The dessert version is a light custard, whipped to incorporate a large amount of air.

Since the 1960s, in restaurants in areas of the US with large Italian populations, zabaione is usually served with strawberries, blueberries, peaches, etc., in a champagne coupe, and is often prepared tableside for dramatic effect.

[5] Although accounts vary, the Italian dessert dates as far back as the second half of the 15th century, a recipe for which appears in the manuscript collection at the Morgan Library Cuoco Napoletano.

A simple version of zabaione is called uovo sbattuto and is mostly considered a breakfast item, especially when flavoured with espresso.

The French adopted the recipe as part of their system of sauces in the 1800s as a dessert cream called sabayon.