Posted on Friday, 7th December 2012 by Grace Massa Langlois
Have you ever indulged in the thick creaminess of Italian Hot Chocolate? With this cold weather I thought I would share one of the most enticing hot beverages enjoyed in bars across Italy. Bar, hot chocolate? May seem like an odd place to enjoy hot chocolate but the bars in Italy are different to what we’re used to experiencing here in North America. It’s not only a place to enjoy alcohol but espresso, sandwiches, pastries and gelato. And for this very reason I thought I would pair the hot chocolate with a popular sweet treat from Naples, Potato Zeppole rolled in Cinnamon Sugar. Plus these light and fluffy Italian doughnuts are perfect for dipping.
I’m not much of a bar goer but when in Italy I can often be found at the local bar. It’s like a social hub and it’s not at all uncommon to visit several times throughout the day. Enjoy an espresso with pastry in the morning or “panini” (sandwich) at lunch. And on a hot summer day there’s nothing better than a scoop of creamy gelato.
If my dreams come true you’ll find me living half of the year in Europe some day exploring all the history and traditions. If not for my family I think I would’ve packed up the kids long ago. It’s not that I don’t like Canada but I have this deep desire to explore my roots. I often think it’s because I was young, a baby, when my family moved from Europe.
I’ve heard all the stories from my older brothers and sisters and I want to experience what I’ve missed. My younger sister, Nadia, and I are the only ones out of the bunch that didn’t experience some of our childhood (or adulthood) in Europe.
Italian Hot Chocolate is thicker than North American hot chocolate almost like a pudding and best enjoyed with a spoon. It’s most often topped with sweetened whipped cream but by all means top with marshmallows or better yet homemade artisan marshmallows like mocha or coconut.
I’ve prepared a plain hot chocolate here to serve with the Cinnamon Zeppole but you could flavour it with espresso, caramel, cinnamon, liqueur, almond, or hazelnut. It’s typically prepared with whole milk but you could use a combination of milk and cream for added richness.
Potato Zeppole can be shaped, filled and topped just like typical doughnuts but they have a far lighter and fluffier texture than the flour doughnut. The dough is soft and extremely sticky and can be frustrating to work with but having said this I still prefer to make doughnut dough by hand. Believe me the end result is worth it.
Like most doughnuts they are best enjoyed on the day they are made. This dough makes quite a few probably more than can be consumed in one day making them the perfect treat to share. I have yet to come across anyone that wouldn’t be thrilled to receive a plate of freshly made homemade doughnuts.
I’m hoping to soon share another Italian doughnut that we enjoy traditionally at Christmas time, Scarpelle. Scarpelle dough is flavoured with rosemary and is also prepared with potatoes but fresh yeast is a must according to my Mom. These fried treats have a crispy exterior and fluffy interior and are sprinkled with sugar. Unfortunately the ones I’ve made so far don’t at all resemble the texture I’m used to but they would make the best doorstoppers.
Thankfully mom is coming over soon to share her secrets and we’re going to spend the afternoon making scarpelle. The wonderful thing about scarpelle is that unlike regular doughnuts they can be reheated and they taste just as good as the day they were made. My mom always makes a huge batch and freezes them. It’s a great treat to have on hand over the holidays when family and friends are stopping by unexpectedly because they can be reheated in a hot oven (although my sister, Anna swears the toaster oven is better) directly from the freezer.
Happy Weekend!
Potato Zeppole and Italian Hot Chocolate {Zeppole di Patate e Cioccolato Calda}
Makes 34 8 cm (3-inch) and 16 5 cm (1 7/8-inch) and 15 donut holes
- Potato Zeppole {Zeppole di Patate}
- Italian Hot Chocolate {Cioccolato Calda}
- Sweetened Whipped Cream & Whipped Cream Snowflakes
Potato Zeppole {Zeppole di Patate}
- 500 g (1.1 pounds) baking potatoes (like russets), cut into chunks
- 250 g (2 cups) bread flour
- 250 g (2 cups) “00″ Italian Flour or plain (all purpose) flour
- 8 g (1 package) instant yeast
- 70 g (¼ cup + 1 tablespoon) caster (superfine) sugar
- Pinch salt
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- Seeds from 1 vanilla bean or 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 140 ml (about 2/3 cup) warm milk, temperature between 40° C and 43° C (105° F and 110° F)
- 42 g (3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into equal pieces, room temperature
- Canola or vegetable oil, for frying
- 3 to 4 teaspoons Vietnamese cinnamon, for rolling
- 225 g (1 cup) caster (superfine) sugar, extra, for rolling
- Place potato chunks in a large pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil over high heat and cook until tender.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together bread flour, 00 flour (or all-purpose), yeast, sugar and salt until combined well. Lightly whisk together (just enough to disburse seeds) eggs and vanilla seeds (or extract).
