A Crème Anglaise is a versatile dessert sauce as well as the classic base for an ice-cream. Crème Anglaise is an egg yolk custard and can be a little difficult to make for a novice cook, so take care. When cooking the custard and the custard thickens, as soon as it has reached 83℃, it is done. If you don’t have a sugar thermometre, you need to assess the viscosity of the custard, by running your finger down the back of the spoon; if the custard is thick enough, your clean line stays in place. In cooking class, to rectify the beginnings of scrambling of the eggs in the custard, I have another clean bowl and a bowl of iced water on hand to immediately tip the scrambled mixture into to cool quickly and save the crème anglaise. This is quite a good thing to do, if you are new to making these custards. You can also try to save it by straining the mixture to remove the scramble.
Makes 1 litre
750ml of pouring cream
1 vanilla bean, split with the seeds scraped or 2 tablespoons of vanilla paste
5 egg yolks
120g xylitol
Place the cream, vanilla bean and seeds into a medium heavy based saucepan. Heat until the mixture just starts to simmer.
Meanwhile, separate your eggs, reserving the white eggs for another use. I always freeze my egg whites in small containers of 2 egg whites each. Beat the egg yolks and xylitol in a bowl until pale and thick. Remove the vanilla bean from the cream mixture and whisk the hot cream, a little at a time, into the egg mixture.
Clean the saucepan and return the mixture back to a low heat. Stir constantly with a wooden, flat bottomed spoon until the mixture has thickened and coats the back of the spoon. If you have a food thermometre use it and remove the custard from the heat, when it registers 83℃. This can take between 5 – 15 minutes depending on the quantities.
Pour the crème anglaise into a heat proof bowl and allow the mixture to cool* at room temperature, stirring occasionally to release the heat until there is no visible steam coming from it. Once cooled, cover the top surface of the crème with cling wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Store until required. This is a delicious sauce to accompany your desserts, fruits or ice creams.
To make your ice cream, pour the chilled crème anglaise mixture into the chilled bowl of the ice cream churn and follow the machine’s instructions.
*To cool the mixture quickly pour it into a metal bowl and then place into an ice slurry and stir until well chilled.
