Best Dessert We Ate Last Weekend: Pizzeria Stella's Nutella Zeppole

Story and photo by Danya Henninger

Though the dessert menu at Pizzeria Stella lists only one item - housemade gelato, made from a “secret family recipe” - over the weekend we ran into what we can only hope becomes the second treat on the list. At a Sunday stand at the Headhouse Farmers Market, the Stephen Starr pizza house was giving out samples of Nutella zeppole - airy rounds of deep-fried dough hiding creamy centers of the hazelnut spread. Turns out, chef Shane Solomon was testing the treat in prep for Stella’s Italian beer garden, going down on June 7 as part of Philly Beer Week.

Solomon created a simple, yeast-based dough for the bites, which fluffs up so much when fried that it’s nearly weightless. Plenty of room, then, for a squeeze of Piedmont’s famous nut spread, which seeps into every nook and cranny of the airy interior. A bite brings together the warm, sugary cream with the not-too-sweet donut in perfect accord. We suggest you head to Thursday’s outdoor brew celebration, taking place 5-10 PM under the Headhouse Shambles because as much as we appealed, there are no plans to add these pop-able delicacies to the Stella rotation any time soon (215-320-8000).