- Remove potatoes from heat, drain and pass through a food mill or ricer onto a sheet of non-stick baking paper.
- Add the riced potatoes to the flour mixture and create a well in the centre. Add the egg mixture to the well and begin working the mixture together with your fingertips until combined. Create another well in the centre and gradually add the warm milk working the mixture together with your fingertips until all the milk is added and you’ve created a rough ball of dough. Gradually add the butter, one-piece at-a-time, working each piece of butter into the dough before adding the next. (Dough is extremely sticky.) Transfer dough to heavily floured work surface (with the help of a bowl scraper). Heavily dust the surface of the dough and knead well to form a smooth ball of dough, 10 to 15 minutes. (Dust with flour as needed and use bowl scraper if necessary to form ball as you knead because dough is extremely sticky).
- Transfer ball of dough back to large bowl (the one the flour mixture was in), cover with a sheet of non-stick baking paper, then plastic wrap and then a kitchen tea towel. Place in warm spot and let rise until double in volume, about 2 hours.
- Meanwhile cut non-stick baking paper into squares about 5 cm (2-inches) larger than your doughnut cutter.
- Arrange baking paper squares (do not overlap squares) in 8 cm (3-inch) deep baking tin (depending on how large your tin is you may need two or three). Lightly grease baking paper squares with vegetable spray. (If you don’t have deep baking tins, use a few over turned glasses randomly place on rimmed baking sheets to prevent the plastic from touching the surface of the donuts as they rise.) Transfer dough to clean, lightly floured work surface. Using lightly floured rolling pin, roll out dough to a thickness of about 1 cm (a little less than ½-inch). Using doughnut cutter (whatever size you choose) dipped in flour cut rounds making sure to keep cuts as close together as possible. Place one round in the centre of each baking paper square. (Doughnuts will be fried on baking paper, this prevents too much handling of the dough, keeping the doughnuts full of air, don’t be concerned paper will slip away easily when frying for easy removal.) Cover each baking tin with plastic wrap. Place in a warm spot and let rise until doubled in size, 1½ to 2 hours. (I like to drape a towel over the baking tins creating a nice warm environment for the rise.)
- Gather up the leftover pieces, give a quick knead to bring the pieces together, return dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise in a warm place until double in volume, about ½-hour. Repeat instruction 7. At this point if you have any remaining dough, gather together, re-roll and cut rounds until all of the dough has been used.
- Heat about 8 cm (3-inches) deep of oil in a 6-litre/quart heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat to between 160° C and 170° C (325° F and 340° F), about 20 minutes. (If you have a thermometer attach to the saucepan to monitor the temperature of the oil.)
- Line rimmed baking sheet with three or four layers of paper towel (for draining excess oil). Whisk together the cinnamon and extra sugar and transfer to a large platter (for rolling doughnuts).
- Carefully transfer four dough rounds (if making mini doughnuts 5 to 6) on baking paper to hot oil. (Don’t fry more than indicated to ensure even frying). Use a set of tongs to remove paper; it will slip away within seconds of hitting the hot oil. Fry doughnuts until golden on both sides, 3 to 5 minutes total (2 to 4 for smaller doughnuts). Remove doughnuts, one-at-a-time, with a spider skimmer or slotted spoon, drain on paper towels and immediately roll in cinnamon sugar until evenly coated. (Check oil frequently while frying doughnuts to maintain temperature.)
- Doughnuts are best eaten on the day they are made.
- Buon Appetito!
Italian Hot Chocolate {Cioccolato Calda}
- 24 g (4 tablespoons) unsweetened cocoa
- 20 g (2½ tablespoons) cornstarch
- 500 ml (2 cups + 1 tablespoon) whole milk
- 113 g (4 ounces) good quality dark chocolate (70%) or bittersweet, finely chopped
- 28 g (2 tablespoons) caster (superfine) sugar
- Sift cocoa onto a sheet of non-stick baking paper. Sift cocoa again with cornstarch onto a sheet of baking paper.
- Place cold milk in a small saucepan.
- Gradually add the cocoa-cornstarch mixture to the cold milk, whisking constantly until cocoa and cornstarch are dissolved (make sure there are no lumps). Add the sugar and whisk to combine. Bring just to the boil (small bubbles beginning to form around the sides of the pan) over medium heat.
