Zeppole are tiny Italian doughnuts - crisp, light and incredibly fluffy. This version is made using a pate choux dough, which when fried, become so airy, tender and golden brown.
The wonders of pate a choux dough never ceases to amaze me. There are so many wonderful things you can make out of it - cream puffs, eclairs, pastries, cake and even dumplings in soup. You can even deep fry it to make the most tender doughnuts.
The results are really crisp and light and one of the fluffiest doughnuts I had ever tried. It's like biting into a delicious, creamy cloud. It's also so easy and quick to prepare the batter, since you don't have to wait for the yeast dough to rise, like you would for yeast doughnuts.
What Are Zeppoles?
Zeppole are Italian doughnuts. They are made from pate choux dough, the same one used for cream puffs and eclairs, made from cooking water/milk with butter and flour and then beating in eggs.
The dough is then fried. The little balls cook up golden, crisp and really tender. They are really airy and tender. With some powdered sugar, these little doughnuts are such a delicious treat.
Zeppoli vs Beignets and Doughnuts
Although all of these are fried pastries, zeppoli are made with a pate choux dough, like I mentioned earlier, and beignets are made with a yeast dough, while doughnuts are made with either a yeast dough or a cake batter dough.
Making the Zeppole Batter
In a medium saucepan, combine the water, butter, sugar and salt. Cook until the butter completely melts. Add the flour all at once and mix vigorously, keeping the heat low, until it's all incorporated and the dough comes together in a ball.
Turn off the heat and wait until the dough has cooled off before adding the eggs, one at a time. It is important to wait until the dough is only warm, otherwise the eggs will scramble when added to the dough.
Also add the eggs one at a time, so that they will be evenly mixed into the batter. You can use a wooden spoon or a mixer to add the eggs.
Can Pate Choux Dough Be Made In Advance?
Yes. You can keep the pate choux dough refrigerated for up to 3 days.
What Oil Is Best For Frying
The best oils for frying are high smoke point oils, like grape seed, avocado, vegetable, and peanut oils. 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's cooked through properly.
Keep the temperature above 350 at all times, preferably 360-375 degrees. If the temperature of the oil drops too much, the doughnuts will soak in too much oil and taste greasy.
Use a thermometer to monitor the temperature of the oil as you preheat it and then are frying the zeppole. You can use a candy thermometer or an infrared thermometer.
Cooking the Zeppole
Pour in enough oil into a large, heavy pot (I use my Dutch oven). You should have at least 2 inches of oil, I usually use one full container of oil. Heat up the oil to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
You can use two small spoons to drop bits of dough into the hot oil, or place the dough in a large pastry bag, cut a hole off one corner and pipe out the batter, cutting off snippets of dough into the hot oil. Be careful not to splash yourself with it though.
Fry the zeppole for about 5 minutes, turning over the ones that don't turn themselves over. Take them out of the oil using a slotted spoon and place them on a paper towel lined plate, baking sheet, etc. When you're done frying all the zeppole, dust them with powdered sugar.
Storing Zeppole
Store the zeppole at room temperature, covered with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap. They are best served right away but will keep for a few days too, they just won't taste as tender and fresh.
Zeppole - Italian Doughnuts
Zeppole are tiny Italian doughnuts - crisp, light and incredibly fluffy. This version is made using a pate choux dough, which when fried, become so airy, tender and golden brown.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dessert
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 8 Tablespoons butter (½ cup)
- 3 Tablespoons sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup flour
- 4 eggs
- oil (for frying (vegetable, canola or peanut oil))
- powdered sugar (to dust the zeppole)
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, combine the water, butter, sugar and salt. Cook until the butter completely melts.
- Add the flour all at once and mix vigorously with a wooden spoon, until the dough comes together in a ball. Continue cooking for a minute or two.
- Place the dough in the bowl of a standing mixer. Mix with a paddle attachment, until you don't see any more steam rising up from the bowl.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, until they are fully incorporated. You can also use a hand held mixer, or even mix up the dough by hand.
- Meanwhile, pour in enough oil into a large, heavy pot (I use my Dutch oven). You should have at least 2 inches of oil, I usually use one full container of oil. Heat up the oil to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Transfer the dough to a large ziptop bag. Cut a hole in one corner. Slowly pipe out the dough and cut off snippets of the dough right into the oil. Be careful not to splash yourself. You can also use 2 small spoons to drop bits of dough into the oil, or use a small portion scoop.
