Rachel Roddy's zabaione recipe

What expands but doesn't fill up and immediately disappears? Zabaione! I've spent way too much time this week thinking about how to guess what might be my favorite pudding: a boozy, hot, puffy custard. Riddles that turned into terrible jokes after reading Sophia Loren's wonderful and dashing description of how in southern Italy there is a custom of giving newlyweds a good stiff zabaione, "the implication being that newlyweds will need all the strength they can get as they put their backs to the early days of marriage."

I did zabaione recently , with a friend who lives in paradise, in a house surrounded by a wild garden, on the edge of Lago Maggiore.Although it can be prepared in advance (and stored in the refrigerator), we agree that it is preferable to prepare and eat it immediately. So after a meal of gnocchi and vitello tonnato (which I will write about one day), we stood in front of his stove in our socks, very Sophia Loren, and set up a bath- Marie and a mixture of egg yolk, sugar and fortified wine.

Zabaione, zabaglione, sambayon… different names have different stories. In Piedmont, the old name of sambayon is apparently named after San Pasquale Baylón. In Tuscany, like other sweets, it dates back to the court of Catherine de' Medici, while the Venetian version may have arrived from Illyria as zabaja. Meanwhile, the Treccani Encyclopedia only notes that zabaione is an onomatopoeia, from northern Italy and refers to the action of mescolanza - mixture, or guazzabuglio , a confused mixture of various material or abstract things.

The suggestions for the proportions of the mixture are also varied. While many recipes suggest equal amounts of yolk, sugar and fortified wine, others call for quite extreme amounts of sugar and different amounts of alcohol: lots or very little, sometimes three or even four times as much. than sugar. Of course, it all depends on the fortified wine you use, with vin santo being sweeter than dry marsala, although some recipes call for sweet marsala. Then there are recipes that use rum, or coffee, a dish that is also calleduovo sbattuto,beaten egg.

I use dry marsala, leave the egg yolks on top and the tablespoons help. A medium egg yolk is 18g (more or less), and I add a tablespoon of caster sugar (12g) and a tablespoon of marsala (15ml). For me, these are the ideal proportions for a well-balanced serving of zabaione – sweet, but not too much; dazed, but not drunk. Simply multiply by the number of people; so for four servings, in a balanced bowl over simmering water, whisk four yolks and four tablespoons powdered sugar until lightly frothy, then gradually add four tablespoons dry marsala and continue whisking until cooked.

To begin with, the mixture froths like a bath after a half-hearted splash, but after whisking constantly for six or seven minutes (either by hand or with an electric whisk), something quite miraculous happens; it thickens and expands up to three or four times its original volume. What happens is due to the proteins in the yolk: disrupted by the stirring, and aided by the heat and acidity of the wine, the protein molecules unwrap to action and coat the air bubbles, which bind together, causing a expansion. The key is to make sure the simmer stays low so the mixture never overheats. And stop at the right time, when the zabaione is swollen, thick and stable: the whisk leaves furrows and retains the cream inside, but soft rather than sticky and overcoagulated; airy and creamy as opposed to shaving foam.

The other reason to keep zabaione fairly soft is so people can decide whether to eat it with a spoon, pick it up with a sponge or cat's tongue biscuit, or drink it. That's why I serve zabaione in cups; I'm attached to some amber glasses from Vincenzo's grandmother, which come in the same set as a triangular salad bowl, ideal for the cream, which also needs to be whipped and, although optional, usually disappears without a trace.

Prepare 15 minCook 10 minFor 4 people

4 medium egg yolks 4 tbsp caster sugar4 tbsp dry marsala

In a bowl set over (but not touching) gently simmering water, whisk the yolks and sugar until frothy. You can use a hand or electric whisk for this.

While whisking, add the marsala gradually, and continue whisking, constantly and fairly firmly until the expansive mix...