Crème Anglaise - Vanilla Sauce

About 2 cups

Crème anglaise is one of the basics of French cooking. It’s a vanilla dessert sauce but also becomes ice cream when it’s frozen, and it evolves into a Bavarian when you add gelatin and whipped cream.

ingredients

A “MARTHA” kind of recipe....

2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
5 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Prepare an ice bath, and set aside. In a small saucepan, heat the milk over medium-high heat just until bubbles form around edges and milk starts to steam, about 4 minutes. Turn off heat.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar and egg yolks until pale and thick, about 2 minutes. Slowly add the hot milk, whisking constantly. Strain mixture through a fine sieve back into the pan.
Place pan over medium-low heat; cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and leaves a clean mark when you run your finger across the spoon, about 10 - 12 minutes. Stir in vanilla, and transfer to a clean bowl. Place in ice bath to chill, stirring occasionally. Serve, or store in an airtight container in the refrig up to 3 days.

directions

AN “INA GARTEN” kind of recipe....

1
Ina, in her book, “Barefoot in Paris,” adds cornstarch (which is not an ingredient in the original French recipe) providing a little extra assurance that she won’t end up with vanilla scrambled eggs. Makes 2 cups
2
4 extra-large egg yolks
3
1/2 cup sugar
4
1 teaspoon cornstarch
5
1 3/4 cups scalded milk (To scald, heat to just below the boiling point)
6
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
7
1 1/2 teaspoons Cognac
8
Seeds of 1/2 vanilla bean (optional)

1
Beat the egg yolks and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed for 3 minutes, or until very thick. Reduce to low speed, and add the cornstarch.
2
With the mixer still on low, slowly pour the hot milk into the eggs. Pour the custard mixture into a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or heat-proof silicone spatula, until thickened. The custard will coat the spoon or spatula like a heavy cream. Don’t cook it above 180 Degrees or the eggs will scramble!
3
Pour the sauce through a fine strainer, add the vanilla extract, Cognac, and vanilla seeds, if using, and chill.

A “DIDGE” kind of recipe...

1
6 large egg yolks
2
2/3 cup sugar
3
2 cups half and half
4
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
5
Whisk egg yolks and 2/3 cup sugar in medium bowl to blend. Place 2 cups 1/2 and 1/2 in heavy saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Bring mixture to simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat.
6
Gradually whisk hot 1/2 and 1/2 into egg mixture. Return mixture to saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until custard thickens slightly and leaves a path on back of spoon when finger is drawn across, about 12 minutes (do not boil)> Discard vanilla bean. Cover and refrigerate until cold. (Can be prepared 1-3 days ahead, tightly covered; keep refrigerated.)

notes

THE SECRET? Stirring the mixture constantly with a heat-proof silicone spatula or straight-edged wooden spoon while heating will ensure a smooth sauce. Be sure to scrape the corners and across the entire bottom of the pan to avoid scorching.

Source: Didge's Recipe Archives....