Zeppole Recipe – Italian Doughnuts

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Zeppole are tiny Italian doughnuts – crisp, light and incredibly fluffy. This version is made with pate choux dough, which gets light, soft, and golden brown when fried.

Pate choux dough always amazes me with what it can do. It can be used to make so many delicious things, like cream puffs, eclairs, pastries, cake, and even dumplings for soup. Even better, you can deep-fry it to make the softest doughnuts.

The doughnuts that come out are really light and crisp. It’s one of the fluffiest doughnuts I’ve ever had. It’s like biting into a tasty cloud of cream. Also, making the batter is easy and quick because you don’t have to wait for the yeast dough to rise like you do with yeast doughnuts.

Zeppoles, which are also called “Italian donuts,” are a tasty dessert that isn’t too hard to make. You can have a plate full of zeppoles ready to serve in about 90 minutes. The dough needs a little time to rise to get the right lightness for these donuts. The honey-sweetened dough and powdered sugar “snow” on top of these donut balls make them very hard to stop eating. Each sweet bite is perfect as a dessert or as a snack to have with your coffee. And because they are small, they are a great dessert for the whole family to share.

WHAT DO ZEPPOLES MEAN?

Zeppole are doughnuts from Italy. They are made with the same pate choux dough that is used to make cream puffs and eclairs. This dough is made by cooking water or milk with butter and flour and then beating in eggs.

After that, the dough is fried. The little balls turn out golden, crisp, and very soft when they are cooked. They are very light and soft. With some powdered sugar, these little doughnuts are such a tasty treat.

JUST WHAT ARE ZEPPOLE?

A zeppole is an Italian dessert made of different-sized dough balls that are deep-fried. This recipe makes donut balls that are small enough to eat in one bite, but others are made bigger to hold pastry creams, jellies, and other fillings.

Alternative Video Recipe: Amazing Zeppole Recipe

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ZEPPOLE VS BEIGNET

Even though both of these are fried dough, their shapes are very different. Beignets are square and very light. Their name comes from a French word that means “lump.” Zeppoles are soft, chewy, and round dough balls that are fried. Powdered sugar is often sprinkled on both.

IS IT SIMILAR TO A BEIGNET?

The dough as well as the shape distinguishes a beignet from a zeppole. Zeppoles are a little doughier and firmer than beignets. Beignets have a characteristic square or rectangular shape and are similarly produced by drop spooning them into oil. Both are topped with powdered sugar.

WHAT DO YOU SERVE THEM WITH?

Zeppoles, like doughnuts, are commonly consumed as a snack. These are generally served with espresso or strong coffee in Italy, which is how I like to enjoy them as well.

ZEPPOLI VS BEIGNETS AND DOUGHNUTS

Even though all of these are fried pastries, zeppoli are made with pate choux dough, while beignets are made with yeast dough and doughnuts can be made with either yeast dough or cake batter dough.

MAKING THE ZEPPOLE BATTER

Mix the water, butter, sugar, and salt together in a medium saucepan. Cook until all of the butter melts. Add all of the flour at once and stir it in quickly while keeping the heat low until it’s all mixed in and the dough forms a ball.

Turn off the heat and let the dough cool down a bit before adding the eggs one by one. If you don’t wait until the dough is just warm, the eggs will scramble when you add them.

Also, add the eggs one at a time so they are evenly distributed throughout the batter. You can add the eggs with a wooden spoon or a mixer.

CAN THE DOUGH FOR PATE CHOUX BE MADE AHEAD OF TIME?

Yes. The pate choux dough can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days.

WHAT IS THE BEST OIL TO FRY WITH?

High smoke point oils, like grape seed, avocado, vegetable, and peanut oils, are the best for frying. 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 is fully cooked.

Use a thermometer to keep an eye on the oil’s temperature as you heat it up and fry the zeppole. You can use a thermometer for candy or a thermometer that uses infrared light.

INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED

This Zeppole recipe calls for the same choux pastry dough that is used for Cream Puffs, Chocolate Eclairs, and Churros. Once you’ve mastered this easy dough, you’ll be able to make pastries like a pro.

• Milk – we use whole milk, but 2% will do.
• Water – we use water that has been filtered
• Unsalted butter. If you’re using salted butter, leave out the extra salt.
• Sugar – you only need 1 tsp for the dough
• Salt – to counteract the sweetness
• All-purpose flour, the right amount
• Eggs – use large eggs, at room temperature

HOW TO PREPARE ZEPPOLES

• Combine the ingredients for the dough. Combine the all-purpose flour, honey, salt, yeast, olive oil, and warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix the dough with the hook attachment until it is no longer adhering to the sides of the basin. If it’s too sticky, add a bit more flour at a time, say 1-2 tbsp at a time.
• Allow the dough to rise. Cover the zeppole dough with plastic wrap after placing it in an olive oil-greased basin. Allow the dough to rise for 1 hour, or until it has doubled in size.
• Make the frying oil. Add roughly 2 inches of corn oil to a heavy-bottomed pot. Increase the heat to medium-high. Using an instant-read thermometer, ensure that the oil temperature remains between 350 and 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Cut the dough into pieces. Snip off pieces of zeppoles dough approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons in size with kitchen shears. Scrape the dough into the hot oil with a spoon.
• Fry them up. Cook the zeppoles for approximately 2 minutes on each side. When finished, use a slotted spoon to transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate.
• Sprinkle sugar on top of the donuts. When the zeppoles have cooled, sprinkle them with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

COOKING THE ZEPPOLE

• Add enough oil to a big, heavy pot (I use my Dutch oven). You should have at least 2 inches of oil. I usually use a full container of oil. The oil needs to be heated to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
• You can drop bits of dough into the hot oil with two small spoons, or you can put the dough in a large pastry bag, cut a hole in one corner, and pipe the batter out, dropping bits of dough into the hot oil. Make sure you don’t splash yourself with it.
• Fry the zeppole for about 5 minutes, flipping any that don’t turn over on their own. Take them out of the oil with a slotted spoon and put them on a plate, baking sheet, or other surface covered with paper towels. After frying all of the zeppole, sprinkle them with powdered sugar.

TIPS FOR SUCCESS

• To activate the yeast, use warm water that is no hotter than 110 degrees Fahrenheit. This will allow the yeast to fully activate and the dough to rise and become airy.
• Allow enough time for your zeppoles to rise- If you don’t give them enough time to rise, they’ll be less airy and light and more dense and heavy.
• If the oil temperature is too high, your donuts will be excessively black on the surface and uncooked on the inside. They will absorb too much oil and become greasy and rubbery if the temperature is too low.
• Don’t overcrowd the pot- If there are too many zeppoles in the pot, they will touch instead of being surrounded by hot oil and cooking. To get the best zeppole flavor and texture, avoid crowding.

STORING ZEPPOLE: 

Put the zeppole in a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and leave them at room temperature. The best time to eat them is right away, but you can keep them for a few days, but they won’t be as tender and fresh tasting.

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FAQs About Zeppole – Italian Doughnuts

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