Welcome back, flavour lovers, to the Fermento Brewery kitchen! If you know us, you know that we love beer. We strongly believe that beer is a living, breathing ingredient that should be a key part of tasteful cooking. At Fermento we are always looking for new ways to use beer in exciting ways, thinking about how beer can be used in food. People often think of savoury foods and beer as a perfect combination, but the world of sweet foods and beers is a whole new adventure.
We often tell guests at our cooking events that beer can make desserts more complex than wine or spirits can. The fizz, the maltiness, and the specific yeasty aromas can make a normal recipe into something really special. Today, we are making a classic Italian custard, but with a special Fermento twist. Wir holen unser beliebtes Weizenbier, das Mistral, aus dem Glas in den Kochtopf, um eine leichte, luftige und absolut köstliche Zabaione mit Bier zu kreieren. Get your whisks ready, because we are about to make the ultimate Beer Zabaione.
When we’re talking about taking a sweet dish to the next level, the key is usually in the toppings. A well-crafted Zabaione with beer is the difference between a dry slice of sponge cake and a moist, decadent experience that dances on the palate. Zabaione (or Zabaglione) is a classic Italian dessert made with egg yolks, sugar, and Marsala wine. It’s rich, boozy and delicious. But when we swap the heavy wine for a light wheat beer, something amazing happens.
Die Hefe und der Weizen im Bier harmonieren wunderbar mit der Reichhaltigkeit der Eigelbe, und das Endergebnis ist Zabaione mit Bier, die weniger süss und viel aromatischer ist als das Original. It’s not heavy, it’s light. We only use our wheat beer Mistral for this recipe, which has a great exotic taste, with hints of mango and tropical fruits. When you heat them gently in the dessert sauce, these fruity aromas come out, perfuming the custard naturally without the need for artificial flavourings. This Zabaione with beer is the perfect way to bring a drink and a bite together.
Before we start cooking, let’s talk about how to use this golden creation. This isn’t just a pudding; it’s a dessert sauce that can be used with almost any dessert.
Did your cake turn out a little dry? Pour a little warm Zabaione over it and no one will know. Are you serving fresh strawberries or raspberries? A little bit of this sauce makes a simple fruit bowl look really fancy.
It works wonderfully on:
The recipe for the zabaione with beer
Our signature Wheat Beer/Weizen
Fine sugar melts faster
Freshness is key!
Optional, to stop cooking if needed
Preparation steps
Step 1 – The Initial Whisk
First, separate your eggs carefully. Place the 8 egg yolks and the 120g of sugar into a stainless steel round-bottomed bowl or a heat-proof glass bowl. It is very important to start whisking as soon as you add the sugar to the yolks. If you leave them sitting, the sugar will soak up the liquid and turn the yolks orange, which will then sink to the bottom of your zabaione with beer. Whisk vigorously until the mixture changes from deep yellow to pale white and frothy.
Step 2 – Setting up the Bain-Marie
Prepare a bain-marie (double boiler). Put a saucepan on the stove and fill it with a few inches of water. Turn the heat down low and let the water gently bubble. Place your bowl containing the egg and sugar mixture on top of the saucepan. Crucial Tip: Make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the boiling water. If it does, the eggs will scramble, and you’ll have sweet scrambled eggs instead of a smooth sauce. We want to heat the eggs gently using only the steam so that they pasteurize without forming lumps, which eliminates any health risks associated with raw eggs.
Step 3 – Adding the Beer
When the mixture is warm to the touch, start pouring in 200 ml of Mistral wheat beer slowly, in a thin stream, while whisking constantly. Keep whisking! This is the most important part of making a stable emulsion for your zabaione with beer. You might see a lot of foam at first, which is is the carbonation of the beer reacting with the proteins.
Step 4 – The Workout
Keep cooking the mixture over the bain-marie, whisking continuously with a balloon whisk for about 10 minutes. This is where the magic happens. You will see that the mixture gets much bigger as the air is added and the proteins become solid. The idea is to trap air bubbles inside the liquid. The sauce should be thick, glossy and creamy. It should be the right consistency to coat the back of a spoon.
Step 5 – Cooling Down
Take the bowl off the heat. But remember that the bowl keeps heat in, so the eggs can keep cooking. Keep whisking for another 3 minutes off the heat until it has cooled down a little. This keeps the zabaione with beer smooth and stops it from separating.
Step 6 – Serving
Serve this delicious dessert sauce with beer straight away while it’s still warm. The warmth makes the mango and wheat aromas of the Mistral stronger. If you prefer it cold, let it cool completely and fold in a little whipped cream for a mousse-like texture.
Wheat
Blonde/white, naturally cloudy.
5.5%
Refreshing, tangy and tart with mild exotic fruit flavours.
6 - 10°C
Weizen glass or white wine glass
Pairing the Zabaione dessert sauce with beer and the pint
At Fermento, we believe that cooking is an experience that isn’t complete without the perfect drink. You opened a bottle of Mistral to use in the recipe, so you should definitely enjoy the rest of it with the dessert.
Pairing the beer used in the dessert sauce with the dish itself creates a “harmony pairing.” The taste of the fruit in the glass is similar to the taste of the custard. The high carbonation of the wheat beer also helps scrub the palate clean after the rich, creamy egg yolks, getting you ready for the next bite.
Conclusion: Zabaione dessert sauce with beer
Cooking with beer is an absolute game-changer – it opens up a whole new dimension of flavour that so many home cooks overlook, but which is just waiting to be discovered! By incorporating Fermento Mistral into a classic dessert sauce, you bridge the gap between the savory and the sweet, creating dishes that are conversation-starting and utterly delicious. Whether you are whisking up this frothy Zabaione for a romantic dinner or a festive family gathering, you are engaging in a culinary tradition that celebrates the versatility of brewing ingredients.
This Zabaione is the perfect, airy finish to a meal, and it’s a great way to show off how a simple dessert sauce with beer can be the star of the show.
Wir hoffen wirklich, dass Ihnen die Zubereitung dieses Rezepts Spass macht und dass es Sie dazu inspiriert, mit verschiedenen Bieren und Süssigkeiten kreativ zu werden. We really hope you enjoy making this recipe and that it inspires you to get creative with different beers and sweets. And for those of you who might be out of beer (heaven forbid!), please keep an eye on our blog. We’ll be sharing a follow-up article soon with recipes for these same sauces, but this time without the beer. That way, everyone can enjoy a sweet treat! Until then, grab a whisk, crack open a cold Mistral, and get cooking!
Cheers to good food, great beer, and sweet memories!