Ready for Dessert (44 page)

Sabayon is the French version of Italian zabaglione, an airy egg-and-wine custard. It requires a certain amount of energy—and strength—to whip up a batch. If you’ve ever heard a frenzy of whisking coming from the kitchen at an Italian restaurant, you’ve heard why many Italian cooks (especially the sturdy grandmas) have such well-developed arms. But one lick of the boozy, frothy dessert is enough to make you forget those few furious minutes of whipping. If you don’t think you’re up to the task, you can use an electric handheld mixer. But I always feel that if I’ve worked hard to make something, I’ve earned the right to eat it.

You can serve the sabayon hot from the stove, although here, it is cooled and whipped cream is added so it can be held before serving.

7 large egg yolks

⅓ cup (65 g) sugar

⅔ cup (160 ml) Champagne or other sparkling wine

½ cup (125 ml) heavy cream

Fill a large bowl with ice water.

In a large heatproof bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and Champagne or other sparkling wine. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk vigorously and constantly. The mixture will first become frothy, then as you continue to whisk, thick and creamy. When the mixture holds its shape when you lift the whisk, remove the bowl from the heat. Set the bowl in the ice water bath and whisk gently until cooled.

In a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment (or in a bowl by hand), whisk the cream on medium-high speed until it holds soft peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the sabayon.

STORAGE:
Sabayon can be refrigerated for up to 2 days, but it is best used the day it’s made.

VARIATIONS:
Don’t limit yourself to sabayon flavored with Champagne. In Italy, the traditional flavoring is Marsala, but any dry or sweet white wine is also delicious.

To make
CIDER SABAYON
, use 6 large egg yolks and replace the Champagne with ½ cup (125 ml) sparkling apple cider and ¼ cup (60 ml) applejack or Calvados.

MAKES 2 CUPS (500 ML)

A wonderful revolution has taken place in America over the last decade: small local dairies have been sprouting up all across the land and many of them are producing heavy cream with rich, unmistakable, and honest-to-goodness flavor. Once you taste real cream, you’ll never want to use the bland ultrapasteurized stuff that has taken over supermarket dairy cases.

For whipped cream, the freshest non-ultrapasteurized cream not only tastes the best, but it whips up much better. I highly recommend tracking some down. Make sure the cream is very cold before whipping, and if the weather is warm, chill the bowl and the whisk ahead of time.

1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream

1 tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

In a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment (or in a bowl by hand), whisk the cream on medium-high speed until it just begins to hold its shape.

Add the sugar and vanilla and continue to whisk on medium-high speed just until the cream mounds gently. Don’t whip it until it is superstiff, or it will become grainy.

STORAGE:
Whipped cream is best used the same day you make it. If whipped in advance, it may be necessary to rewhisk it slightly just before serving, because it tends to separate as it sits.

VARIATION:
If you like specks of vanilla seed in your whipped cream, split ½ vanilla bean and scrape its seeds into the cream before whipping it.

To flavor whipped cream with a spirit such as Cognac, rum, whiskey, or Grand Marnier, fold in a few tablespoons to taste once the cream is sweetened and fully whipped.

MAKES 1½ CUPS (375 ML)

This thin sauce with a fiery personality adds a direct hit of liquor, tempered by caramel, to any dessert that it’s drizzled over. I particularly like it made with Armagnac, Cognac’s rowdy cousin, and paired with
Creamy Rice Pudding
. If you wish, you can use bourbon, rum, or any favorite liquor in place of the Cognac.

1 cup (200 g) sugar

⅓ cup (80 ml) plus ½ cup (125 ml) water

Pinch of cream of tartar or a few drops of lemon juice

¾ cup (180 ml) Cognac

Spread the sugar in an even layer in a medium heavy-bottomed skillet or saucepan. Pour the ⅓ cup (80 ml) water over the sugar to dampen it, but don’t stir. Cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and add the cream of tartar or lemon juice. Continue to cook without stirring, but swirling the pan if the sugar clumps or begins to brown unevenly. When the caramel turns dark amber in color and begins to foam a bit, remove from the heat and immediately add the remaining ½ cup (125 ml) water. The caramel will bubble up vigorously, then the bubbling will subside. Stir with a heatproof utensil until any hardened bits of caramel completely dissolve. Let cool completely, then stir in the Cognac. Serve at room temperature.

STORAGE:
This sauce can be stored at room temperature or refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

MAKES ABOUT 1½ CUPS (375 ML)

Burnt caramel is all the rage lately, and for good reason. The slightly bitter notes counter the sugar’s sweetness so that the result is a complex and balanced flavor, not just direct sweetness. It’s important to stop cooking the caramel at just the right moment, which is only a few seconds before it’s scorched. Recipes often advise cooking the caramel until it just begins to smoke, but it isn’t until it begins to foam a bit that its best flavor comes forward.

To one-up burnt caramel, you can make salted-butter burnt caramel sauce by using salted butter and stirring in additional salt (preferably flaky sea salt) to taste. It’s delicious!

½ cup (4 ounces/115 g) unsalted or salted butter, cut into pieces

1 cup (200 g) sugar

1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

⅛ teaspoon salt, or more to taste

In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan or a Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar begins to caramelize, then turns dark amber in color and begins to foam a bit (it should smell and look like it’s just on the verge of burning). Remove from the heat and immediately add the heavy cream. Stir until the sauce is smooth, then stir in the vanilla and salt. Let cool, then taste, and add more salt, if desired. Serve the sauce warm.

