Zabaglione! Otherwise known as Sabayon, otherwise known as a whipped, pourable custard made with eggs and sugar and a little Marsala wine, otherwise known as the closest thing to heaven you can have for dessert. It is one of those desserts that you can make in the 15 minutes after supper while folks are chatting around the dinner table, and I promise that when they take that first delectable spoonful they are going to forget just for a minute that chocolate desserts ever existed in the world. It’s that good.
Unlike other custards, zabaglione is more of a sauce, and its a sauce that is the star of the show, but it needs something to be poured over. At this time of the year I like to pour it over these babies.
Cheery little blueberries. I try and use a two to one ratio of blueberries to zabaglione, but I highly recommend experimenting. Lots and lots of experimenting.
Strawberries and blackberries are also fabulous with zabaglione. Or peaches! Peaches just occurred to me as I was typing! I’m definitely trying this next with peaches!
If you want to give your lucky eaters a generous serving of zabaglione you can dish it out in a champagne glass or a little ice cream dish as in the picture above. But if you want just a little perfect taste of something sweet after a big dinner, I often serve it in shot glasses. Fill them two thirds of the way with blueberries or chopped strawberries, then spoon over a couple or three tablespoons of warm zabaglione. Just. Plain. Perfect.
I’m off to find some peaches now!
Zabaglione!
- 4 egg yolks
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ¼ cup Marsala wine (or other sweet wine)
- Berries or chopped peaches for serving
- Put egg yolks, sugar and wine in the top of a double boiler over simmering water.
- Using a hand-held electric mixer on high speed, whip the ingredients until they are smooth and slightly thickened, about 5-8 minutes. The custard will increase in volume as you whip it.
- Cool slightly, then pour over fruit.