Champagne and Chocolate Zabaglione

It is the first Sunday of the month and that means it is time for the Vintage Recipe Swap. Once a month, Christianna from Burwell General Store, shares a recipe from a vintage cookbook and then lets us loose to interpret the recipe in our own way. The challenge is to change at least three things (ingredients or methods) in the original recipe and make it our own.

The original recipe sounded basic, but with the potential for deliciousness. I've never tried zabaglione and I was very tempted to make the original recipe first, just to see what it was supposed to be. However, true to the swap, I changed it up and added some of the champagne that was left from New Years. Naturally I couldn't resist adding chocolate as well.

The champagne provides an unexpected and strong flavor in this dessert. I expected a subtle undertone from it, but this was clearly a champagne dessert. I loved it. With dark chocolate and champagne together, I wasn't sure the kids would like it as much as I did, but they ate every bite.

Champagne and Chocolate Zabaglione
recipe adapted from The Second Ford Treasury of Favorite Recipes from Famous Eating Places.

3 ounces dark bittersweet chocolate
1/4 cup heavy cream
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons sugar
3 oz champagne

In a small bowl over a pan of simmering water (if you don't have a bowl that fits without touching the bottom of the pan, you can set a folded washcloth in the bottom of the simmering pan and set the glass dish on top of it) melt the chocolate and the cream, whisking together until combined. Set aside.

In a medium size glass bowl over the pan of simmering water, whisk together the eggs, the sugar and the champagne. Using a handheld mixer, whip the mixture until the egg mixture has quadrupled in size. This should take about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Stir the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture. (I aimed for folding gently, but mine was not combining well, so I used a whisk to thoroughly combine the two mixtures.) Pour into (4) 3-4 oz dishes and chill before serving. Enjoy!

Click here for printable recipe

Please stop by the Burwell General Store to see the rest of this month's entries into the Vintage Recipe Swap! You'll enjoy seeing all the different interpretations of Italian Zabaglione in this month's swap.