Ratio

Crème Anglaise—the Amazing All-Purpose Dessert Sauce

Crème Anglaise = 4 parts milk/cream : 1 part yolk : 1 part sugar

Crème anglaise, also known simply as anglaise, or vanilla sauce, or custard sauce, is among the simplest, quickest dessert preparations in the kitchen and is so basic in its dairy-and-yolk structure that it can become any number of finished dishes, depending on how it’s handled. The most common and unadulterated results of cooking vanilla-infused milk and cream with egg yolks (crème anglaise) are crème brûlée and vanilla ice cream. Adding fat or starch or protein will create popular variations: cornstarch results in pastry cream; adding butter to that gives you buttercream; adding whipped cream and gelatin gives you Bavarian cream; chocolate and whipped cream gives you chocolate mousse. And, of course, vanilla sauce takes all kinds of flavorings, from brown butter to sweet spices to distilled spirits, for infi nite variations. But here I want to focus solely on these few wonderful products.

Crème anglaise—egg yolks, milk and cream, sugar and vanilla—is heated on the stovetop until the eggs are cooked and the sauce has thickened. It should be strained immediately into a bowl set in ice to remove any large particles or cooked egg for a satiny texture and to halt its cooking.

The four variations on crème anglaise: crème pâtissière, thickened with starch; ice cream, thickened by freezing; crème brûlée, thickened by baking; and crème anglaise, or custard sauce, thickened by cooking on the stovetop.

The crème anglaise ratio above is simplified and measured by weight; a yolk is .6 ounce, or about ½ ounce, so this amounts to 4 yolks per 8 ounces dairy; it’s a richer, slightly sweeter version than a more common dairy-to-yolk ratio, which is 3 yolks per cup of liquid. If you are making a quart of custard, 12 yolks results in an excellent sauce. So an alternate volume ratio that works well is 1 cup of milk/cream : 3 yolks : 3 tablespoons of sugar.

Whichever ratio you use, do what you should always do in the kitchen: pay attention. Remember the results. Think about how small variations in the ratio will give you the nuances you want. Fewer yolks will result in a looser consistency. Using all cream will counteract that somewhat. Use less sugar if you want your sauce less sweet. Use your common sense.

Crème Anglaise

Vanilla sauce, the workhorse dessert sauce, is incredibly simple to make, incomparably delicious, and easily manipulated into infinite flavors and forms. It can be served warm with a soufflé or apple tart or cold over fresh berries or frozen into ice cream. Crème anglaise is simply this: a combination of milk and cream, sweetened with sugar, flavored with vanilla, enriched with and thickened by egg yolk. At its most pure and clean, the vanilla comes solely from a bean (1 bean will flavor up to 24 ounces of dairy). But given good dairy and eggs, even a teaspoon of imitation vanilla extract in whole milk is delicious straight off the spoon.* Depending on how rich you want it, more cream can be used. Though many think that whole milk is plenty rich.

8 ounces milk (1 cup)

8 ounces cream (1 cup)

1 vanilla bean, split down its length

4 ounces sugar (about ½ cup)

4 ounces yolks (7 large egg yolks)

Combine the milk, cream, and vanilla bean in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and let the bean steep for 15 minutes. With a paring knife, scrape the seeds from the pod into the milk-cream mixture. Discard the pod or store it in sugar for vanilla-scented sugar.

Combine the sugar and yolks and stir vigorously with a whisk for 30 seconds or so (this will help the sugar to begin dissolving and will also help the egg to cook more evenly).

Fill a large bowl with a 50–50 mixture of ice and water, and place a second bowl in the ice bath. Set a fine-mesh strainer in the bowl.

Over medium heat, bring the milk-cream mixture just to a simmer, then pour it slowly into the yolks while whisking continuously. Pour the mixture back into the pan and continue stirring over medium heat until the mixture is slightly thick, or nappé—it should be completely pourable, but if you dip a spoon in it, it should be thick enough on the spoon to draw a line through it—2 to 4 minutes, depending on how hot your burner is.

Pour the sauce through the strainer into the bowl set in the ice bath. Stir the sauce with a rubber spatula until it is cold. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

YIELD: ABOUT 2 CUPS

An intriguing variation on crème anglaise, one that is considerably less common than ice cream and crème brûlée, is Bavarian cream, which is anglaise stabilized with gelatin and lightened with whipped cream. Bavarian creams are used in molded desserts and can be used for layering cakes. To make Bavarian cream, add ¼ ounce of gelatin (about a teaspoon, bloomed in a tablespoon of water and heated in a hot oven or microwave until the gelatin is melted) to 1 cup of fresh crème anglaise. Cool the sauce in an ice bath until it’s about room temperature, then fold in a cup of heavy cream that’s been whipped to soft peaks. Bavarian creams can be flavored with chocolate, lemon or other citrus juices, distilled spirits and liqueurs, ground praline, and fruit purees. It can be chilled in molds and served with more cream or fruit puree or it can, while still warm, before it sets up, be spread on alternating layers of sponge cake, and chilled. The cake can then be finished with whipped cream or buttercream.

Vanilla Ice Cream with Maker’s Mark

Once you have the above custard sauce, ice cream is a matter of popping it into your machine. I like to flavor ice cream any number of ways, here with bourbon. But you might just as easily flavor it with brown butter and toasted almonds, a caramel sauce, or cherries. If you were thinking ahead, you might infuse the milk-cream mixture with sliced ginger and orange zest before making the sauce. Again, understand the principle and the ratio, and you’re limited only by your taste and imagination.

This particular ratio reduces the quantity of yolks to that of the alternate ratio, but it’s still more yolks than most ice cream bases. I love the texture and richness that results. Also the alcohol contributes to the softness and texture of this ice cream.