- Remove from heat, add the chocolate and whisk to combine until chocolate is melted. Taste, if you prefer add more sugar. Return mixture to heat and cook over low heat until thickened.
- Remove from heat and pour into mugs. Top with whipped cream and enjoy!
Sweetened Whipped Cream and Whipped Cream Snowflakes
- 600 ml (2½ cups) heavy cream, 35%
- 39 g (5 tablespoons) confectioners’ sugar
- Seeds from 1 vanilla bean or 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Line 20 cm (8-inch) square baking dish with non-sticking baking paper, leaving 5 cm (2-inch) border on all sides.
- In bowl of stand mixer fitted with whip attachment, whisk together cream, confectioner’s sugar and vanilla seeds (or extract) at medium speed to stiff peaks.
- Transfer one-half of the whipped cream to the baking dish. Using small offset spatula, smooth cream to edges. Cover with plastic wrap and transfer to freezer. Chill until firm. Transfer the remaining whipped cream to airtight container, cover and chill in the refrigerator.
- Remove from freezer. Lift whipped cream square out of the baking dish and place on flat work surface. Dip snowflake-shaped cookie cutter in hot water and immediately cut out shapes making cuts as close together as possible. (I recommend dipping the cutter in hot water after each cut.) Use to garnish hot chocolate.
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Tags: after school treat, afternoon tea, breakfast, breakfast pastries, chocolate, chocolate dessert, dessert, desserts, desserts for entertaining, donuts, doughnuts, entertaining, food, food photography, food photos, fried pastries, individual dessert, individual desserts, Italian dessert, Italian desserts, Italian donuts, Italian doughnuts, Italian Pastries, zeppole
Posted in Baking & Pastry, Baking Mise en Place, Basics, Bevande e Cocktail, Beverages and Cocktails, Dolci Fritti, Eggs, Fried Desserts, Mini Desserts, Pasticcini, Pastries, Piccola Pasticceria, Recipes, Ricette di Base, Yeast Breads & Yeast Dough
Comments (25)
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December 8th, 2012 at 7:32 am
Yum! I love Italian thick hot chocolate! It’s so good! I make them at home and get it at cafes, as for the donuts, I don’t think I’d be ablej to tackle them! But I wanna make churros soon, even though I really hate frying!
December 9th, 2012 at 6:22 pm
Wow! Grace these potato zeppole look so delicious! I’m sure they’re pretty addictive…they must be so tender and fluffy…it’s almost midnight in Spain and I’m starting to get hungry (really hungry) after looking at your pics and reading your great recipe! Hot chocolate is one of my favorite things in the whole wide world, especially in winter (btw, in Spain hot choco is as thick as the italian! So yummy!).
xoxox
G.
December 10th, 2012 at 6:51 am
How delicious! I have never had homemade Italian hot chocolate! It looks so good! I will try it!
December 10th, 2012 at 9:20 am
Good Morning! Marcellina you’re in for a real treat, make sure you have some cookies or doughnuts for dipping.
December 10th, 2012 at 9:23 am
Hi Gemma what a coincidence that you mention this very thing this morning because when I first shared on Google+ one of my friends asked if it was similar to Spanish Hot Chocolate. I was so intrigued I had to do some research and in fact they are one and the same. I believe it is a treat we inherited from our Spanish friends. Hope you’re enjoying a wonderful holiday season, all the best!
December 11th, 2012 at 4:28 pm
Grace, your potato zeppole look so Yummy !. Also I finally own your book now which was given to me as Birthday gift. I just love it !!!
December 12th, 2012 at 10:59 am
Good Morning Lyly, you must try these when you have some time I always get rave reviews, the kids say they taste like Elephant Ears.
December 12th, 2012 at 10:59 am
p.s. Lyly I’m so happy you love the book!
December 14th, 2012 at 9:52 am
Hi Grace,
I’ve just made the dough for these zeppole. They are now on the first fermentation and, I have to admit, it has been a…sticky business to get to that point!!! Hehe. Jokes aside, I’m glad you warned us about the dough being sticky, or I would have been tempted to add flour (and lots of it for that matter), but I resisted that urge and carried on. I make my own pizza and bread from scratch every week and I expected to use the same kneading method, I soon relized that I had to use my fingers, rather the the palm of my hand.
Anyway, I just thought I’d mention this, for those who are not used to knead by hand, only to support what you already explained so clearly.
