Vanilla Bean Zabaglione with Berries

Picture from "TheItaliandishblog.com"

serves 4

• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoon dry Marsala wine
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split seeds scraped out
• 1 Tablespoon orange juice
• 1 cup raspberries
• 1 cup blackberries
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Chambord (optional, but yummy) 

Whip the cream until it is stiff and place in the refrigerator. 

Prepare an ice bath (just a large bowl filled with ice water) and set aside.  Fill a medium saucepan with about 2 inches of water, place on the stove and bring the water to a simmer.

In a medium size stainless steel bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar, wine, vanilla bean seeds and orange juice until blended.  Set the bowl over the simmering water and whisk until the mixture is thick, about 5-8 minutes.  It can take as long as 10 minutes.  Make sure the water is just barely simmering and not boiling - you do not want to cook the eggs, but gently heat them up. 

When the mixture is thick, turn off the heat and place the bottom of the bowl in the ice bath to cool down (make sure to not get any water into the mixture).  Whisk for a couple of minutes until the mixture has cooled down. Fold the whipped cream into the mixture.  (At this point, you can refrigerate the mixture until you are ready to use it).

Place the berries, the sugar and the Chambord in a bowl and gently toss.  Divide into 4 glasses.  Top with the zabaglione.

make ahead tip:  you can make the zabaglione ahead of time (folding in the whipped cream or not) if you like and then assemble before serving.  

The Italian Dish
theitaliandishblog.com