Sabayon

Sabayon
Four to six servings


Adapted from Ready for Dessert


Any kind of white wine that you like will work well for sabayon; dry, sweet, or sparkling. I do tend to prefer sweeter dessert wines because their flavor is a little more concentrated. Wines like late-harvest Riesling, Sauternes, Muscat, or a wine that is richly flavored is good. You can use Marsala if you want to make traditional zabaglione. If you’re avoiding alcohol, you can use a non-alcoholic sparkling cider instead, perhaps adding a few drops of lemon juice, to balance any sweetness.
Sabayon is lovely spooned over any kind or mix of juicy berries; toss them in a bit of sugar and let them sit for an hour or so, turning them gently to encourage the juices to really start flowing. Sabayon can also be used in place of whipped cream alongside a wedge of moist Almond Cake or heaped in a bowl, paired with a scoop of ice-cold orange sorbet – the hot/cold contrast is great.


2/3 cup (160 ml) white wine, dry or sweet
1/3 cup (65 g) sugar
6 large egg yolks


1. In a large, heatproof bowl, whisk together the wine and sugar. Then whisk in the egg yolks.
2. Set to bowl over a pan of gently boiling water (the bottom of the bowl shouldn’t touch the water) and whisk vigorously until the mixture becomes frothy and stiff. You can slow down the speed, but if you need to stop whisking it, remove the bowl from the pan for as brief a time as possible.
3. The sabayon is ready when the mixture is thick and holds its shape when you lift the whisk and let some of the mixture drop back into the bowl.
4. Pile the berries and their juices into a glass and top each with warm sabayon. You can sprinkle them with crumbled amaretti cookies, if desired.