Each year on March 19th, Italians remember St. Joseph, the patron saint of Sicily.

In the Middle Ages, St. Joseph saved Sicily from a severe drought. To celebrate, the Sicilians prepared an elaborate feast, known as La Festa di San Giuseppe. Since St. Joseph is also the patron saint of pastry chefs, Zeppoles became the signature item on the menu.

Zeppole are made with “choux pastry”, which can either be baked or fried. “Choux pastry” is also used to make cream puffs, profiteroles, and éclairs. It contains only butter, water, flour, and eggs, and employs high moisture content to create steam while cooking to “puff” the pastry.

This traditional St. Joseph's Day dessert is then filled with cannoli-style pastry cream, but other varieties can be created by using Bailey's Irish Cream, chocolate mousse, custard, or jelly. Zeppoles are usually topped with a swirl of the pastry filling and a cherry.

"Zeppole" can be spelled as "zeppola" or "zeppoli", but regardless of the spelling it is a delicious treat that can only be found this time of year, from February 1st until Easter Sunday.

It is a common practice today to give Zeppoles as a gift on St. Joseph's Day - March 19th.

Place your order today to take home a box of Zeppoles to share with your friends and family! We offer: