Zeppole, (plural of zeppola) or St. Joseph Day cakes are a cross between a cream puff and doughnut. Fried or baked, with or without a filling of custard, cannoli, or ricotta, zeppole are garnished with a maraschino cherry.

Eating zeppole or St. Joseph Day cakes on March 19th is a Catholic-Italian tradition that falls during the fasting season of Lent which precedes Easter. This tradition is believed to have begun in Sicily during the Middle Ages in the midst of a severe drought when people prayed to St. Joseph, their patron saint, for intervention. Promising to prepare a feast in his honor if their prayers were answered, the Sicilians kept their word by hosting a banquet to commemorate generosity and kindness.

Following this tradition in modern times, families gather together to feast at a table laden with elaborate foods including rich desserts such as zeppole.

In the United States, red is worn on St. Joseph’s Day for no significant reason other than complementing the tradition of wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day celebrated two days before. As St. Joseph is the patron saint of workers and the unemployed, prayers are often recited as part of the tradition. The practice of burying a statue of St. Joe in your yard on March 19th is said to help sell a home and find a new one.

Native Rhode Islanders or out-of-towners who wish to feast on baked or fried zeppole with filling - use your turn signals, aka “blinkers” in the Rhode Island vernacular, before pulling over to one of the state’s many select Italian bakeries.

Three worth braking for to get your Rhode fill of zeppole include these establishments:

Bachini’s Bakery (345 York Ave., Pawtucket)-this renowned family business spans 70 years of operation. In addition to their traditional zeppole filled with vanilla cream and topped with a maraschino cherry, they make both a rum-flavored and baker’s cream version for which they will not give out the recipe followed from their father.

La Salle Bakery (two locations- 993 Smith St. and 685 Admiral St., Providence)—in operation since 1930 on Smith St., their conventional baked zeppole of pate a choux filled with pastry cream is the biggest seller. Chef David Ricci estimates that ninety per cent of zeppole sold at the bakery are baked rather than fried. The bakery also produces zeppole stuffed with chocolate mousse, and those flavored with Baileys Irish cream filling.

Scialo Bros. Bakery (257 Atwells Ave., Providence)- owned and operated since 1916 on Providence's historic Federal Hill, all of their products are made from scratch on the premises in brick ovens that date back to the 1920's. Daughters of Luigi Scialo, Lois and Carol, sell their baked version all year long, and the fried for St. Joseph’s Day. They use two kinds of crème filling - yellow pastry cream and ricotta.

Rhode Island’s select Italian bakeries historically shrouded in flour and dough, boast of zeppole sales in the thousands in commemoration of St. Joseph’s Day and Easter. As our traditional baseball season looms in the horizon, batter up and try one, two, or more zeppole and score a homerun. Such crème de la crème pastry is never benched on bakery shelves for long during spring.


*Sit back and enjoy your Rhode fill of “The Making of Zeppole at LaSalle Bakery”