Zeppole | Zeppoli – A Popular Italian Street food
Zeppole is an Italian pastry consisting of a deep-fried dough ball of varying sizes. The ULTIMATE treat when it comes to Italian Street Food. Also called Zeppoli by some, this is a perfectly delicious fried dough covered in powdered sugar.
Zeppole is a very common and popular street food that is traditionally consumed during Saint Joseph's Day which is celebrated on the 19th of March every year. For me and my family, zeppole is a fair food that we eat every year at a couple of our local fairs.
This fried fritter or doughnut is served dusted with loads of confectionary sugar. This is also similar to the fried dough (except for the shape) that is available at the fairs.
We go to a major county fair every year and over the years this has become our family ritual. We look forward to the fair, which usually happens at the end of August. I love the food at the fair.
The main reason I go to the fair is to play games, go on rides, and of course, eat food. We have some lovely Greek joints in the fair and our desert usually is the zeppole.
This year we missed going to this major fair since we were traveling that week. We compensated for the missed games and food by attending our community day parade and yes, they had the zeppole.
This Zeppoli recipe that I made was unbelievably close in taste and texture to the ones I eat out. I found this recipe here. I was surprised to see how easy they were to make.
The texture would definitely make you crave more. The batter was straightforward and took 5 minutes to make. Zeppoli is the first recipe in which I have used mascarpone cheese. This is the recipe that I chose to have a sweet ending to the month-long Alphabet Marathon.
Ingredients to make Zeppole - makes around 2 dozen
- All-purpose flour - 1 cup
- Ricotta cheese - ½ cup
- Mascarpone cheese - ½ cup
- Sugar - 3 tbsp
- Baking Powder - 3 tsp
- Salt - ½ tsp
- Egg - 1 (lightly beaten)
- Coldwater - ¼ cup
- Vanilla extract - 2 tsp
- Vegetable oil - for deep frying
- Powdered sugar - for dusting
Step-by-Step Process
- Fill a wide and deep pan with at least 2 inches of oil and heat it on medium flame.
- In a saucepan, combine all the ingredients (except the powdered sugar) and cook it on low flame.
- Whisk together until a smooth batter forms. Turn the heat off and keep the batter aside until the oil heats up.
- With a spoon, scoop out a spoonful of batter and drop it in hot oil. Do not crowd the oil too much. Fry the zeppole on medium heat until it is golden brown and then gently flip it to the other side. Let it cook on the other side until golden brown.
- Drain them on a paper towel layered tray.
- Dust it liberally with powdered sugar and enjoy!!!
- These are best when eaten on the same day.
More Street Foods
If you made this recipe and liked it, give a star rating on the recipe card or let me know in the comments below. You could also share it with me on Instagram using #MyCookingJourney and tagging me @sandhya.ramakrishnan. You could follow me and my recipes on Facebook |Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter/X
Recipe
Zeppole - A Popular Italian Street Food
Equipment
- Strainer
- Wide Deep Pan
- sauce pan
- Stove
Ingredients
- 1 cup All-purpose flour
- ½ cup Ricotta cheese
- ½ cup Mascarpone cheese
- 3 tablespoon Sugar
- 3 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 Egg lightly beaten
- ¼ cup Coldwater
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- Vegetable oil for deep frying
- ¼ cup Powdered Sugar
Instructions
- Fill a wide and deep pan with at least 2 inches of oil and heat it on medium flame.
- In a sauce pan, combine all the ingredients (except the powdered sugar) and cook it on low flame.
- Whisk together until a smooth batter forms. Turn the heat off and keep the batter aside until the oil heats up.
- With a spoon, scoop out spoonful of batter and drop it in hot oil. Do not crowd the oil too much. Fry the zeppole on medium heat until it is golden brown and then gently flip it to the other side. Let it cook on the other side until golden brown.
- Drain them on paper towel layered tray.
- Dust it liberally with powdered sugar and enjoy!!!
- These are best when eaten the same day.
Mouthwatering. Bookmarking these zeppole. Can I bake them?
I have enjoyed this series with you Sandhya. Your pics and dishes were lip-smacking delicious.
These look so tempting!
Those zeppole look sooooo good. Beautifully fried and they look like they'll melt in the mouth.
These look great and a perfect recipe to end the month long marathon. I wish we got all these cheeses here (in affordable rates), would have loved making these...Your description of these have me craving now :-))
they look just like the ones I used to get from the pizza shop as a kid
Very interesting snack indeed. Looks delicious.
lovely name and beautiful recipe, bookmarking
never heard zeppole but we call this meethe gule.... and prepare on festival days
amazing.
Zeppole is new and loved this new recipe..wonderful choice forZ....and of course the rest of BM recipes were fantastic too.
wow that is nice!!! although new to me... looks very delicious!!
Sowmya
love zeppole and a great cup of coffee. Heaven! urs look perfect.
love zeppole with great cup of coffee. urs looks perfect.
What a fantastic choice Sandhya..with so much cheese and rest this must have tasted awesome..I have enjoyed reading through your abc series,,so much efforts and wonderful dishes..great job Sandhya..
awesome recipe choice and its sound so interesting dear 🙂 fabulous looking zeppole !! well done on you A-Z series you really have done a fantastic job with your recipe choice kudo's sandhya 🙂
Am hearing this zeppole for the first time..They looks stunning and very addictive..
Zeppole looks and sounds delicious ! Thanks for sharing the info behind..