The jewel in the crown of Italian desserts
I first heard about Zabaglione in Meir Shalev’s book “The Loves of Judith.”
The fascinating visual description of egg yolks, sugar, and wine being boiled and whipped on a “Bain Marie” ignited my palate.
In those days of the early nineties, for us Israelis, the pinnacle of culinary was considered what contained melted hard cheese in the savory section and heavy cream in the sweet section. Anything else – will be seen as a poor and cheap imitation of the “real” thing. Surprisingly, I discovered that the Zabaglione is the jewel in the crown of Italian desserts.
At about the same time – Ruth Sirkis released the book “From the Microwave with Pleasure,” with a revolutionary version of the classic recipe of the Zabaglione – whipping and cooking alternately in the microwave.
The delightful result inspired me: I used to serve my guests (usually in the winter season) “Zabaglione Trifle” – a slice of orange sponge cake topped with a few tablespoons of fruit salad, and on top of everything, I generously poured warm Zabaglione which popped out of the microwave.
The years passed, and ICQ broke into the Internet at the end of the nineties. For the first time, it was possible to correspond and talk online with people worldwide. That’s how I met a charming Italian guy from Pisa. Alas, when I told him that I was making Zabaglione in the microwave, he almost fainted😅
Years have passed, and many waters flowed in the Tiber. Since you don’t step in the same river twice – many taboos have sunk into the abyss of oblivion, and thus, unconventional versions of the Zabaglione have become legitimate.
So I rolled up my sleeves, opened my head, and started thinking about how to make vegan Zabaglione without the taste of a disappointing compromise. It was a real challenge as this classic recipe is based on egg yolks.
It was clear that I would replace the egg yolks with Vegan Egg Yolk Sauce, responsible for many recipes on the blog.
However, unlike egg yolks, which become fluffy when beaten, vegan yolk sauce, although very similar to the original, doesn’t get an airy texture as is.
That’s when an image of soft chickpea water meringue popped into my mind. I could see in my mind’s eye how it creates together, with a vegan yolk sauce, velvety and airy duet.
Furthermore, one of the advantages of the vegan version, in addition to the healthy ones, is that there is no need to cook the Zabaglione in a double pot or the microwave (thereby risking getting a scrambled egg)
The original recipe contains Marsala wine – a fortified sweet wine made in Sicily, usually with an amber hue; I find that a Muscat wine, or even Emerald Riesling, achieves an excellent result!
This stunning dessert has several serving options: pour it into dessert glasses, garnish with grated orange peel, strawberries, and berries, and serve with vegan lady fingers to dip.
You can also make “trifle Zabaglione”: Put a slice of vegan orange sponge cake on a serving plate (recipe coming soon).
Next, top it with a rich fruit salad, and finally, pour over a few tablespoons of warm Zabaglione.
In both options, the result is stunning.
You can serve the Zabaglione warm or chilled.
Give yourself and your loved ones an impressive heavenly dessert with minimal effort😋❣
Enjoy, and let me know how it turned out 😋❣
RECIPE
Vegan Zabaglione
4-6 Servings
- 2 Tablespoon vegan butter 30 grams
- ½ Tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes
- 1 tsp corn starch
- ⅛ tsp Xanthan Gum
- 1/16 tsp ground turmeric Or a pinch more, depending on the desired yellowish shade
- 1/16 tsp paprika
- ¼ cup marsala wine or any sweet white wine
- ¼ cup unsweetened plant-based milk
- ⅛ tsp black salt kala namak
- ¼ cup aquafaba chickpea water from a can
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- ⅛ tsp salt
- ¼-⅓ cup sugar by taste
Serving Options
- vegan lady fingers
- vegan orange sponge cake
- Roasted coffee beans, grated orange peel, strawberry, berries, fruit salad
- Start with "vegan egg yolk" sauce: in a small saucepan, melt vegan butter over low heat, stirring constantly.
- Add nutritional yeast, corn starch, xanthan gum, turmeric, and paprika, and mix well.
- Add wine and milk and mix well. Increase to medium heat and cook, stirring, until it thickens. Remove from heat, and set aside to cool.
- Put the aquafaba in a deep bowl, preferably of metal. Whip at low speed for a few seconds until bubbles start to show.** (See note at the end of the recipe). Add salt and vinegar and whip until foam begins to form.
- Increasing to the highest speed; using a spoon, add sugar gradually and whip until you get a stable, soft meringue.
- Add black salt to the yolk sauce and mix well. Add the yolk sauce to the meringue gradually, using a spatula-spoon with folding movements until combined.
Serving Options
- Pour into champagne or dessert glasses, sprinkle with grated orange peel, strawberries, or berries, and serve with vegan lady fingers.
- Trifle Zabaglione: Place a slice of orange sponge cake on a serving plate. Next, add 2-4 Tablespoons of fruit salad, pour Zabaglione generously over the fruits, and serve.
- Serve Zabaglione warm or chilled.
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