St. Joseph’s Day Fritters/Zeppole di San Giuseppe
Around the entire Mediterranean, and especially in Southern Italy, sweets and religious festivals have gone hand in hand since antiquity. Beginning in the 10th century, March 19 has been the date that the Festa di San Giuseppe, or St. Joseph’s Day is celebrated. In Italy, the holiday is significant for two main reasons – to honor, of course, St. Joseph, for his biblical role as Jesus’ step- father, and as Father’s Day, or the festa del papa.
On this day, pastry shops around Italy sell zeppole di San Giuseppe, fritters filled with pastry cream. This tradition dates back to 500 AC and the Latin celebration of Baccanali, which took place on March 17th in honor of Bacchus and Silinus, respectively, the gods of wine and wheat. The Ancient Romans would consume large quantities of wine and wheat-flour fritters to celebrate the two divinities. It should come as no surprise that St. Joseph’s day, which comes two days later, often includes similar customs. The modern-day recipe for zeppole, however, was created fairly recently. It is believed that this type of fritter was invented by a convent of monks in the 19th century.
Many people are surprised to learn that San Giuseppe is the patron saint to pastry chefs as well as to carpenters, the family, children, the Universal Church, and many Sicilian and Italian-American communities. One of the gastronomic ways of celebrating the holiday is to create a St. Joseph’s day table, made of meatless dishes, since the holiday falls during Lent. Flowers, citrus, wine, fava beans, bread, cakes, and pastries are typical components of the table. In a nod to St. Joseph’s work as a carpenter, sawdust was also placed on the table. A three-tiered table is often used to represent the holy trinity.
Zeppole, Neapolitan cream puffs (not to be confused with fried dough balls of the same name) were believed to be created by Don Pasquale Pinatauro in Napoli on St. Joseph’s Day – and Italians and Italian-Americans have been enjoying them ever since. The first written recipe dates back to 1836 by Ippolito Cavalcanti and was recorded by Ippolito Cavalcanti, a Neapolitan nobleman.
The Sicilians also enjoy their own version, based on a similar recipe known as sfinge, also spelled sfincie, which comes from the word sfinj, or sfenj, meaning “sponge” in Arabic. The reason for the variation in spellings is that in Arabic there is one symbol which represents both the vowels “e” and “I”, so either way is correct for the English transliteration.
While the Neapolitan, Calabrian, and Sicilian traditions are most prevalent, it is important to note that many small villages have their own special ways of celebrating the holiday. Since St. Joseph is revered by so many, respect for his life, and the miracles he inspired believers to manifest are honored in many places.
Recipe makes 12 (2-inch) or 6 (4 –inch) fritters
Ingredients:
For the Pastry:1 pinch salt
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 scant cup all-purpose flour
3 eggs
For the Filling:
2 egg yolks
½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
Zest of 1 lemon
To finish:
Cooking spray
Confectioners’ sugar to garnish
Sour cherry in syrup, drained
Preparation:
Add 1 cup water to a saucepan and add the salt and butter. Bring to a boil, while stirring.
Add the flour, leaving the pan on the heat, and mix the batter well using a spoon until the batter is a smooth, solid mass, all flour is incorporated, and it no longer sticks to the sides of the pan.
Then, remove the pan from the heat and transfer the batter to a bowl to cool.
Once the batter reaches room temperature, approximately 15 minutes, add the eggs, one at a time and mix together.
Once the batter is fairly light and airy, place the dough in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.
In the meantime, prepare the pastry filling by pouring the milk into a saucepan.
Add the lemon peel and bring to a boil. Beat the egg yolks in a bowl with the sugar. Then incorporate the flour, whisking continuously.
Once the milk begins to boil, remove it from the heat and slowly add the egg, sugar and flour mixture, whisking as you go. The resulting mixture should be soft and creamy.
Then transfer the mixture to the stove over medium heat. Stir continuously until the cream becomes fairly dense and coats the back of a spoon (this could take 10-15 minutes and can be done a day ahead of time).
Once ready, transfer the cream to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap and let cool in refrigerator. Be sure to cover the bowl well so that a film doesn’t form on the surface of the cream.
Preheat the oven to 375F degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
To shape the fritters, place the fritter batter in a pastry bag with a star-shaped tip (Wilson #4B works well).
Pipe batter to form 6 (4-inch) or 12 (2-inch) rounds equally spaced apart on parchment paper.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until puffed and golden. Remove from the oven.
Once the fritters are cool enough to handle, fill another pastry bag with pastry cream.
Decorate each fritter with a little cream and place a cherry on top. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy!
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