A Classic Dessert Sauce Made Easy - Crème Anglaise

Persimmon Bourbon Pudding on a bed of Crème Anglaise

You may have heard of the five mother sauces of classical cooking (béchamel, velouté, espagnole, hollandaise, tomate), but the truth is there's a sixth missing from that list: anglaise.  While most sauces in savory cooking are based off of the five aforementioned classics, pastry's workhorse is the crème anglaise, or vanilla sauce, as it's sometimes called.  Meaning English cream in the French language, this custard transforms into some of your favorite desserts with very little manipulation.  Ice cream, crème brûlée, and pastry cream are just vanilla sauce with a couple extra steps.

With all this talk about what anglaise can be, I might not be getting across to you that this custard sauce is perfect as is for-- well, you guessed it-- a complimentary sauce to a dessert.  The recipe I show for the anglaise is simple, delicious, and doesn't require any extraneous or complicated steps you often see in other recipes.  Much like the other mother sauces, crème anglaise is a blank canvas to flavor and transform into the application most pleasing to you.

Even though the video for this is short, I want to give you a good amount of information on crème anglaise so you can grasp this sauce's importance to pastry, as well as all the versatility it gives you, the home cook.  There are two basic ratios or recipes to a crème anglaise: the 1:3:3 rule based on volume, and the 4:1:1 ratio based on weight.  Let's start with the 1:3:3 rule, since that's the one I show in the video.

Like I said, this rule is based on volume, but should double with no problem at all.  If you're making a lot of this sauce for whatever the reason, and don't think you'll be able to adjust amounts appropriately yourself, you might want to try the second ratio, based on weight.

The rule is: For every 1 cup of dairy, add 3 egg yolks, and 3 tablespoons of sugar.  I prefer this ratio when making crème anglaise as a dessert sauce to accompany something.  It is less sweet, and not as eggy or rich (depending on how you feel about eggs).  That's good for making sure the plate won't be too sweet, nor will it overpower the dessert's main event (a pudding, in my case).  Additionally, it's incredibly fast and easy to make, requiring no scale.

The second ratio, based on weight, is better suited for making crème brûlées and ice creams-- cases where the custard sauce needs to stand on its own.  This version is richer, sweeter, and can be doubled, tripled, or whatever, because you're weighing your ingredients.

Your sauce is done when it's nappe, or coats the back of a metal spoon

I'll refrain from making any "get the 411" jokes about this ratio (because they are terrible), but all you need to know to make crème anglaise is 4:1:1.  4 parts dairy, 1 part yolk, 1 part sugar, by weight.  This is also a better idea for larger batches because it is more difficult to split egg yolks in half and really put them on the scale.  A full large egg weighs about 2 ounces, and yolks from those eggs weigh about a half ounce each.  4 yolks = approx. 2 ounces.  Memorize that, and you'll be good.

Now you're probably wondering when I tell you about how to make ice cream and all that other good stuff.  Make the crème anglaise, refrigerate, and churn, you've just made vanilla ice cream.  Crème brûlée?  Make the crème anglaise, top with sugar, and torch.  This is too easy, right?  Want pastry cream?  Make the crème anglaise, add in cornstarch that has been bloomed in milk.

As you can see, the possibilities are practically endless.  Experiment with different flavors and ratios of whole milk to heavy cream or milk to half and half to find what works best for you.  If I'm making a crème anglaise as a standalone sauce, one of my favorite additions is a dash of orange zest.  Enjoy and make it your own.



Ingredients:

1:3:3 (volume, shown in video)

This recipe will double well, and should be fine to triple.  If making a large batch, use the 4:1:1 (by weight) ratio.

3 fl oz cream*
5 fl oz milk*
3 egg yolks
3 T sugar
1/4 t vanilla extract**
dash of orange zest once cooled (optional)

* You can decide the amount of cream/half and half/milk ratio for each application.  The higher the dairy fat content of the mixture, the thicker it will be.  Experiment with different amounts to find the ideal fit for each application.  Remember to keep your ratios either all volume or all weight to avoid mistakes.  4 fl oz of cream weighs a lot more than 4 oz. 

** if using a vanilla bean, heat the dairy mixture with the bean to a simmer and let steep for at least 10 minutes.  Scrape out insides of vanilla bean and keep bean skin to make vanilla sugar if you want.  You can continue with a traditional tempering technique, or wait for the dairy to cool enough so the eggs won't scramble, and continue to whisk until nappe.

4:1:1 Example (by weight)

16 oz dairy
4 oz yolks (about 7 to 8 yolks)
4 oz sugar
1 t vanilla extract

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