1 ½ cups milk

1 ½ cups cream

1 vanilla bean, split down its length

¾ cup sugar

6 ounces yolks (9 large egg yolks)

2 to 4 tablespoons Maker’s Mark bourbon, or to taste

Combine the sugar and yolks and stir vigorously with a whisk for 30 seconds or so (this will help the sugar to begin dissolving and will also help the egg to cook more evenly).

Fill a large bowl with a 50–50 mixture of ice and water, and place a second bowl into the ice bath. Set a fine-mesh strainer in the bowl.

Over medium heat, bring the milk-cream mixture just to a simmer, then pour it slowly into the yolks while whisking continuously. Pour the mixture back into the pan and continue stirring over medium heat until the mixture is slightly thick, or nappé—it should be pourable, but if you dip a spoon in it, it should be thick enough on the spoon to draw a line through it—2 to 4 minutes, depending on how hot your burner is.

Pour the sauce through the strainer into the bowl set in the ice bath. Stir the sauce with a rubber spatula until it is cold. Add the bourbon to taste. Cover and refrigerate until the sauce is thoroughly chilled, preferably overnight. The colder it is before going into the machine, the better.

Freeze according to your machine’s instructions.

YIELD: ABOUT 3 ½ CUPS ICE CREAM

Crème Brûlée

This is a classic version, very rich and very smooth, flavored only by the pure vanilla bean. This ratio results in what I think is the optimum texture.

1 cup milk

1 cup cream

1 vanilla bean, split down its length

4 ounces sugar (about ½ cup), plus sugar for coating

4 ounces yolks (8 large egg yolks)

Preheat your oven to 325°F. Place 4-ounce ramekins in a large ovenproof sauté pan or a roasting pan and fill the pan so that the water comes three-quarters of the way up the sides of the ramekins. Remove the ramekins and place the pan of water in the oven.

Combine the 4 ounces (½ cup) sugar and the yolks and stir vigorously with a whisk for 30 seconds or so (this will help the sugar to begin dissolving and will also help the egg to cook more evenly). Pour the milk-cream mixture into the yolks slowly while whisking continuously.

Pour the custard into your ramekins. Bake in a covered water bath: you can either cover each individual ramekin or cover the water bath itself; I’ve found covering first with parchment paper followed by foil works best. Cook the custards until just set, about 30 minutes. Allow to cool. If you intend to serve the custards the following day, refrigerate them until chilled, then cover with plastic wrap; remove from the refrigerator several hours before serving to allow to come to room temperature. (Depending on the kitchen environment, a cold custard can develop condensation on the top, making the brûléeing uneven.)

Top each custard with enough sugar to coat the entire surface, and pour off the excess, about ¼ cup. With a propane torch, heat the sugar until it melts, bubbles, and caramelizes—when it’s cool, the browned sugar should create a delicate crust.

YIELD: SERVES 4

Crème Pâtissière

This is a rich and clean delicious pastry cream, the likes of which you rarely find in America anymore—too often it’s a processed gelatinous imitation. This is the real deal, and you could eat it like the best vanilla pudding if it weren’t so rich! It’s best as an accompaniment, such as in the profiteroles.

8 ounces plus 3 ounces milk

8 ounces cream

1 vanilla bean, split down its length

4 ounces sugar (about ½ cup)

4 ounces yolks (8 large egg yolks)

6 tablespoons cornstarch

2 ounces butter (½ stick)

Combine the 8 ounces of milk, the cream, and the vanilla bean in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and let the bean steep for 15 minutes. With a paring knife, scrape the seeds from the pod into the milk-cream mixture. Discard the pod.

Combine the sugar and yolks and stir vigorously with a whisk for 30 seconds or so (this will help the sugar to begin dissolving and will also help the egg to cook more evenly).

Fill a large bowl with a 50–50 mixture of ice and water.

Combine the cornstarch with the 3 ounces of milk and stir to disperse the cornstarch.

Over medium heat, bring the milk-cream mixture just to a simmer, then pour it slowly into the yolks while whisking continuously. Pour the mixture back into the pan and add the cornstarch-milk mixture, then continue stirring over medium heat until the mixture just hits a boil and becomes very thick. Sink the base of the pan into the ice bath and continue stirring until the mixture has cooled slightly but is still warm enough to melt the butter. Add the butter and stir until it’s completely incorporated. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap against the surface, and refrigerate until ready to use.

A variation on crème pâtissière is a miraculous all-purpose buttercream used for icing cakes and cookies. While there are many different types of buttercreams, for a simple version, simply whip an equal amount of room-temperature butter into the pastry cream until they are combined.

YIELD: ABOUT 2 ½ CUPS

Profiteroles with Hot Chocolate Sauce

This is a classic French bistro dessert, essentially cream puffs with a warm chocolate sauce, and is a great one for entertaining because all but the hot chocolate should be done ahead of time. You can plate the dish while the cream heats and the chocolate melts. The cream is simply sauce anglaise that has been frozen (ice cream) or that has been thickened with a slurry (pastry cream). I prefer the pastry cream—one, because it’s less common and, two, because it’s easier to plate. (Alternately, the profiteroles can be filled with the pastry cream and dipped in the chocolate sauce for éclairs.)

As with so many bistro dishes, this shows how the deepest pleasures come from the simplest ingredients.

1 recipe pâte à choux, sweet, baked into 24 profiteroles

1 recipe pastry cream or ice cream

1 recipe chocolate sauce

Slice the profiteroles widthwise. Place 3 bottoms on each plate, spoon the pastry cream or the ice cream onto each one, and cover with the tops. Pour the warm chocolate sauce over the profiteroles.

YIELD: SERVES 8