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Real custard sauce (crème anglaise)

Real custard or vanilla sauce consists of egg yolks beaten with sugar and cooked slowly in vanilla milk. It is the base or the accompaniment for many desserts.

338,697 23.8/5 for 48 ratings

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Last modified on: January 17^th 2018

For 350 g, you will need:

0 250 ml whole milk
1 1 vanilla pod
2 3 egg yolks
3 40 g caster sugar
Total weight: 353 grams

Change these quantities to make: 175 g 350 g 700 g 1 kg 50 g

Change measures: Metric

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How long does it take?

Time required for this recipe:

Preparation	Resting	Cooking	Start to finish
16 min.	15 min.	13 min.	44 min.

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Step by step recipe

Stage 1 - 5 min.

Real custard sauce (crème anglaise) : Photo of step #1

In a pan, pour 250 ml whole milk and add 1 vanilla pod.

Stage 2 - 5 min.

Real custard sauce (crème anglaise) : Photo of step #2

Bring to the boil, then turn off the heat, cover the pan and leave vanilla to infuse 10 minutes.

Stage 3 - 4 min.

Real custard sauce (crème anglaise) : Photo of step #3

Put 3 egg yolks and 40 g caster sugar in a bowl.

Stage 4 - 2 min.

Real custard sauce (crème anglaise) : Photo of step #4

And without delay mix well using a maryse.

Stage 5 - 3 min.

Real custard sauce (crème anglaise) : Photo of step #5

Pour the hot milk onto the egg yolks + sugar and mix well.

Stage 6 - 2 min.

Real custard sauce (crème anglaise) : Photo of step #6

Wash the pan, and pour the mixture back into it through a fine strainer to eliminate any small impurities which are left.

Stage 7 - 8 min.

Real custard sauce (crème anglaise) : Photo of step #7

Put on medium heat, and cook while stirring continuously, scraping the bottom of the pan with a maryse or a spatula.

To start with you will notice that the mixture doesn't "glaze" the maryse or the spatula.

Stage 8

Real custard sauce (crème anglaise) : Photo of step #8

But when custard is cooked, it "glazes" the spatula. This happens after about 10 minutes.

Be careful during cooking: the custard should never boil, otherwise it will go lumpy... If unfortunately this happens to you, take off the heat immediately and mixer for a few seconds.

Stage 9

Real custard sauce (crème anglaise) : Photo of step #9

Other way to be sure of good texture, use a thermometer and stop cooking at 180-185°F (82-85°C), never more.

Stage 10 - 15 min.

Real custard sauce (crème anglaise) : Photo of step #10

When ready, take off the heat and plunge the bottom into a little cold water (in the sink will do fine) to stop cooking, leave to cool, stirring from time to time.

Stage 11

Real custard sauce (crème anglaise) : Photo of step #11

When cold, your crème anglaise is ready.

Remarks

Your crème anglaise will be better if you use full-cream milk.

If you have too many egg whites, you can make meringues or financiers with them.

Keeping:

Several days in the fridge, in a closed jar.

Nutritional information

Whole recipe
Energetic value	Proteins	Carbohydrates	Fats
537 Kcal or 2,248 Kj	22 gr	49 gr	28 gr
27 %	9 %	5 %	4 %

Per 100 g
Energetic value	Proteins	Carbohydrates	Fats
152 Kcal or 636 Kj	6 gr	14 gr	8 gr
8 %	2 %	1 %	1 %

% are calculated relative to a Recommended Dietary Intake or RDI of 2000 k-calories or 8400 k-joules by day for a woman (change to a man).

How much will it cost?

For 350 g : 3.09 €

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Note : These prices are only approximate.

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Source

From Gaston Lenôtre.

More recipes?

This recipe uses (among others)

	Whole milk: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Chocolate and vanilla crème brûlée, Chantilly rice pudding, Sandwich bread, Milk rolls, Pistachio confectioner's custard, ... All
	Caster sugar: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Valay-Brest, Poaching syrup, Apricot blancmange, Breton apple and rhubarb tart , French custard tart, ... All
	Egg yolk: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: How to succeed in making sabayon (syllabub), Asparagus "en petit pois", Mousse with two chocolates, Sausage with duchess potatoes and a Mont d'Or fondue , Chocolate cream, ... All
	Vanilla pod: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Confectioner's custard (Crème pâtissière, or French pastry cream), Panna cotta, Poaching syrup, Cannelés, Galette Charentaise, ... All

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Post your comment or question

Your 2 comments or questions on this recipe

This recipe is too much liquid for a macaroon filling, you should better use confectioner's custard.
Posted by jh may 6^th 2012 at 10:01 (n° 2)
Would it be better to make this recipe or confectioner's custard to fill macarons?
Posted by Bek may 6^th 2012 at 01:44 (n° 1)

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