I’ll let you know how they turn up (I’ll have to read the part about the baking paper again, I find it a bit tricky to understand but it would probably make more sense to me as I go along with the recipe
December 14th, 2012 at 9:54 am
PS: How does your mum freeze them, would I need to wrap them individually?
December 14th, 2012 at 2:53 pm
Uff, I just wrote a rather long comment and when I tried to send it, it got lost due to an error. Never mind, I think I had written too much anyway
I only wanted to let yo know that I made them!!! They are the fluffiest doughnuts I have ever eaten, definitely worth the wait and the trouble. The next time I would start making them in the morning, because I had not given enough time to the all procedure (I only calculated the 4 hours for the fermentation).
Thank you for your great recipes (tomorrow I will try to make the hot chocolate)
December 14th, 2012 at 2:58 pm
PS: (again)can you please tell me how you make the holes? I eventually made them inserting the wrong end of a teaspoon in the middle and pressing hard, helping myself with a finger, but they were not good enough. MAny thanks again and sorry I inundated with all these comments!!!
December 14th, 2012 at 4:14 pm
These Italian doughnuts look soooo delicious!! I want one with my tea right now
Beautiful photography as well.
December 15th, 2012 at 10:35 am
Hi Maura, I was referring to the Scarpelle. I hope to share the recipe soon. These are frozen after deep-frying. So sorry for my late reply Maura, I’ve been having problems logging into my admin area (hosting issue). I could load site but not get into the backend.
December 15th, 2012 at 10:36 am
I am so very happy you enjoyed them, did the baking paper squares make more sense as you were going through the preparation?
December 15th, 2012 at 10:38 am
Hi Maura, the holes are easy, I use the base of a pastry tip, small one for the mini doughnuts and when I didn’t have a large doughnut cutter I would use the base of a large pastry tip. The pastry tip bases are pretty sharp. I meant to note that in the recipe, so sorry, I will update now.
December 15th, 2012 at 10:38 am
Thank you Kristi!
December 15th, 2012 at 10:50 am
p.s. Maura I believe you can freeze yeasted dough but I’ve never tried it. I have done research in the past and if I remember correctly you must double the amount of yeast. The procedure for preparation is the same but after cutting doughnuts you would place on greased paper (again I would use the baking paper squares) and place in an airtight container (preferably 3 inches deep to allow room for second rise). When you are ready to enjoy, remove from freezer, uncover and loosely cover container with plastic wrap, place in a warm place away from drafts. Let rise for the second time. Then deep-fry as usual. I think I should try it next time because the dough makes a lot of doughnuts, like I said I usually share but it would be nice to have some on hand in the freezer to enjoy whenever the craving hits. Also would be nice if you know you’re having house guests, you could prepare the dough in advance and merely remove day of serving to fry off. I will post about it after testing. This process would also be good for bread making, setting aside one day to knead enough dough for 10 to 12 loaves then you could have fresh, warm out of the oven bread every couple of days or so.
December 16th, 2012 at 10:22 am
Having tried the perfection of the creaminess of the Italian chocolate, I would definitely go for this little bites!
December 19th, 2012 at 5:23 pm
Hi Grace,
no need to apologise, you always reply and I find it very generous of you. Thank you for the advices. In the end, the paper squares did make sense, althoug, having my daughter right next to me, did make things a bit slower that I would have wanted. I ended up putting the doughnuts on the uncut baking paper in the baking tin, only when I needed to cook them I cut it in squares while they were in the tin itself.
I hope I am making sense…I feel very sleepy and it is long past my bedtime…As the italians would say, “Vado a letto con le galline!;-)”. Forgive me but right now I can’t think of an equivalent in english.
December 19th, 2012 at 8:53 pm
What a great idea Maura, I’m having one of those knock my forehead moment, why didn’t I think of that? It never occurred to me to cut the squares right in the pan. I love the holidays but it’s definitely a stressful time and so busy. Hope you have a wonderful holiday Maura, all the best to you and your family.
December 20th, 2012 at 10:17 am
Thank you Grace,
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family too.
February 1st, 2013 at 3:29 pm
I tasted an Italian hot chocolate once here in Saudi Arabia (Cioconut Lounge), it costs a fortune but then it was so heavenly that I can’t forget it. Now I’ve found the recipe that I can always make whenever my taste buds look for one. THANKS TO YOU!
February 11th, 2013 at 12:02 pm
Lovely recipes to accompany chocolate. I shall be in touch when I’ve made the Zeppole!
February 12th, 2013 at 2:33 pm
Wonderful! Thank you I look forward to the feedback.