Vanilla Crème Anglaise

17/11/2023

Vanilla crème anglaise is a classic dessert, but I would also propose a slightly Italian variant. First, I’ll give you the traditional recipe, then I’ll suggest a small Italian touch.

Vanilla Crème Anglaise

Ingredients

500 ml of whole milk
1 vanilla bean
6 egg yolks
100 g of caster sugar
A pinch of salt

Preparation

Start by heating the milk in a saucepan. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the inner seeds with the tip of a knife, then add both the seeds and the bean to the milk. Bring almost to a boil, then turn off the heat and let it infuse for about 15 minutes to intensify the vanilla flavor.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, beat the egg yolks with sugar and a pinch of salt until light and frothy.
Remove the vanilla bean from the milk and gradually pour the latter over the whipped egg yolks, stirring constantly to prevent them from cooking.
Transfer the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over very low heat, continuing to stir with a whisk or a silicone spatula until it thickens slightly and reaches a temperature of about 82 °C (check with a kitchen thermometer). Be careful not to boil the cream, otherwise, the yolks will curdle.
Once the cream has reached the desired consistency, you can strain it through a fine sieve into a bowl and cool it quickly in an ice bath, stirring occasionally.
After it has cooled, cover the cream with clear plastic wrap touching it to prevent the formation of a skin and store it in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Italian variant:

To give an Italian touch to the recipe, you can replace part of the milk with cream (cooking cream), proportionally, for example, 400 ml of milk and 100 ml of cream. This will make your crème anglaise even richer and velvety, bringing it closer to the consistency of our Italian pastry cream.

Trivia

Crème anglaise is the base for many desserts and can be used in various ways: served as an accompaniment to spoon desserts, used to soak sponge cake, or as a base for ice creams and semi-frozen desserts.