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Żeppoli ta' San Ġużepp

Żeppoli ta' San Ġużepp are delicious fried choux pastry balls filled with a sweet ricotta mixture and drizzled with honey. In Malta they are traditionally made on the 19th of March to celebrate St Joseph.
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Prep Time:30 minutes
Cook Time:30 minutes
Total Time:45 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian, Maltese, Mediterranean
Keyword: Fried dough, sweet ricotta, zeppoli
Servings: 8 pieces

Ingredients

Choux pastry

  • 125 ml water
  • 60 g flour plain
  • 1/4   tsp salt
  • 65 g butter
  • 2 eggs  room temp

Sweet Ricotta Filling

  • 250 g ricotta
  • 15 g icing sugar
  • 50 g chocolate shaved
  • 50 g candied peel
  • 50 g a mix of hazelnuts and almonds chopped
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Zest of a lemon
  • Zest of an orange

Decorate

  • Honey
  • Chopped pistachios almonds or hazelnuts
  • Icing sugar

Instructions

Preparing the sweet ricotta filling

  • In a bowl mash the ricotta with a fork. Mix in the icing sugar, chopped nuts, candied peel, vanilla extract, the orange and lemon zests.
  • Once combined, fold in gently the chocolate shards. Store in the fridge until ready to use.

Preparing the Żeppoli

  • In a saucepan over medium heat, bring to a boil the water, butter and salt. Remove the saucepan. Add all the flour and stir well until all the flour is incorporated.
  • Transfer the saucepan back on medium heat, and cook the dough for about 2 minutes. Stirring constantly to make sure that none of the dough sticks to the saucepan. Transfer the cooked dough to a large bowl.
  • Mix the dough slightly so that it cools down a bit. You can either do these steps in a stand mixer or by hand.
  • Start adding an egg at a time to the dough. Before adding another egg, make sure that the previous one is fully incorporated. In addition, do not be alarmed, but at first when you add the egg, the dough will break. Just continue mixing until a smooth dough will soon be achieved. Cover the bowl and store in the fridge until ready to fry or bake.

Frying the żeppoli (Option 1)

  • Fill a large pot with vegetable oil, pour enough oil so that the sfineġ have enough space to cook in, about 7 cm. Heat the oil to about 170°C.
  • Using two table spoons, grab some batter on a spoon and with the other spoon gently drop the batter in the oil. You will know if the oil is hot enough, as when you drop the batter it should rise to the top and starts puffing immediately.  
  • The cooking time should take about 3 minutes on each side of the fritter or until they achieve a nice golden colour.

Baking the żeppoli (Option 2)

  • Preheat the oven to 220°C or 425°F.
  • Pipe the choux pastry on a parchment paper lined sheet pan. Leaving a good amount of space between each żeppola, as they puff up quite a lot.
  • Start baking the żeppoli at this temperature for about about 10 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 180°C or 350°F and let cook for another 30 minutes. During this baking time do not open the oven door as this might cause the eclairs to deflate.
  • Once the żeppoli are done, take them out and place on a cooling rack. While still hot, I like to poke some holes at the bottom to let the steam out.

Assemble

  • Once cooled, cut the żeppoli and fill them up with a generous dollop of sweet ricotta. Drizzle on top some honey and sprinkle some crushed nuts. You can also finish them with a dusting of icing sugar. Serve the same day that you make them!