Sfingi di San Giuseppi

Side view of St Joseph's pastries topped with cherries and filled with pastry cream.

No ratings yet

Indulge in the sweet tradition of St. Joseph's Day with sfingi —a flaky pastry filled with a sweetened ricotta cream (sfingi). These are a must for Italian Father's Day!

Prep Time20

Cook Time6

Filling and Decorating30

Total Time56

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: pastries

Calories: 296kcal

Author: Marie

Equipment

Parchment paper I find this makes it easy to transfer the pastries to the hot oil
2 large piping bags
2 star tips To pipe the pastries and to pipe the filling (in a pinch, you can use a plastic storage bag with the corner snipped off)
deep fryer or large deep pot for frying

Ingredients

For the Pastry Shells

1 cup water
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs

For Frying the Pastries

8 cups Vegetable oil

For the Ricotta Filling or Topping

2 cups ricotta
1/2 cup powdered sugar plus more for topping
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips for topping
12 cherries for topping (maraschino or Amareno)
1/4 cup pistachios chopped, for topping

Instructions

Prepare

Cut twelve to sixteen parchment paper squares (about 4 inches by 4 inches [~10 cm]) and set them aside. (You may need up to sixteen squares, Depending on how large you pipe your pastries.)
Stage two large piping bags with star tips inside large cups (one for the dough and the other for the topping/filling).
Line a large plate with paper towels to store the zeppole after frying in the next step.

To Make the Dough

To make the dough, combine water, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.
Once boiling, add the flour all at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the pan. This should take about 1-2 minutes.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and let it cool for a couple of minutes.
Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition until fully incorporated. I use a hand mixer for this. The dough should be smooth and shiny.
Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.
Pipe small rounds of dough (~3 to 4-inch circles) onto the parchment-paper-lined baking sheet, leaving some space between each one to allow for expansion during frying.
Heat vegetable oil in a large pot or deep fryer to 350°F (175°C).
Carefully transfer the parchment paper with the piped zeppole into the hot oil, with the parchment paper side up. The zeppole will easily detach from the paper as they fry.
Fry the the zeppole until golden brown and puffed up, about 3-4 minutes per batch. Turn them halfway through cooking to ensure even browning.
Remove the zeppole from the oil using a slotted spoon and transfer them to a plate lined with paper towels to drain excess oil.

To Make the Ricotta Cream and Fill

Mix ricotta cheese and powdered sugar until smooth in a mixing bowl.
Once the zeppole has cooled slightly, pipe the ricotta filling over the top of each one.
Sprinkle mini chocolate chips and chopped pistachios over the top of each zeppola, top with a cherry, and dust the zeppole generously with powdered sugar.

Notes

Cook time will be longer since you will probably have to fry these in batches (6 minutes is the estimate for each batch, which is most likely three maximum).

Nutrition