Crème anglaise is a firm favourite with many and can be used in a wide range of different cakes and desserts, such as jam sponge pudding.
Ingredients – Serves 4 | Cooking time 10 mins
- 500ml full fat milk
- 6 large fresh egg yolks
- 75g caster sugar
- 1 vanilla pod
Mise en place
- Separate the eggs, saving the whites for another recipe, and leaving the yolks in a clean bowl.
- Pour the milk into a heavy-based saucepan.
- Cut the vanilla pod in half lengthways. Scrape out the seeds and add to the milk. Also add the empty pod.
Method
- Place the milk onto the hob and bring almost to the boil. Meanwhile, add the sugar to the egg yolks and whisk until light in colour.
- Just before the milk comes to the boil, remove from the heat and slowly pour over the egg and sugar mixture, stirring all the time with a clean wooden spoon.
- Return to the saucepan and put it back on the hob over a gentle heat, stirring all the time until the custard becomes thick enough to coat the back of your spoon. Don’t allow the custard to boil.
- Remove from the hob and pass the custard through a fine strainer lined with muslin into a clean jug. Serve warm as a custard sauce or chill until required.
Where sweets are concerned, crème anglaise / crème anglais is a very versatile sauce and you will find it used in many sweet recipes.