a picture of three little white dishes of sabayon on a white plate with a glass dish of sabayon sauce and teaspoon on the side

Chilled Rum Sabayon

8 minutes

Serves 8

This recipe is from Delia's Happy Christmas.

This whipped sauce made with egg yolks, sugar and alcohol is traditionally called sabayon by the French and zabaglione by the Italians.

Either way it's light and fluffy and, served chilled, helps to avoid last-minute preparations. This sauce is best made the day you actually need it – if kept overnight it does tend to separate. It is the perfect accompaniment to Little Mincemeat Soufflé Puddings, see below.

The Delia Online Cookery School: Brush up on your sauce skills with our video for Flour-based Sauces on this page.

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Method

Begin by placing a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water (but don't let the bowl actually sit in the water).

Then add the egg yolks and the sugar, and whisk together until frothy. Next add the orange juice and rum, and continue to whisk vigorously with a wire (or electric) whisk for about 8 minutes until the sauce is thick and foamy. Do not let the water under the bowl rise above a bare simmer during this time.

Remove the bowl from the heat. Cool, cover and chill thoroughly in the refrigerator. Taste before serving and, if you like, add some extra rum!