If you’re an Ina Garten fan, you wait for the next cookbook like cheese waits for crackers…or actually, that might be “crusty bread” or “good baguette” if you’re Ina-smart. I was sure; I would have sworn I preordered this book. After all, I have tickets to see Ina in Denver on November 19 while she’s on the book tour. I’ve pushed it on this very blog. (No, I get no cash from Ina.)
Why wouldn’t I have preordered it? Day after day I watched the front porch to no avail. Finally I checked my amazon orders and there WAS NO INA ON ORDER! *$%&# Quick like a bunny, I punched it in with free shipping; I’m amazon prime. It arrived just in the nick of time for Ina Fridays and a Lasagna alla Bolognese birthday dinner I’m cooking for friends Saturday night. Phew. Et voila,
Now for the topping. We have eaten this dessert served warm and cold, over fresh fruit, with whipped cream and with biscotti. Ina’s version serves it cold, layered with crumbled amaretti cookies. However, if you layer the cookies in the zabaglione and chill overnight, they get mushy. I recommend adding them just before serving for a crunchy amaretto topping. I purchased the cookies at our local Italian market … love the red can!
Upon returning from Rome, I purchased a round-bottomed copper pot to make Tom’s new favorite dessert, but after whisking for what seemed like hours, the end result was just ok. I don’t even know where that pot is these days, and I haven’t tried to make that recipe since then. Recently I came across a Barefoot Contessa recipe for Make-Ahead Zabaglione. Any recipe that is make-ahead has my name on it … PLUS Ina said it only had to be whisked for 5 to 7 minutes. I’m in! If you have not tried Marsala wine it is an Italian fortified wine that comes in sweet or dry styles. Ina’s recipe called for Florio dry but the only one they had at the store was sweet so we went with that. According to Cook’s Illustrated, the dry Marsala has more depth of flavor while the sweet is more sweet and not as complex, but either will work. Couple of suggestions, be sure to use fresh eggs. You can quickly check by floating them in a glass of water, if they float to the top, they are no longer fresh. Also, Ina’s recipe calls for superfine sugar because it dissolves faster, but regular granulated sugar will work just as well. Last, but most importantly, do not walk away from this dessert or it will be a lumpy ruined mess. So, how to tell when it is done? From Serious Eats, “The whisk will leave tracks in the zabaglione as it moves through it, and it will mound easily…. Lift the whisk up and let some of the zabaglione fall back onto itself. Count how long it takes before the fallen shape flattens, and when that point reaches 8 seconds, you’re done.” Ina’s recipe says the “froth will disappear and the whisk will leave a little trail in the mixture.” This took about 10 minutes for me.
Ingredients: 6 extra-large egg yolks (save the whites for something else) ¾ cup dry or sweet Italian Marsala wine (see note) ½ cup granulated or superfine sugar ¼ teaspoon pure almond extract ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract ¾ cup cold heavy cream Fresh berries for serving, optional 4 Amaretti cookies, lightly crushed Directions: In a large heat-proof glass bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and Marsala together until the sugar is completely dissolved. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water to make a double boiler and whisk the mixture almost constantly until it expands in volume and thickens (see note above). Off heat, whisk in the almond and vanilla extracts and let cool to room temperature, whisking occasionally, about 30 minutes. After the zabaglione has come to room temperature, place the cold cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or use a hand mixer) and beat it until it forms firm peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the cooled zabaglione mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for a few hours or overnight.
So, what captured Tom’s heart so completely? It’s actually pretty simple … egg yolks, sugar and Marsala wine whisked into a sumptuously creamy boozy dessert. On our Roman holiday it was served warm, and we recently had a terrific version at Fino in San Francisco which was poured straight from the copper mixing bowl over fresh berries tableside.
Every vacation Tom falls in love with a new dessert. One year it was panna cotta, the next year tarte tatin. On an evening in Roma in 2009 Tom “met and fell in love” with zabaglione, or as it is called in Italia, zabaione.
If you’re an Ina Garten fan, you wait for the next cookbook like cheese waits for crackers…or actually, that might be “crusty bread” or “good baguette” if you’re Ina-smart. I was sure; I would have sworn I preordered this book. After all, I have tickets to see Ina in Denver on November 19 while she’s on the book tour. I’ve pushed it on this very blog. (No, I get no cash from Ina.)
