Zeppole – Italian Doughnuts

Name: Zeppole - Italian Doughnuts
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1 cup water; 8 Tablespoons butter (1/2 cup); 3 Tablespoons sugar; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1 cup flour; 4 eggs; oil (for frying (vegetable, canola or peanut oil)); powdered sugar (to dust the zeppole)

Zeppole are tiny Italian doughnuts – crisp, light and incredibly fluffy. This version is made using a pate choux dough, which when fried, become so airy, tender and golden brown.

The wonders of pate a choux dough never ceases to amaze me. There are so many wonderful things you can make out of it – cream puffs, eclairs, pastries, cake and even dumplings in soup. You can even deep fry it to make the most tender doughnuts.

The results are really crisp and light and one of the fluffiest doughnuts I had ever tried. It’s like biting into a delicious, creamy cloud. It’s also so easy and quick to prepare the batter, since you don’t have to wait for the yeast dough to rise, like you would for yeast doughnuts.

What Are Zeppoles?

Zeppole are Italian doughnuts. They are made from pate choux dough, the same one used for cream puffs and eclairs, made from cooking water/milk with butter and flour and then beating in eggs.

The dough is then fried. The little balls cook up golden, crisp and really tender. They are really airy and tender. With some powdered sugar, these little doughnuts are such a delicious treat.

Zeppoli vs Beignets and Doughnuts

Although all of these are fried pastries, zeppoli are made with a pate choux dough, like I mentioned earlier, and beignets are made with a yeast dough, while doughnuts are made with either a yeast dough or a cake batter dough.

Making the Zeppole Batter

In a medium saucepan, combine the water, butter, sugar and salt. Cook until the butter completely melts. Add the flour all at once and mix vigorously, keeping the heat low, until it’s all incorporated and the dough comes together in a ball.

Turn off the heat and wait until the dough has cooled off before adding the eggs, one at a time. It is important to wait until the dough is only warm, otherwise the eggs will scramble when added to the dough.

Also add the eggs one at a time, so that they will be evenly mixed into the batter. You can use a wooden spoon or a mixer to add the eggs.

Can Pate Choux Dough Be Made In Advance?

Yes. You can keep the pate choux dough refrigerated for up to 3 days.

What Oil Is Best For Frying

The best oils for frying are high smoke point oils, like grape seed, avocado, vegetable, and peanut oils. Don’t use low smoke point oils, like olive oil. This means that the oil will start to smoke at a lower temperature and the dough will start to burn before it’s cooked through properly.

Keep the temperature above 350 at all times, preferably 360-375 degrees. If the temperature of the oil drops too much, the doughnuts will soak in too much oil and taste greasy.

Use a thermometer to monitor the temperature of the oil as you preheat it and then are frying the zeppole. You can use a candy thermometer or an infrared thermometer.

Cooking the Zeppole

Pour in enough oil into a large, heavy pot (I use my Dutch oven). You should have at least 2 inches of oil, I usually use one full container of oil. Heat up the oil to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

You can use two small spoons to drop bits of dough into the hot oil, or place the dough in a large pastry bag, cut a hole off one corner and pipe out the batter, cutting off snippets of dough into the hot oil. Be careful not to splash yourself with it though.

Fry the zeppole for about 5 minutes, turning over the ones that don’t turn themselves over. Take them out of the oil using a slotted spoon and place them on a paper towel lined plate, baking sheet, etc. When you’re done frying all the zeppole, dust them with powdered sugar.

Storing Zeppole

Store the zeppole at room temperature, covered with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap. They are best served right away but will keep for a few days too, they just won’t taste as tender and fresh.