Crème Anglaise (Vanilla Custard Sauce)

Creme anglaise in a small white jug soon from above with a spoon dipped in.

5 from 4 votes

Crème Anglaise (Vanilla Custard Sauce)

This Vanilla Bean Crème Anglaise (Vanilla Custard Sauce) is a basic French Pastry recipe that can be used as a sweet sauce or as a base to make other desserts such as ice cream or crème brulée. It is made from 4 ingredients and only takes 15 minutes to prepare.

Prep Time5

Cook Time15

Chilling Time2

Total Time1 20

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Servings: cups (500ml)

Calories: 387kcal

Author: Sylvie

Ingredients

500 ml (2 cups) Full Cream / Whole Milk
1 fresh Vanilla Bean or 2 teaspoon Vanilla Paste
4 Egg Yolks at room temperature
60 gr (1/4 cup) Caster Sugar

Instructions

Place the milk in a small to medium saucepan. Slice the vanilla bean in half and scrape off the seeds with a small parring knife. Place the vanilla seeds and the leftover pod in the saucepan with the milk then turn on low heat. Occasionally stir until the milk starts to simmer. Remove from the heat and cover the saucepan with a lid. Leave to rest for 10 to 15 minutes then remove the vanilla pod (see note 1).
While the milk is infusing, place the egg yolks and sugar in a large heat proof bowl and whisk for 1 minute or just until combined. Slowly pour the hot milk mixture over the egg yolk mixture while constantly whisking (see note 2). Pour the whole mixture back into the saucepan and turn on low to medium-low heat.
Cook for 5 to 10 minutes while constantly stirring with a heat-proof spatula or wooden spoon, or until the creme anglaise has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon and has reached a temperature of 82 to 84 degrees celsius (180 to 183 degrees Fahrenheit). Don't let the mixture boil or it will overcook the eggs and you will get a lumpy custard.
Optionally, strain the cream through a fine-mesh strainer to remove any lumps or bits of cooked eggs (see note 3).
Use warm straight away or stored in the fridge in a clean jar / airtight container topped with plastic wrap touching its surface. The custard will thicken slightly more once cool.

Video

Notes

This resting time will allow for the vanilla to infuse in the milk and give you more intense flavours. If you are using vanilla paste instead of a fresh vanilla bean, there is no need to infuse it. Make sure to keep the vanilla pod to make homemade vanilla extract for example.
This step is called "tempering" and it allows to slowly rise the temperature of the eggs. A sudden change of temperature could make the egg curdles or burn.
If you have overcooked the cream and still find it lumpy or grainy after having strained it, you can try to slowly mix it with an immersion blender to smooth it out.

Nutrition