Why wouldn’t I have preordered it? Day after day I watched the front porch to no avail. Finally I checked my amazon orders and there WAS NO INA ON ORDER! *$%&# Quick like a bunny, I punched it in with free shipping; I’m amazon prime. It arrived just in the nick of time for Ina Fridays and a Lasagna alla Bolognese birthday dinner I’m cooking for friends Saturday night. Phew. Et voila,
It’s not exactly kosher to imbed youtube videos in posts without explicit permission–even if the “embed” option is enabled. Sigh; it’s so tempting when there’s something so sweet. If you’d like to watch an Italian cook make some zabaglione very quickly, click here and try out your Italian! You can sort of figure out most of it and her long-practiced technique makes it look so easy. There you go; you can now make zabaglione! It’s just a sweet soft custard with a lot of eggs and a lot of wine. I’ve made it a time or two before; it’s simple and wondrous on fresh summer berries or as a drizzle underneath them in a shallow bowl.
Ina’s directions say you can make this dessert two days ahead, but I’m not stretching my luck; I don’t need this dessert until Saturday night and it’s a warm Thursday afternoon. I’ll make mine in the morning, which is Friday, and, so, if you’re looking at my post uber-early, you won’t see my photos. I’ll get up early, make the custard, and put them together when the photographs will work. Like many food bloggers, I depend upon natural light unless it’s a wretched push-come-to-shove like a 3-day cooking marathon that ends at 7pm and won’t be repeated for another year. Such as in cassoulet. My cassoulet pictures are all horrible, horrible. They’re all brown to begin with. Well, let’s not go there. I need to make it and have it get done at 9am sometime. Not right before Christmas Eve worship. At ANY RATE, ALYCE….
While I can typically find nearly all of the ingredients for Ina’s recipes — even if the quality isn’t what it is on Long Island (I’m thinking the meat, fish, herbs, flowers, smoked salmon and cheese she unwraps…) — Colorado Springs pulled a great big zippola on the amaretti cookies. We have a small, lovable Italian deli– Mollica’s— Dave and I eat at once a month or so. Mollica’s sells fresh pasta, frozen lasagna and sauces, imported pastas, canned goods, sweets, and and makes a mean grinder, pizza, salad, or plate of spaghetti. At Christmas they have treats like amaretti, but alas, those shipments haven’t yet come in. I could order them from amazon dot com, but I doubt they’d arrive in time. Punt it is. I choose to punt with biscotti that I’ll crush, drizzle with Amaretto, let dry, and then use to layer the custard called zabaglione. When I think of the times armaretti–purchased at Mollica’s — have gone stale in my cupboards…
How to Make ZABAGLIONE RECIPE Like my Italian Great Grandfather
FAQ
Can you reheat zabaglione?
What is the difference between sabayon and zabaglione?
Why won’t my zabaglione thicken?
What is the flavor of zabaglione?
Can you make Zabaglione ahead of time?
Make ahead: Zabaglione is best served immediately after it’s made, as it will deflate and lose its frothy texture quickly. However, if you’d like to make it ahead of time, you can let it cool for 15 minutes, then fold it into 1/2 cup freshly whipped cream. Cover and refrigerate for up to 6 hours and serve chilled.
How to make Zabaglione?
Heat a large pot halfway with water. Your mixing bowl should be able to sit on top of it without touching the water. Separate the eggs, put the yolks in a large mixing bowl and store the white in the fridge or for another use. Zabaglione is really simple to make. Mix the egg yolks and sugar together with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy.
How long does it take to make Zabaglione?
All you need is a pot of boiling water and a whisk to pull it off, and it’s ready in less than ten minutes. What Is Zabaglione? Zabaglione is the Italian version of sabayon, a custardy dessert sauce made with egg yolks, sugar and wine. While it’s traditionally made with marsala, you can change up the wine depending on what fruit you have on hand.
How do you cook Zabaglione?
The bottom of the bowl should not touch the water. Whisk continuously until the custard becomes stiff and is two to three times its original size. The mixture should be about 160°F and coat the back of a spoon. Remove the zabaglione from the heat and serve it immediately.