Puff pastry, a silky vanilla custard and candied black cherries: Sal de Riso's puffs for March 19 deliver a bite full of nuances and genuine flavors.

For the bigné

250 g water;
100 g butter;
6 g salt;
250 g 00 flour;
400 g whole eggs (No. 8).

Boil the first three ingredients, add the sifted flour and cook for a few minutes over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon. Let the dough cool in a large container and add all the eggs in one go. Work the dough with an electric whisk until smooth and homogeneous. Using a pastry bag with an 18-mm-diameter curly tip, form the doughnut-shaped zeppoles on top of a sheet of greased baking paper.

Fry in hot oil at 180°C (350°F), tipping the sheet directly into the oil. Continue cooking on both sides until the zeppola puffs up and turns golden brown.

For the custard

400 g fresh whole milk;
100 g fresh liquid cream;
180 g egg yolks (No. 9);
150 g sugar;
40 g cornstarch;
2 g salt;
1 peel of Amalfi Coast PGI lemon;
1/3 vanilla bean from the Bourbon Islands.

For the custard, boil the milk, cream, and salt with the lemon peel and vanilla bean seeds in a small saucepan. Separately, in a large saucepan emulsify the egg yolks well with the sugar, add the cornstarch and after it is well incorporated pour in the boiling milk and cream. Mix well with a whisk and bring to a temperature of 86°C. Pour the cream quickly into a steel container and cover with clingfilm on contact to prevent the formation of pellicles. Cool the cream directly in the freezer or in a small blast chiller.

Cake composition

Allow to cool, cut in half and stuff the bottom of the zeppole, helping yourself with a pastry bag with a curly tip, with custard and chopped black cherries. Top with the other half of the cream puffs and decorate the center with a spike of custard. Dust with powdered sugar and decorate with candied black cherries.