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READY IN 25 mins

Creme Anglaise II

Read Reviews (49)

"This creme anglaise is delicious especially when you use the vanilla bean to flavor. You can also use flavored liqueur to change the taste." — MESHEL

Ingredients Edit and Save

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Original recipe makes 1.5 cups Change Servings

1 cup half-and-half cream
1/2 cup white sugar, divided
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise

4 egg yolks
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

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Directions

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine half-and-half, 1/4 cup sugar and vanilla bean.
In a bowl, whisk together egg yolks and remaining 1/4 cup sugar until smooth.
When cream mixture comes just to a boil, remove from heat and remove vanilla bean. Whisk a small amount of hot cream into the egg yolk mixture, then pour egg yolk mixture into remaining hot cream and whisk until smooth. Return to medium heat and cook, stirring, until mixture coats the back of a metal spoon. Remove from heat and stir in butter. Serve warm or cold.

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PREP 5 mins
COOK 20 mins
READY IN 25 mins

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This anglaise was wonderful over mixed berries. As another reviewer put to aptly, it thickened up beautifully and velvety smooth. This is the perfect touch to a decadent dessert or a very simple one. We prefer ours a little less sweet, so I will reduce sugar to 1/4 to 1/3 cup next time.Thanks Meshel!

—MAGGIE MCGUIRE

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Most Helpful Critical Review

Apr 22, 2012

Nice directions and straightforward to prepare. Thickened nicely. Thought it tasted too "eggy" although I had no curdling or evidence of solids in my sauce. Compared ingredients to other versions (including Julia Child) and the cream in the other versions was twice the amount in this one. Think I will double the cream next time to cut back on the egg flavor.

—retro80sdoc

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59 Ratings

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Oct 08, 2003

Very good over fresh strawberries. I didn't have the vanilla bean, so I added a splash of vanilla extract to the egg yolks. Really good flavor and my butter was salted, but didn't seem to make a difference. Yes it's sweet but a little goes a long way. Thanks for this yummy treat Meshel.

—JOSIE

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Oct 08, 2003

This recipe is a bit sweet. If you have a rich dessert I would suggest that you lower the sugar amount to 1/3 cup. Other than that suggestion, this Anglaise is good enough to eat all by itself. It thickened up nicely and is velvety smooth.

—PEGW

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Sep 11, 2007

Good, but a bit too sweet. I wish I read the previous reviews and cut down on the sugar. Rather than buying half and half I decided to use up the little bit heavy whipping cream I had left over and mixed in some lowfat milk at the very end to thin it out.

—chibi chef

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Sep 04, 2007

I made this to put on top of bread pudding. I'd never made a vanilla sauce before, but it looked easy enough. I halved the recipe and instead of cream, I used whole (homo) milk and vanilla extract. Other reviewers said to not let it cook too long, so I watched it carefully and I also strained it before serving. It came out perfectly, even using the lower fat milk. It was delicious warm, and wonderful cold the next day. Yummy!

—Karen_M

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Aug 31, 2008

i used 2 tsp vanilla in place of the bean. same amount of sugar as i have a sweet tooth so it didn't seem like a lot. keep stirring when you pour the egg mixture into the cream mixture. stir continuously while heating. remove from heat as soon as it starts thickening. also, strain it before serving to get rid of the few lumps and to get a perfect consistency. it was the perfect accompaniment for a bread pudding i made from here.

—Rumpel2

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Oct 19, 2006

This is a lovely custard sauce. Very decadent. Mine came out too yellow - I should've known sooner that I was suppose to whip the egg yolks and sugar until almost white. My first time using vanilla bean, so there were some black specks floating - I later learnt that that was normal. Also, the heat was probably a bit too high coz the custard turned into little globs. I solved this by using a handheld blender after taking the saucepan off the stove. This made the custard sauce velvety smooth! Had this with bread pudding. Was really good!

—Hartini

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Nutrition

Calories
98 kcal
5%

Carbohydrates
10.6 g
3%

Cholesterol
81 mg
27%

Fat
5.7 g
9%

Fiber
0 g
0%

Protein
1.5 g
3%

Sodium
11 mg
< 1%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Information

Creme Anglaise II

Serving Size: 1/12 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 12
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 98
Calories from Fat: 51

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 5.7g 9 %
Saturated Fat 3.2g 16 %
Cholesterol 81mg 27 %
Sodium 11mg < 1 %
** Potassium 33mg < 1 %
Total Carbohydrates 10.6g 3 %
Dietary Fiber 0g 0 %
Protein 1.5g 3 %
Sugars 9.5g
** Vitamin A 4 %
** Vitamin C < 1 %
** Calcium 4 %
** Iron 2 %
** Thiamin 2 %
** Niacin 2 %
** Vitamin B6 2 %
** Magnesium < 1 %
** Folate 5 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.