Zabaglione

     
Zabaglione pronounced zah-bahl-YOH-nay (also know as zabaione, sabayon, or zabajone), is a delicious, light and creamy desert.  In Italian it means “foaming.”  The origin of zabaglione is uncertain, but some think it  came from either Venice or Naples.

I recently had an opportunity to test this desert in a restaurant and when I got home, I tried making  it myself.  It turns out that it is actually very easy (and much cheaper) to make yourself.

Here are the ingredients and instructions (serves 4):

• White soft cake or other soft pastry shell
• 6 egg yolks
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 3/4 c. Marsala wine
• 1 cup of heavy cream, whipped
• 1 t .vanilla
• 1 c. of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc.

Place the eggs and the sugar in a stainless steel bowl and whisk them vigorously until the mixture looks creamy.

Place a double boiler on the range and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat until the water is gently simmering.

Gradually, add the wine to the egg-sugar mixture and place the bowl on the top of the pot with the boiling water. Using a small sauce whisk, whisk the mixture until it starts to thicken and becomes lightly foamy, but make sure that your bowl does not get too hot.
Once it is nicely thickened, remove it from the heat and let it cool off. You can place it in the refrigerator to cool quickly if you’d like.

In a stainless steel bowl mix the heavy cream with the vanilla and whisk vigorously until you get soft peaks.

Fold the custard into the the whipped cream and leave it in a stainless steel bowl until serving time.
Place a slice of soft cake on a plate, cover it with a scoop of the zabaglione custard and decorate with the fruit.

Buon Appetito!