"San Gennaro" Ricotta Zeppole
(zep-po-lee)
Chapter 5 — Desserts & After-Dinner
If you've ever navigated the chaotic, sausage-scented gauntlet of Mulberry Street in September, you know the singular magic of a hot zeppole violently shaken in a brown paper bag. Authentic street-fair versions demand vats of oil and hours of yeast proofing—a ridiculous ask after you've just spent your entire Sunday simmering pork bones and meatballs. This is the grandmother's workaround: whole milk ricotta and baking powder for instant lift, yielding a fritter that's ridiculously tender inside and deeply golden outside. No apologies, no pretension, just powdered sugar everywhere.
Before you start
Drain the ricotta.
American supermarket ricotta is notoriously watery. Place the cheese in a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, discarding the liquid that pools at the bottom.
Ingredients
- whole milk ricotta cheese1 1/2 cup
- eggs3 large
- granulated sugar1/2 cup
- pure vanilla extract1 tsp
- dark rum1 tbsp
- orange1 large
- lemon1 med
- all-purpose flour1 1/2 cup
- baking powder1 tbsp
- kosher salt1/2 tsp
- neutral oil2 qt
- powdered sugar1 1/2 cup
Method
- 01
Whisk the wet ingredients until perfectly smooth.
In a large bowl, aggressively whisk the drained ricotta, eggs, granulated sugar, vanilla, rum, orange zest, and lemon zest. The citrus oils are crucial here to cut through the heavy richness of the deep fry.
- 02
Fold in the dry ingredients and let the batter rest.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl, then gently fold them into the ricotta mixture just until the flour disappears. Do not overmix. Let it sit for 10 minutes to hydrate the flour.
- 03
Bring the oil to 350°F in a heavy Dutch oven.
Fill the Dutch oven with about 3 inches of neutral oil and heat it over medium-high. You want the heavy cast iron to retain the heat like a vault once the cold batter hits it.
- 04
Fry the zeppole in small batches until deeply golden.
Drop 1.5-tablespoon mounds of batter into the hot oil, working in batches of five or six to avoid dropping the temperature. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes, turning them occasionally with a spider skimmer, until they are puffed and crisp all over.
- 05
Perform the San Gennaro paper bag shake.
Transfer the fried zeppole to a paper-towel-lined tray for just 30 seconds. Toss them while still hot into a brown paper lunch bag with a heavy handful of powdered sugar, fold the top, shake violently, and serve immediately.
Notes
The paper bag is mandatory.
Don't just dust these delicately with a sieve. The vigorous shaking in a closed bag forces the powdered sugar into every hot, oily crevice, replicating the authentic street fair experience.
Improvise if you lack a thermometer.
If you don't have a deep-fry thermometer, dip the wooden handle of a spoon into the oil. If it spawns rapid, steady bubbles around the wood, you're ready to fry.
From Cook Red Sauce at Home.