Creme Anglaise
Crème Anglaise is simply delicious, deceptively easy to prepare, and improves everything you pour it on: cake, pie, or cookies.
Makes: Approximately 1 3/4 cups; enough for 6-8 servings.
Preparation: 15 minutes
Variation 1: Boozy Anglaise
Add 1 tablespoon of liqueur such as Grand Marnier or Amaretto
Variation 2: Vanilla Bean Anglaise
Infuse the milk as it's warming with 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise. Before adding the milk to the eggs, retrieve the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds. Add them back to the milk and continue to cook as directed.
Variation 3: Chocolate Anglaise
Add 1/4 cup (40g) of semisweet chocolate chips along with the vanilla, and whisk until the chocolate melts.
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups (420 ml) whole milk
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup (65g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Preparation
1. In a heavy saucepan over low heat, gentle heat the milk until little bubbles start to appear around the edges of the pan; do not boil.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch for a couple of minutes, until pale in color.
3. Take the milk off the heat and slowly pour it into the egg and sugar mixture, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the saucepan. On low heat, continuously stir the custard with a wooden spoon, slowly bringing the temperature up to between 175 F and 180 F. This should take approximately 8 minutes. When cooked, creme anglaise will look silky, not thick. The custard should coat the spoon, and if you run your finger along the back of it, a line should remain.
4. Remove from heat so it doesn't continue to cook. Pour the custard through a fine-mesh strainer.
5. Whisk in the vanilla.