- Keep the temperature above 350 at all times, preferably 360-375 degrees.
- Fry the zeppole about 5 minutes, turning over the ones that don't turn themselves over.
- Take them out of the oil using a slotted spoon and place them on a paper towel lined plate, baking sheet, etc. When you're done frying all the zeppole, dust them with powdered sugar.
Wow my whole family loved it !!!! Thank you soo much for sharing them with us .
Love your website everything I tried turned out soo well and from the first try . Thank you soo much !!!!!
That's so sweet of you to say, Liliya. I'm thrilled that you are enjoying the recipes that I share.
Had these a few years back in N.Y by my Italian b.f's mom. Found your website and looked pretty easy. Mother in law just got a stand mixer so I was psyched to make these. Followed everything but my Ziploc wasn't cooperating much and I forgot to "snip"the dough, so it came out looking like long fingers lol. Still pretty tasty but even when they looked really done (pretty brown on the outside!) they were still a little doughy inside. Fiance gobbled them up though, will try again, thanks for your post!
I love your recipes! Your details are amazing, Thank you
I made these tonight and they were so yummo! I used my fry daddy and it was so easy but a lot of work since it's so small I could only make about 6-8 at a time. I didn't even use all the batter. I plan on purchasing a larger fry daddy soon so then I'll be able to make at least two dozen at a time. Thanks for the recipe!
I've never heard of a fry daddy. I'm so glad that you liked them, Dawn.
Thank you so much for this recipe!!! Its so simple esp when in the mood for a yummy snack but ran out of sour cream, milk and other ingredients for basic baking.... Lol. When I found this recipe I was so excited but we didn't have enough eggs then I noticed my hubs getting dressed and he said he'll be right back.... 10 min later he came back with eggs!! Been making these at least once a week since 🙂
What a sweet guy! That was so nice of him:). But then, he probably got to enjoy the doughnuts too. I LOVE these doughnuts; glad to hear that you enjoyed them too. Thanks for taking the time to write, Kristina.
Thanks alot i trust your recipes unlike other sites sorry i commented more than once as i thought it didnt send you the comment yh so i thought there was an error
Sorry
Hey olga i love your recipes and u are soo pretty i just wanted to know what flour should u use
Thanks
Hey olga i love your recipes and u are soo pretty i just wanted to know what flour should u use
Thanks
Regular all purpose flour, Olive. If a recipe needs a different kind of flour, I will specify it in the ingredient list.
Hey Olga god you are soo pretty and thanks i love your recipe because i need it for my cooking class as our topic is italian
That is very sweet of you to say, Olive. Thanks:).
Hi there! Just tried out this recipe but the center of my donuts were the consistency of a crepe and kind of eggy...I think the problem could be my oil temp. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks so much!!
Did you make sure to have your oil at 350-375 degrees Fahrenheit? Also, did you cook the doughnuts long enough? There shouldn't be any batter in the center. However, also keep in mind that these doughnuts are made with a pate choux pastry dough, not yeast or cake dough that doughnuts are usually made from, so they will have a different texture that the donut shops.
Hello Olga! Looks sooooo delicious .....thanks for recipe. Can I bake them?
I would not recommend it, Ana. I don't think it will turn out well. If you want to bake them, you should just make cream puffs. The texture of the doughnuts will be completely different if you bake them too.
Hello Olga......looks soooo delicious......thanks for recipe. Can I bake them?
These look fantastic & Im waiting to try them out but can you let me know what sort of flour you used, was
it Plain or Self raising ??
Hi Sharon,
I use unbleached, all-purpose flour. I hope you enjoy the Zeppole:).
Can I use a casserole dish to fry my doughnuts in ?
Hello, are they supposed to be a little moist inside or they undercooked if that happens? Thank you
I wouldn't say they are "moist" but not dry for sure. Have you ever had a French Cruller donut? It has the same texture.
Hi, can I use canola oil INSTEAD of butter for this ? I don't use butter too often for baking and was wondering since the butter melts anyway, can I use oil in the first steps instead?
Thanks so much !:)
No, butter is essential for the dough in this recipe, Irina.
Hi Olga,,read your recipe and didn't see anything about yeast? Is there a specific flour blend which has yeast in it to make the center have those large air-pocketed center which gives zepolli that aired center?
I don't add any yeast in this recipe, Mack. It is a pate choux pastry dough, like you would make for cream puffs and eclairs. It does not use any yeast, baking powder, baking soda, etc. The lift and puffiness comes from the eggs.