Wedding Anniversary, Part 4 ~ Sparkling Wine Sabayon

The grand finale of our wedding anniversary dinner was a decadent custard dessert called a Sparkling Wine Sabayon served over fresh berries. I followed this recipe closely, however I quartered it to accommodate fewer guests. I used an individual can of Sophia Blanc de Blancs instead of a whole bottle of bubbly since it was just a romantic dinner for two, not 12. We still ended up with quite a bit leftover for the next few days. With the portions I served we ended up with about 7 servings using a lot of fruit and a little custard. That’s the way I lighted this one a bit. 🙂 The ingredients are very rich, but you only need a little bit on top of fresh berries to make a splash. I hope you’ll give this one a try! It’s simple but special.

Sparkling Wine Sabayon

From DomaineChandon.com

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

One 750ml bottle of Chandon Brut Classic

1 dozen large egg yolks

2 cups heavy cream

Whisk

Double boiler or Pyrex® bowl and saucepan

(If you’d like to quarter the recipe like we did, the amounts are as follows:

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

One can of Sophia Blanc de Blancs or about 187 milliliters of another inexpensive sparkling wine

3 large egg yolks

1/2 cup heavy cream­)

Preparation time: 50 minutes.

1. In a saucepan, bring the water, sugar and vanilla extract to a boil. Reduce heat to medium high and cook, without stirring, to a light golden caramel (about 10 minutes). Add wine and simmer until reduced to 2 cups (about 20 minutes).

2. Beat the egg yolks lightly in the Pyrex bowl or the top of the double boiler. Very slowly, whisk in 1/4 cup of the hot wine and caramel mixture until blended. Slowly whisk in the remaining caramel. Set the mixture over a saucepan, or the bottom of the double boiler, filled with 1 inch of simmering water. Cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until the custard thickens enough to form a ribbon when it falls from the whisk (about 10 minutes). Transfer the custard to a bowl and let cool, then refrigerate until chilled.

3. Whip the cream just until firm. Fold into the wine custard and transfer to a serving bowl; serve cold.

The mixture obtained in steps 1 and 2 can be refrigerated up to two days.

Serve over fresh berries, peaches or figs.

Makes 12 servings.

A sweet ending to a sweet celebration. Bon appétit!