At Italian bakeries in Montreal, zeppole mean spring is here

March 19 is Saint Joseph's Day,which is Father's Day in Italy and marks the arrival of spring.

Whatbetter way to mark the occasion than with a sweet pastry.

At La Cornetteria on St-Laurent Boulevard in Little Italy, the process starts early in the morning where baker Stefano Cicali arrives to make zeppole.

The key ingredients for the dough are butter, eggs and flour. Kneading the dough for the right amount of time is crucial to make sure the final result has a crispy texture.

"Ours tend to be a little crispy on the outside and nice and soft inside," says La Cornetteria co-owner,Cinzia Persechino.

Afterwards, the zeppole areshaped into round doughnuts and put in a deep fryer of hot oil, so that they come out light and crispy.

Once they've been fried, they arerolled around in sugarand then filled with either ricotta or custard.

At La Cornetteria, other flavours are also available includingpistachio and Nutella.

Zeppole

6 years ago

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Stephens compared it to a churro, onlyfluffier.

Persechino is also an big fan of the dessert.

"It is one of my favourite pastries," she says.

For her, the zeppolareminds her of Italy, where she lived for 10 years and met her husband, Cicali, with whom she co-owns the bakery.

"It brings me back to spring coming back to great weather abetter season here in Montreal after such a horrid winter."