Nutella, Ferrero Rocher, & Cheese Stuffed Zeppole Recipe

Stuffed Zeppole Ingredients

• 2 cups plain flour
• 2 teaspoons yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups warm milk
• Frying oil (Olive, Vegetable, or Rice Bran)
• Fillings: Nutella, Ferrero Rocher, Cheese (Blue and/or Gorgonzola)

Stuffed Zeppole Directions

• Mix dry ingredients thoroughly in a large bowl.
• Mix in 2 eggs.
• Slowly add warm milk.
• Mix until dough is well consistent throughout.
• Let dough rest and rise for 1 hour.
• Heat oil in saucepan to 190C/350F
• Use spoon to scoop a portion of the dough and place filling in the centre.
• With a wet index finger, cover over the fillings (see video for example).
• Fry until golden brown.
• Dust sweet filled zeppole with icing sugar and savoury filled zeppole with parmesan and oregano.
• Note: The fillings remain hot, so allow to cool to avoid burning your mouth.

Italians have a million excuses to get together and enjoy the thing they do best, food. Sure, you’ll always find the traditional standbys like arancini, antipasto, and cotoletta, but more often than not, Nonna will whip up a stack of zeppole to be quickly devoured by zias, zios, and bambinos alike.

Traditional zeppole, sometimes referred to as sfingi, is basically a fried dough ball that is often filled with flavours of tomato, olive, and anchovy, or simply enjoyed plain with a dusting of icing sugar for the sweet-tooth’s of La Famiglia. With such a willing blank canvas just begging to be filled, we couldn’t help ourselves and decided to see just what would happen if we stuffed these bad-boys full of some of the most decadent fillings we could find in the pantry.

Now, if you are an Italian, know an Italian, or have even just spoken to an Italian, you’re probably aware, that besides air and water, there’s one other vital element that keeps their hearts beating, Nutella. So why not combine this elixir of the dolce vita with the soft, warm zeppole of the old country. The result is a bite of unbelievably pillowy dough that explodes a river of rich Nutella across the tongue. These are just diet demolishing decadence.

Not content with just Nutella alone, we step up our franken-zeppole experiment by enrobing already delectable Ferrero Rocher in a blanket of the zeppole dough. The result is insanely good! The frying process slowly melts the Ferrero Rocher interior just enough to create a gooey centre as you bite deep into the dough balls.

We can’t ignore the savoury side of the zeppole heritage, so why not try loading them up with chunks of two variety of tasty cheese? We choose a blue cheese and gorgonzola for their stronger flavour profile. This provides a distinct contrast of tastes between the airy dough and the more pungent filling. Honestly, how can you go wrong with melted cheese, anyway?

With Nonna being graciously patient with us hijacking her beloved traditional zeppole recipe for our own amusement, we decide that the tried-and-true ingredients of zeppole, tomato, olive, and anchovy should have the honour of the final word. These three flavours each bring their own character to the party, and the combination is delightfully Mediterranean.

With our zeppole experiment a resounding success, with both the old and new generations of the family, check back here soon as we’ll be raiding Nonna’s secret cookbook for more treats from the old world to experiment with.