This is a nice and easy dessert, perfect for a festive dinner at the end of the year (or for Christmas!). You can make it a day in advance. It will taste better and have a firmer texture.
You do not need to use pasteurized egg yolks as for the tiramisu because you're actually pasteurizing the fresh yolks during the au bain marie cooking phase.
Use the best ingredients such as organic eggs and cream AND some real Italian amaretti (macaroons). Amaretti are much crispier - and tastier - than the Dutch version we're used to in this beautiful country - Holland, thus :) - and provide a much better result. You can find them at good Italian specialty stores and you may also want to order them online like many other Italian products.
For a sweeter touch you can use sweet dessert wine instead of dry white wine.
Zabaione con amaretti e frutti di bosco
(sabayon with amaretti and mixed berries)
Serves 4-6:
4-6 egg yolks
4-6 tablespoons of castor sugar
1 dl dry white wine or sweet dessert wine
4 dl whipping cream
2 vanilla sugar sachets
50 gr. amaretti (Italian macaroons) plus 4-6 to garnish
1 cup mixed berries
fresh mint leaves
Put the egg yolks with the sugar in a heatproof bowl (preferably made of Pyrex glass).
Stir and beat the eggs with the aid of an (electric) whisk until you they're light and fluffy. The mixture is supposed to become lighter in color and very creamy.
Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water so that the mixture can get thicker. The bowl should not directly touch the hot water otherwise you get scrambled eggs!
Stir in the wine, little by little, and keep on stirring until the mixture starts to bind.
It is important that the mixture doesn't get too hot because then the proteins in the yolks would coagulate and the zabaione would no longer be creamy.
When the zabaione is creamy and thicker put it aside and let it cool.
Whip the cream with the vanilla sugar. Don't whip it too long otherwise the cream gets all lumpy and actually becomes butter.
Add the whipped cream to the cooled zabaione and stir that in till you obtain a smooth and creamy mixture.
Crumble a few amaretti in every single serving bowl to create a thin layer of crumbs.
Distribute the creamy zabaione between all the bowls and store in the refrigerator until serving.
Before serving, garnish each bowl with 1 cookie, a few berries and a mint leaf.
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