"Saint Pasquale de Baylon from Italy was sanctified partly because of the energy and potency a recipe of his, called Zabaione, gave men in his parish. Zabaione is traditionally served to newlywed men to help get through the wedding night!"

Saint Pasquale de Baylon (1540-1592) from Turin, Italy is the Saint Protector of all World Cooks since 1722. He was sanctified partly because of the energy and potency a recipe of his gave men in his parish and beyond, helping them conceive lots of children. That recipe was for Zabaione or Zabaglione or Sabayon, a simple egg yolk, sugar and sweet wine dessert.

In Italy, Zabaione is traditionally served to the newlywed man so he has energy to get through the wedding night! The energy comes from the egg yolk and sugar. The flavor comes from the combination of the three main ingredients.

I’ve never met a man who didn’t love it. I even had one male dinner guest who after taking a few bites, begged for the remainder from the kitchen. Then he astounded us all by licking the pot clean! (We had fun teasing his wife about the fun evening she had ahead of her.) I think that because men love the dessert so much, more than women, they just love the person who makes it for them, hence the rise in Renaissance birth rates in and around Turin, Italy!

The original recipe Brother Pasquale gave to his female parishioners is still used in Turin, Italy by housewives. They call it the 'L Sanbajon or the 1-2-2-1, because of the proportion of ingredients of a single portion: 1 egg yolk, 2 teaspoons sugar, 2 egg shells of sweet wine, 1 egg shell of water.

The sweet wine used is Marsala wine, but you can make it with any dessert wine, or liqueur or liquor. Whiskey Zabaione is especially good, but the whiskey has to have a strong flavor, like Jack Daniels or a single malt.

In the recipe I give you here for several portions, the original water is replaced with more wine. Wine was very expensive back in the 1500s, so Brother Pasquale had the housewives thin it with water. Most if not all of the alcohol cooks off during the preparation leaving only the flavor. If you’re serving it to children, just cook it a bit longer to be sure you cook off the alcohol.

• 6 eggs yolks
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 cup Marsala wine

Put the yolks and sugar together in a stainless steel pot. Mix this with an electric mixer over a very low heat (or in a double-boiler) constantly as you slowly add the Marsala wine. Cook it for at least 5 minutes, mixing all the time. If it's not light and airy after that, whip it for another few minutes at high speed.

• It's delicious served warm over sliced fruit, especially peaches.
• Traditionally, it’s served with cookies.
• Fancy restaurants serve it warm in a brandy snifter with a long handled spoon.

Candida Martinelli - Candida Martinelli grew up in San Francisco, California, but lived many years in Florence, Italy. As an outlet for her love of Italian culture, she set up Candida Martinelli’s Italophile Site a few years ago. It’s grown since then into a site that celebrates Italian culture for both children and adults. Candida offers up Italian culture in a fun way, with lots of pictures, and links for those who want to learn more after her introduction to a subject. She covers everything from Italian home decorating to gardening, fashion, music and movies.   Website: Candida Martinelli’s Italophile Site To review the Reprint Rights for this article, please go to the authors page by clicking the button below.