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Looking for an easy, elegant dessert that’s more than a microwavable mug cake? Zabaglione (also zabaione or, in French, sabayon) is a custard-mousse hybrid from Northern Italy that comes together with just five ingredients and one bowl. You might recognize it from that other classic Italian dessert, tiramisu, where zabaglione is often folded into mascarpone before layering with espresso-soaked savoiardi biscuits.
Here, we’ve swapped the traditional Marsala wine for prosecco, which gives the zabaglione a lighter, frothier texture. Serve warm in dessert cups with fresh fruit—strawberries in spring, raspberries, blackberries, or sliced plums in summer, or citrus in winter—and with crisp cookies like biscotti or amaretti.
Tips and FAQs for zabaglione
- How is zabaglione different from custard?
Traditional zabaglione recipes use just egg yolks, sugar, and wine—no milk or starch—making it lighter and frothier than custard. (Save those egg whites for an omelet or pavlova.) - Which wine works best?
While dry marsala—a type of fortified wine—is traditional, we prefer Prosecco (or Cava or another dry sparkling white wine) here for its ability to make this delicious dessert extra light. Avoid sweet sparkling wines; their high sugar content will throw the zabaglione out of balance. - Can I use a hand mixer to beat the eggs?
If whisking for 10 minutes feels daunting, you can absolutely use an electric hand mixer on low speed to keep the egg mixture moving. Remember to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula to ensure even cooking, and note that the time it takes to reach a pale yellow froth will be reduced by 1–2 minutes. - Should I serve it warm or cold?
This version is served warm, but zabaglione can also be served at room temperature or cold. For a chilled version, set the bowl of zabaglione inside a larger bowl filled with ice water. You can further stabilize the cold version by gently folding in stiffly whipped cream.
Recipe information
Total Time
15 minutes
Yield
4–6 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Pour water into a medium saucepan to come 2" up sides and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
Step 2
Whisk 5 large egg yolks, ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar, and ¼ tsp. Diamond Crystal or Morton kosher salt in a large heatproof metal or glass bowl until pale yellow and creamy, about 1 minute, then whisk in ½ cup sparkling white wine.
Step 3
Place bowl over simmering water and heat, whisking constantly and scraping down sides of bowl occasionally, until mixture is lightened in color, thickened, frothy, and about doubled in volume, 7–10 minutes. (When you lift the whisk, mixture should fall back onto itself in a ribbon that momentarily holds its shape.) Remove from heat and whisk in 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice. Taste and add more lemon juice if desired. Whisk until zabaglione has cooled slightly, about 1 minute.
Step 4
Spoon zabaglione into glasses and serve with cookies and/or sliced fruit as desired.
Recipe notes
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