STORAGE:
This sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Rewarm before serving.

MAKES 1 CUP (250 ML)

I make this sauce with blood oranges when they’re available because I like the deep, vivid color their juice adds. One of my favorite and simplest of desserts is a platter of chilled navel and blood orange slices scribbled with this tangy-sweet sauce and sprinkled with chopped pistachios. But this sauce is also good drizzled over a neat slab of
Gâteau Victoire
or a serving of
Ricotta Cheesecake with Orange and Aniseed
.

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (230 g) sugar

⅓ cup (80 ml) water

A pinch of cream of tartar or a few drops of lemon juice

¾ cup (180 ml) freshly squeezed orange juice

Spread the sugar in an even layer in a medium heavy-bottomed skillet or saucepan. Pour the water over the sugar to dampen it, but don’t stir. Cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and add the cream of tartar or lemon juice. Continue to cook, without stirring, but swirling the pan if the sugar clumps or begins to brown unevenly. When the caramel turns dark amber in color and begins to foam a bit, remove from the heat and immediately add half of the orange juice. The caramel will bubble up vigorously, then the bubbling will subside. Stir with a heatproof utensil until any hardened bits of caramel completely dissolve. Let cool for 3 minutes, then stir in the remaining orange juice. Serve the sauce at room temperature.

STORAGE:
This sauce can be stored at room temperature or refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

MAKES ABOUT 1½ CUPS (375 ML)

With the addition of sprightly tangerine juice, this twist on traditional butterscotch sauce goes very well drizzled over
Buckwheat Cake
paired with orange or tangerine sections instead of the cider-poached apples, or spooned over
Pâte à Choux Puffs
filled with
Caramel Ice Cream
and topped with toasted or candied nuts.

4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60 g) unsalted or salted butter, cut into pieces

1 cup (215 g) packed light brown sugar

⅓ cup (80 ml) heavy cream

⅛ teaspoon salt

¼ cup (60 ml) freshly squeezed tangerine juice

2 tablespoons (30 ml) orange-flavored liqueur, such as Grand Marnier, Cointreau, or Triple Sec

In a large saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, cream, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and boil for 3 minutes without stirring.

Remove from the heat, let cool for 2 minutes, then stir in the tangerine juice and orange-flavored liqueur. Serve the sauce warm.

STORAGE:
This sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Rewarm before serving.

MAKES ABOUT 2 CUPS (500 ML)

This is my all-time favorite chocolate sauce and the one I’ve been making for almost three chocolate-filled decades. Don’t let the fact that it doesn’t contain any cream or butter make you think that this sauce is lacking in any way—it gets maximum intensity from ramped-up amounts of chocolate and cocoa powder. I do prefer to use Dutch-process cocoa powder here because of its stronger flavor and darker color, but you can use natural cocoa powder if that’s what you prefer or have on hand.

Since it has no cream or butter, I don’t feel any guilt liberally pouring this sauce over desserts like
Anise-Orange Ice Cream Profiteroles
or a wedge of
Pear Tart with Brown Butter, Rum, and Pecans
.

¾ cup (75 g) unsweetened cocoa powder, preferabl; Dutch-process

½ cup (100 g) sugar

¼ cup (80 g) light corn syrup or agave nectar

1 cup (250 ml) water

2 ounces (60 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the cocoa powder, sugar, corn syrup or agave nectar, and water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally to break up any lumps of cocoa. Once it reaches a full boil, remove from the heat. Add the chocolate and whisk until the chocolate is melted and the sauce is smooth. Serve the sauce warm.

STORAGE:
This sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Rewarm before serving.

MAKES 2 CUPS (500 ML)

For those who like their chocolate sauce rich and thick, this sauce has more body than the
Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce
courtesy of a modest amount of cream. It is particularly appealing when served side by side or gently swirled with White Chocolate Sauce (below) as an accompaniment to wedges of chocolate cake.

12 ounces (340 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

¾ cup (180 ml) water

¾ cup (180 ml) heavy cream

2 teaspoons whiskey, rum, or Cognac

In a medium saucepan, combine the chocolate, water, and cream. Warm over low heat, stirring gently until the chocolate is melted and the sauce is smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the whiskey, rum, or Cognac. Serve the sauce warm.

STORAGE:
This sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Rewarm before serving.

VARIATION:
For a slightly richer sauce, stir in 2 tablespoons unsalted or salted butter, at room temperature, along with the whiskey, rum, or Cognac.

MAKES 1 CUP (250 ML)

I fall into the camp of white chocolate lovers because, unlike white chocolate critics, I don’t compare it to dark chocolate. Instead, I appreciate it for its own lavishly rich merits. Because it’s on the sweeter side, white chocolate sauce pairs especially well with desserts with the puckery punch of lemon, such as the
Lemon Semifreddo
,
Super-Lemony Soufflés
or
Freestyle Lemon Tartlets
Be sure to use real white chocolate, one which lists only cocoa butter in the list of ingredients, and no other vegetable fats. Since white chocolate plays such an important part in this sauce, you want it to be as good as it possibly can be.

¾ cup (180 ml) heavy cream or half-and-half

9 ounces (255 g) white chocolate, chopped