How to Make a Simple Vanilla Sauce

This dessert sauce is perfect served with fresh fruit, alongside cakes and drizzled over bread puddings just before serving.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• 3 1/2 c whole milk
• 1/2 c cream
• 1/2 c sugar
• 4 eggs
• 5 yolks
• 1 vanilla bean, split

1. In a heavy, stainless steel saucepan, add the milk and cream. Scrape the vanilla bean and add the vanilla scrapings to the pot. Add the bean and stir. Place over heat source and bring to a gentle boil. Turn off heat while you assemble and prepare step 2.
2. While this is heating up, put the eggs and yolks in a mixing bowl. Whisk well and add in the sugar, beat until smooth. Using a ladle, add in some of the heat milk to the eggs, whisking the whole time.
3. Add this ‘tempered’ egg mixture back to the saucepan and constantly stir over medium heat until the mixture coats the back of the spoon. (Take the spoon out of the mixture, and run your finger through it, if it leaves a trail it’s done.)
4. Immediately remove from the heat and pour the sauce into a fine strainer set over a mixing bowl. This ensures the custard sauce will be lump free and gets the vanilla bean out. The vanilla bean will remain giving the sauce a vanilla bean-speckled look.
5. Stir briefly then set this bowl in an ice water bath, or just a pan filled with ice and water. This will bring down the temp quickly. Stir occasionally until cooled. Transfer to a serving container and serve or storage container then label and place in cooler for later.

Tips & Warnings

• When you assemble all the ingredients, get the bowl with the strainer set above it, and the ice water bath at the same time so when the sauce is done, you can go from stage to stage seamlessly.