Baked zeppole: the recipe for typical Campania Christmas sweets

The baked donuts I am a sweet Typical Christmas in Cava de’ Tirreni, in the province of Salerno. A simple and quick preparation, made with few ingredients and easy to find: just pour the water, citrus zest, sugar and white wine into a saucepan, put it on the fire and bring to a boil. At this stage, pour in the flour 0, all at once, and mix vigorously with a wooden spoon.

As soon as the dough comes away from the walls of the pot, it is transferred to a work surface and strings are made to be closed at the joining point. The donuts thus obtained are fried in boiling seed oil until golden brown, then sprinkled with hot honey and finally decorated with colored sugared almonds. Fragrant and super tasty, they are perfect for everyone special occasionfor parties or for a tasty snack.

Learn how to prepare a baked zeppole by following the step-by-step procedure and tips. If you liked this recipe, also try the Sardinian zeppole and the Neapolitan struffoli.

How to prepare cooked zeppole

Pour the water into a saucepan (1).

Add citrus zest 2.

Mix the white wine 3.

Add oil 4.

Pour the sugar 5 and salt, then turn on the heat and bring to a boil.

Remove citrus zest 6.

Add the flour all at once 7.

Stir continuously and vigorously with a wooden spoon 8.

Continue until the mass comes away from the walls of the pot 9.

Transfer the dough to a work surface and beat it several times with a rolling pin until you get a fairly uniform thickness. ten.

Cut out some pieces of dough and create strings 0.8 cm thick and about 14 cm long 11.

Close the cords by pressing lightly on the junction 12.

Continue until the dough is used up. 13.

Pour the seed oil into a saucepan, to a height of about 8 cm, and bring it to a temperature of 170-180°C 14.

Fry the donuts a few at a time until lightly browned. Drain them and let them dry on absorbent paper. 15.

Melt the honey in a saucepan with a few tablespoons of water and heat it without boiling it 16.

Soak donuts, a few at a time 17.

Gradually transfer the donuts to a platter. Decorate as desired with colored sprinkles and serve 18.

Advice

White wine can be replaced with del Vermouth and, if you prefer, you can also add a sprig of rosemary to the pan with the water, removing it before incorporating the flour.

You can melt the honey in a saucepan by adding a few tablespoons of sugar, for an even sweeter end result. You can enjoy them like this or, as in our recipe, sprinkle them with colorful candies or “devils”.

Those who prefer can pass the cooked zeppole only in the sugar.

storage

It is advisable to fry the donuts and enjoy them hot at the timeto be able to savor them in all their flavor.