Recipe: Creme anglaise

Creme anglaise is one of the all time classic dessert sauces.  Maybe you are making the isles flotants from the previous post, or simply dressing up a plate, a rich and tasty anglaise will surely find its place.  You could get away with a little less yolks in this recipe, but I personally feel that a solid yolk content contributes to the success of this sauce.  This is an especially complementary recipe for the isles flotants of the previous post because it uses the exact number of yolks that were separated out for the meringues.

You will need:

5                            egg yolks

500ml / 2C            cream (or milk for a lighter result)

80ml / 1/3C           sugar

1                            vanilla bean


Method:

 - put the cream (or milk) in a pot with the vanilla and half the sugar and bring to a simmer
 - when it simmers, turn off the heat, cover with plastic wrap, and let steep
 - whisk the yolks with the rest of the sugar till pale
 - set a pot of water on to simmer for a bain marie
 - bring the cream back up to a simmer
 - temper the cream into the yolks, whisking constantly
 - set up a bowl with ice and another bowl on top of the ice
 - place the anglaise bowl over the bain marie and slowly but constantly stir it with a spatula
 - cook the anglaise until it coats the spatula and reaches 83C / 181F
 - quickly turn off the heat and strain the anglaise through a chinois into the bowl over ice
 - stir the sauce to cool evenly
 - store in the fridge until use