With temperatures hovering around 30C in London I had no wish to heat up the kitchen any further, so I was looking for an easy and cooling dessert. Having picked up a handful of the last of the fresh velour-overcoated green almonds at market and with some elderflower cordial in the larder, I had a head start. Mature almonds will work fine but if the cherries and the green almonds happen to overlap, it's a nice way of using the early nuts which are milky and fresh tasting. So far, so easy; but what to add to make it look like I'd made an effort without expending much time or energy at all? A thin cooled custard perhaps? Then I thought how long it had been since I'd made a sabayon or zabaglione, whichever you prefer to call it. Dairy-free and cloud-like, it seemed just right for a hot summer's day. Sabayon is so easy to make and I find Jane Grigson's advice best. It takes only 2 minutes whisking with an electric whisk if you want a warm frothy sauce to eat immediately, 5 minutes to produce a 'creamier' one. If you want to make it up to an hour ahead (the one in the photographs above), you just need to keep whisking it off the heat until it has cooled. This stops it separating before you get to eat it. —Evie
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