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German Sauce
971. A quarter of a pint of white wine (hock is the best) with a little lemon-juice, the yolks of three eggs well beaten, and sweetened with loaf sugar to the taste. Put all into a jug; the wine first, to prevent the egg sticking. Let the jug stand in a saucepan of boiling water, whilst the sauce is melted and worked to a complete froth with a whisk or chocolate mill. If the water gets cool before the sauce comes to a froth, add more boiling water. The sauce (made only just before it is wanted) may be served in a sauce tureen, or over the pudding.
This is a warm wine foam — the German Weinschaumsauce, first cousin to Italian zabaglione — poured over steamed and boiled puddings. It stands or falls on heat control: the yolks must be whisked constantly over water that steams rather than boils hard against the vessel, or the sauce curdles instead of mounting.
- The measureA quarter of a pint is 5 fl oz in imperial measure, a scant 2/3 US cup. With three yolks and sugar this makes roughly four servings over pudding.
- HockHock was the general English term for white Rhine wine, taken from the town of Hochheim. A dry to off-dry German Riesling is the direct modern equivalent; avoid anything heavily oaked, which turns bitter when whisked hot.
- Loaf sugarSugar was sold in hard cones to be broken and pounded. Use caster sugar, which dissolves fastest in the foam — roughly 2 to 3 tablespoons, adjusted to the sweetness of the wine and the pudding it dresses.
- The jug and the water bathA tall jug set in a pan of hot water is simply an improvised bain-marie. A stainless or glass bowl over a pan of barely simmering water is easier to whisk in; the bowl should not touch the water.
- Wine firstThe instruction to pour the wine in before the yolks is sound and worth keeping. Yolks that hit hot metal or glass alone set on contact and leave threads of cooked egg through the foam.
- Chocolate millA molinillo, the ridged wooden stick rolled between the palms to froth chocolate. A balloon whisk does the same work; a hand-held electric beater is quicker.
- When it is doneWhisk continuously for five to eight minutes, until the mixture has at least doubled in volume and holds a ribbon on the surface for a second or two. An instant-read thermometer should show around 160F (71C) -- hot enough to thicken and to make the yolks safe, below the point where they scramble.
- Serve at onceThe direction to make it only just before wanted is not fussiness. The foam begins to weep within a few minutes off the heat, so have the pudding turned out and waiting.