maybe you did add the eggs too quickly and maybe they cooked a bit? The dough should cool a bit, (sorry I will add this in) but I wouldn’t actually refrigerate the dough. Hope the next batch is perfect! CC
Can’t get the hang of piping the pastry. So today I used a cookie dough scoop. Not as pretty as yours but consistent round puffs, better than my piping attempts. Doesn’t look traditional, more like a cream puff, but I’m terrible with a pastry bag! My filling is yellower than yours too. These are my best attempt so far. Making them for a friend’s birthday this week. The smaller puffs are a better portion size too. I make half the choux recipe and the full filling recipe. Don’t really even have to pipe the filling in! I cut one open and filled it with a spoon. That’s my speed. ?
That’s part of cooking and baking, Madeleine, finding ways to make things work! Good for you! Honestly, it’s practice that’s needed with a pastry bag, that’s all. Your egg yolks may be more yellow than the ones I used and absolutely nothing wrong with that! As long as they taste good, that’s the bottom line! Thanks for checking in and letting me know! Love to hear what my readers are making! Enjoy the birthday party! CC
Hi Christina – can’t wait to try this! I could not find however, how many this recipe makes. Thank you!
Hi Carol, the reason I didn’t put an amount is because it varies greatly depending on the size you make them. Someone could make them teaspoon size and others 1/3 of a cup on the tray and this would really change the number of pastries made. I would say that this much dough would serve about 8 to 10 people, if that helps. :) Enjoy!
Delicious, lighter than they look!
Ha! I just asked you to let me know what you think and here it is! Thank you so much, Madeleine! I really appreciate the feedback! CC :)
I fell in love with Zeppoles in Chatham, NJ…Beethoven Cafe. My very first one I didn’t really know what it was. Thought I’d only eat 1/4, save the rest. NOT! Now every year around Lent I think of driving to get some but it’s a 2-1/2 hr drive. They only make them for about a week. It never occurred to me they’re so easy! My first attempt at piping the puffs looked disastrous, but once baked, not too bad. I’m chilling the cream now. Nice thing about this I was able to do a test with half the recipe. Can’t wait to try them! Thank you!
LOVE to hear this, Madeleine! Yes, the pastry is quite forgiving, so no worries there. Hope they meet your standard! Enjoy!! (Let me know what you think!)
What tip did you use when piping?
Good question! I believe I used a 1M tip, but honestly, you can use whatever you like, or even spoon them onto the tray. :)
I haven’t found a good pastry recipe yet for zeppole, but your pictures looks so inviting I’ll be sure to try your recipe for St. Joseph’s Day, March 19. I’ve tried looking for French crullers here in northern Utah to use as the pastry for the zeppole, but most places don’t know what I am taking aboutl . If I am successful using your recipe, I’ll feel like I’m back in New York again where I was born and raised and where we Italians all went to a pasticceria on St. Joseph’s day for zeppole and sfingi.
Awesome, Anthony! I think you’ll be quite happy with this recipe. I have to say, homemade always tastes best, so let me know what you think! Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you find lots of other Italian favorites! :)
Very beautifully made! Do you chill the cream filling before you fill the pastries?
Thanks, Linda! You know, I made them and filled them photographed them and we ate them, but I would definitely refrigerate the cream if you don’t plan to eat them right away. Then I’d fill them and eat them as I don’t like soggy pastries. Let me know if you try them. CC
Such a delicious pastry. I love Italian food – all of it! Am definitely going to try these next time we have a family gather as its ages since I made choux pastry. Utterly scrummy. Sammie.
Wonderful, thank you, Sammie!
These are stunning and definitely special. I love how they’re quite similar to a cream puff, but in my opinion, that bit more pretty.
One of my best friend’s growing up is Italian. I’ll definitely have to share this with her.
I used to make something similar in my childhood. Yours are absolutely gorgeous. I would have never thought to pipe them so beautifully.
That’s very cool, Cathy! Thank you :)
Dear Christina, these pastries are gorgeous. I’ve never piped with choux pastry, but the results are incredible. Light and golden. I’ve not heard of these Fabbri cherries, I always learn so much here! xo
Awww, thank you, Allie! :)
I’m late popping in here for St Joseph’s Day but since I’m not Italian I’m sure you wouldn’t mind me trying them after the date? They look delicious, Christina. Beautifully light and the cherry top – they’re stunning. You made me giggle at the Marachino cherry – reminds me of posh cocktails growing up in Scotland :-)
Have a very Happy Easter!
Make them anytime, Jill! I’m sure your version would have a beautiful French flair to it! :)
What a sweet little pastry, Christina!!! You are so talented. My husband would fall over for these. You made them so beautiful. This is such a lovely treat!! And the Rice Fritters??? OMG!!! You are killing my diet!
Oh you’re very sweet, Katie! Thank you. Doesn’t look like you need a diet from your profile picture!! Eat some fritters and enjoy! ;)
These look fantastic and nothing like the greasy donuts my Zio Joe would but for his name day? (His mother didn’t make zeppole!) It may take me a while, but I am going to try these!
Actually, I forgot to include it in the post and may edit later when I have more time, but we were curious about how they’d taste if fried, and my mother and I agreed, that we much prefer our choux pastry baked!
These are so beautiful! I’m glad you shared this recipe. I’ve never made anything for St. Joseph’s Day, but I’ve always enjoyed the good-humored jokes from Italians about St. Joseph vs. St. Patrick.
Oh, I’ve never heard any of those! I hope you try the recipe! :)
Yum! I blogged on these some years back, but yours are so much prettier than mine! Complimenti… :-)
Oh that’s a real compliment coming from you, Frank! Thank you, although I’m not quite sure that’s a true statement! :) Buona Pasqua!
How long do they stay fresh. Need to bring them to church this week. Thanks
Hi Fran, to be sure they taste the best, I would make them the day you want to use them. If you can’t do that, make the pastries the day before and keep them in an airtight tin. You can always refresh them in the oven for a few minutes if they are a bit moist. You can also make the pastry cream a day or two beforehand and keep it in the fridge. But definitely, fill them right before you want to take them. They’re good for a few hours, but obviously the cream will soften the choux pastry after a long time. :) Enjoy!