Crème Anglaise (Vanilla Custard Sauce)

Before you start

Crème anglaise is a stirred custard: milk and cream infused with vanilla, poured over egg yolks beaten with sugar, then cooked gently until the yolks thicken it just enough to coat a spoon. It contains no starch, so it stays thin and pourable, and it is the base for many other desserts, from churned ice cream to Bavarian cream.

The whole technique comes down to a narrow temperature window. The sauce thickens at about 80°C (176°F) and begins to scramble a few degrees above 85°C (185°F). Cook over low to medium-low heat, stir constantly with a spatula across the bottom of the pan, and have a cold bowl and a strainer ready so you can stop the cooking the moment it is done.

Ingredients

• 250 ml (1 cup) whole milk
• 250 ml (1 cup) heavy cream
• 1 vanilla bean — split and scraped, or 2 tsp vanilla extract added at the end
• 6 large (about 110 g) egg yolks
• 100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar
• 1 pinch fine salt

Method

1. Heat the milk, cream, vanilla seeds and pod in the saucepan over medium heat until small bubbles appear at the edge, about 80°C (176°F). Cover, take off the heat and steep for 15 minutes.
2. Set up the ice bath with a clean bowl sitting in it and the sieve on top. Whisk the yolks, sugar and salt in the mixing bowl for about 1 minute, until pale and slightly thickened.
3. Rewarm the milk until steaming. Remove the vanilla pod. Pour about a third of the hot milk into the yolks in a slow stream while whisking constantly, then whisk the warmed yolks back into the saucepan.
4. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring continuously with the spatula in a figure-eight pattern that reaches the corners of the pan. Do not let it simmer.
5. After 5 to 8 minutes the foam will subside and the sauce will thicken slightly. It is ready at 82 to 84°C (180 to 183°F), when it coats the spatula and a finger drawn across the back leaves a clean line that does not fill in.
6. Immediately pour the custard through the sieve into the chilled bowl. Stir for a minute or two to release heat. Stir in vanilla extract now if you used it instead of a bean.
7. Press plastic wrap onto the surface to prevent a skin, cool, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours. The sauce thickens a little more as it chills.

Tips for success

• Use a heavy pan and low heat. A thin pan has hot spots that scramble the yolks on the bottom before the rest of the sauce thickens.
• If you see the first tiny lumps, pull the pan off the heat and pour it straight through the sieve into the cold bowl. A blender or immersion blender can smooth a slightly grainy sauce.
• Save the leftover egg whites for meringues or angel food cake; they freeze well in a labeled container.

Substitutions

Milk and cream

All whole milk gives a thinner, lighter sauce, closer to a traditional French version. All cream makes it rich enough to churn straight into ice cream.

Vanilla bean

Use 1 tsp vanilla bean paste, added to the hot milk. You get the visible seeds and nearly the same flavor at lower cost.

Granulated sugar

Up to half the sugar can be replaced with honey. The sauce is softer in flavor and slightly darker, and honey can make it scorch faster, so keep the heat low.

Variations

Coffee crème anglaise

Steep 2 tbsp coarsely ground coffee beans in the hot milk with the vanilla, then strain them out before tempering the yolks.

Bourbon crème anglaise

Stir 1 to 2 tbsp bourbon into the cooled sauce. The alcohol is not cooked off.

Troubleshooting

Sauce curdled into small lumps

It went above 85°C (185°F). Strain it at once into the cold bowl and blend; if it is badly scrambled, start again with fresh yolks.

Sauce stayed thin even after chilling

It was not cooked hot enough. Return it to the pan and cook gently to 82°C (180°F), stirring constantly.

Skin formed on top

Air reached the surface as it cooled. Press plastic wrap directly onto the custard, and stir any skin back in or strain it out.

Storage

Refrigerate in a covered container and use within 3 days. Do not leave it at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Freezing changes the texture, though frozen crème anglaise can be churned into ice cream.

Safety notes

The yolks are cooked beyond the 71°C (160°F) that FDA recommends for egg dishes. Refrigerate leftovers and use them within 3 to 4 days at most. Contains egg and milk.