Zeppole

These are my delicious, homemade little Italian doughnuts typical of Southern Italy but are also found in other parts of Italy too.

Zeppole were created to celebrate the festival of St. Joseph on the 19th of March.

They are crispy on the outside and have a lovely light and fluffy texture inside - give them a go!

Dipping them in jam makes them super scrumptious 😋

Mangia, mangia! 👩🏻‍🍳

Zeppole recipe:

200g ricotta cheese
50g granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature and separated
2 tsps vanilla extract
150g plain flour
2 tsps baking powder
Pinch of salt
Vegetable oil for frying (about 1ltr)
Icing sugar for dusting

Jam for dipping

Makes approx. 15 small doughnuts

1. Smooth the ricotta in a mixing bowl. Add the sugar, cream again and stir in the vanilla and egg yolks.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs whites by hand until they are foamy- this will take about 2-3 minutes and then stir these into the ricotta mixture.

3. Sift in the flour, baking powder, salt and stir until evenly combined.

4. Heat the oil in a fryer or in a heavy-bottomed pan over a medium heat, until it reaches 180C.

5. Use a tablespoon to carefully drop zeppole into the oil in batches, taking care not to overcrowd them. I recommend doing them in batches of 5/6. Let these cook for about 3-4 minutes, flipping them over occasionally until they are an even golden brown. Use a slotted spoon to pull them out of the oil and drain them on paper towels. Repeat until you have used up all the mixture.

6. While they are still warm, dust with icing sugar. Serve them straight away!

My extra tip is to dip them in any flavour jam you have lying around. I used strawberry jam and I can tell you it made them even more super scrumptious.