St Joseph's Day Zeppole

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The month of March always gets all the leprechauns out of the woodwork, the "Kiss me I'm Irish" buttons everywhere, a plethora of different green beers and corned beef. While that all happens on the 17th, many people overlook an equally important tribute to the Italian-American community, which is St. Joseph's Day.
St Joseph's day is celebrated on the 19th of March, and is a huge holiday here in Rhode Island with our very large Italian American population.

Now don't worry Admin...I'm not going religious or political on you. I just wanted to point out a traditional St. Joseph's Day treat...the zeppola.

The zeppole are nothing more than puff pastry filled with either riccota or vanilla or chocolate custard. Here in little Rhody the traditional filling is a very rich vanilla custard, then a dusting of confectioner's sugar and a cherry on top.

If you get a chance to try one of these heart-stopping little delights, don't pass it up. It's a nice follow up to the corned beef and cabbage on the 17th.

Zeppole

zeppoledisangiuseppe

Pastry Puffs 

2¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour 
1/8 teaspoon salt 
½ teaspoon baking soda 
2 cups water 
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter 
3½ tablespoons lard 
6 large eggs

Almond Pastry Cream

1/3 cup or cornstarch 
2 cups milk 
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter 
3/4 cup granulated sugar 
2 large egg yolks 
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract 
Confectioner's sugar for dusting
Maraschino cherries, drained and halved for decorating

Preheat the oven to 425ºF. 

Grease and flour a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, salt, and baking soda together and set aside.

In a heavy saucepan, heat the water, add the 
butter and lard, and when melted, remove pan from the stove and add the 
flour mixture all at once. Beat with a wooden spoon, then return the pan
 to medium-high heat, beating the mixture until it comes away from the 
sides of the pan. Remove the pan from the heat and add the eggs one at a
 time, beating with a wooden spoon or hand mixer to blend each in well 
before adding the next egg.

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a ½-inch nozzle with 
some of the cream puff mixture. Squeeze out 3-inch puffs about ½ inch 
apart on cookie sheet. Bake the cream puffs about 20 minutes or until 
golden brown. When done, carefully slit the side of each cream puff with
 a knife to allow steam to escape and prevent the puffs from becoming 
soggy inside. Transfer the cream puffs to cooling racks.

In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch and sugar for the filling. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and butter 
over medium-high heat until the butter melts. Add the cornstarch mixture
 and cook over medium heat until it starts to thicken, about 2 minutes. 
Remove the mixture from the heat and slowly add the eggs, beating well. 
Return the mixture to the heat for just a few seconds to cook the 
mixture, being careful not to scramble the eggs. Pour the filling into a
 bowl, add the almond extract, and blend. Cover with buttered waxed 
paper and refrigerate until ready to use.

To serve, use a small knife to cut off the top 
third of each cream puff. Add about 1/4 cups filling (more if the puffs 
are larger), replace the tops, and put puffs on a decorative platter. 
Dust with confectioner's sugar and pipe a dollop of cream on top. Top 
with a cherry half and serve immediately.

The pastry shells can be made ahead and frozen, and
 the filling can be made a day before serving. The lard is what makes 
the recipe authentic, but you may use all butter.