Berry-Licious

A friend of mine has this theory about dessert: Even if you're full, you always have room for dessert. Dessert, unlike other food, is digested by a separate belly. She came up with this theory as a child, a tale she told her parents with such conviction that they allowed her to eat dessert even though she hadn't eaten all of her vegetables. (More likely they were so amused and impressed by her imaginative story that they gave in.)

Me, I have a theory that I subscribe to at this day, even at 28 years old: Dessert with fruit doesn't really count as dessert. It just counts as part of your daily serving of fruits and vegetables. And the cream counts as a source of dairy, of course!

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Mixed Berries with Muscat Sabayon
Yield: 4 servings


4 x egg yolks
75 ml (1/3 cup) sweet Muscat wine (see note)
75 ml (1/3 cup) peach or apricot juice
60 ml (1/4 cup) sugar
250 ml (1 cup) strawberries, hulled and halved
250 ml (1 cup) raspberries
250 ml (1 cup) blackberries or blueberries


In the upper part of a double boiler off the heat, whisk together the egg yolks, wine, juice and sugar. Place over barely simmering water. Whisk constantly until the mixture is thick and frothy, 8 to 10 minutes. The mixture should stiffen, with the bubbles becoming smaller and longer lasting.

Arrange the fruit on four plates. Mound the warm sabayon on the fruit. Brown quickly with a kitchen torch.

Use a sweet wine made from Muscat grapes, for example Greek Samos or the southern French classic, Muscat de Rivesaltes. Their apricot, peach and honey flavours make them an excellent partner for the peach juice in the recipe. It’s a great way to showcase the wine’s flavour while removing some of its alcohol. The result is a truly seductive dessert.

If the egg yolks are thoroughly cooked, you can chill the sabayon without worrying that it might separate.
(Recipe by Ricardo Larrivée, Ricardo and Friends.)