St. Joseph’s Zeppole

Directions

Pastry Cream

1. Put the milk in a medium saucepan, scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean in, and add the pod. Heat this over low heat until it’s steaming, and let it steep for five minutes.
2. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch in a large bowl. While still whisking, slowly pour in the milk mixture. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and set it over medium-low heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until a few bubbles pop to the surface and the mixture has thickened, three to four minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, and whisk in the butter a few pieces until the mixture is smooth. Remove the vanilla bean.
3. Strain the pastry cream into a clean bowl, press plastic wrap on its surface, and refrigerate until it’s chilled for at least four hours.

Zeppole

1. Pour two inches of oil into a Dutch oven and heat it to 350 F. 
2. Combine one cup of water, the butter, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan, and bring the liquid to a boil over medium heat. Add the flour once the butter melts and the mixture is at a whole spot. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the dough forms a smooth ball and comes away from the sides of the pan, leaving a thin film for one to two minutes.
3. Remove the pan from the heat. This next part can be done by hand with some elbow grease or in a stand mixer: Let the dough cool for a minute so the eggs don’t scramble; then begin to beat the eggs in one at a time, fully incorporating each one before adding the next. Once all the eggs are added, punch the dough until it’s thick, smooth, and glossy. Beat in the lemon zest.
4. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough into the hot oil, and cook, turning occasionally, until they’re puffed and deep golden brown, about six to seven minutes. (Fry in two batches, if needed; don’t crowd the pan.)
5. Once the puffs have cooled, split them in half crosswise and lay the bottoms, cut side up, on a serving platter. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip with the custard. Pipe custard onto the bases (reserving a little for the top). Lay the reserved puff halves on top. Pipe a small star on top of each with the remaining custard. Top each with an Amarena cherry.
6. Dust with confectioners’ sugar on the platter, and serve. Enjoy!

Excerpted from Lidia’s From Our Family Table To Yours by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali. Copyright © 2023 Tutti a Tavola, LLC. Photographs by Armando Rafael . Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.