Zeppole with Orange Sugar & Chocolate Sauce

Ingredients for zeppole:
1 stick butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup all purpose flour
4 eggs
1 T orange zest
vegetable oil, for frying

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Ingredients for orange sugar:
1 T orange zest
1/2 cup sugar

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Ingredients for chocolate sauce:
3/4 cup cream
1 cup (8 ounces) bittersweet chocolate chips

Preparing the orange sugar:
Place the orange zest and sugar in a food processor. Pulse the machine until the mixture is blended. Set the sugar into a wide and shallow dish. Set
aside.

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Preparing the chocolate sauce:
Heat the cream in a small saucepan until hot but not boiling. Pour cream over the chocolate and stir until the mixture is smooth. Transfer the chocolate sauce into a dipping dish. Serve the zeppole alongside the chocolate sauce for dipping.

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Preparing the zeppole:
In a medium saucepan combine the butter, salt, sugar, and water over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the flour. Return the pan to low heat and stir continuously until the mixture forms a ball, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Using an electric hand mixer on low speed, add eggs, 1 at a time, incorporating each egg completely before adding the next. Add the orange zest and beat until smooth. Set aside.

Pour enough oil into a large frying pan to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 degrees F.

Using a small ice-cream scoop or 2 small spoons, carefully drop about a tablespoon of the dough into the hot oil. Turn the zeppole once or twice, cooking until golden and puffed up, about 5 minutes. Transfer the cooked zeppole to the dish with the orange sugar. Roll to coat in the sugar. Continue frying the remaining dough.

Serves 4