Creme Anglaise (vanilla custard)

Creme Anglaise is a vanilla pouring custard that's smooth, creamy, gently sweet and delicious. Easy to make, delicious served chilled as a dessert in itself, or warm with eg crumbles and crisps. 

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Custard is one of those incredibly British things that if you were brought up in the UK, you definitely had at some point. We didn't have it often at home, but in school pretty much any dessert had custard on the side.

Almost always, though, it would be out of a packet. I'm not sure most people knew what 'real' custard tastes like, in fact.

My mum would sometimes make what we'd call real custard (more properly called creme anglaise) as dessert in the summer. Not warm as a side, but chilled as dessert on its own, most commonly with redcurrants on the side.

I loved the contrast of the smooth, creamy custard and the bursts of slightly tart, juicy berries. In other words, nowhere near the custard with a skin on it, out of a packet, served in school.

What is the difference between creme Anglaise and custard?

Creme Anglaise has a much fancier ring to it than custard, probably because of the everyday connotations custard has for most Brits. However the name means 'English cream' and is essentially the same thing.

The only slight differences are that custard comes in a few thicknesses, from thin, pouring custard like this to thicker pastry cream that you pipe or spread as a filling for pastries. Also a custard sometimes uses a little corn starch/corn flour, as I have used here, making it much the same as an American pudding.

As a rule, using cornstarch is less typical for a creme Anglaise and instead you may use more egg yolk or less milk, or cook a little longer. For that reason, I've put it as optional - it helps speed the thickening a little and makes it a little less rich that using more yolk, but has all the tasty goodness.

Tips for making this vanilla custard

This is so easy to make, as you simply:

• Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar (and corn starch if using).
• Meanwhile, warm the milk and cream then gradually add to the yolk mixture.
• Warm the mixture again gently until it thickens.

The only real things to note are that it's worth mixing the yolk and sugar well to help the sugar dissolve as much as possible. Then, only heat the milk and cream over a low heat - you really don't want it to burn on the bottom of the pan or curdle.

Add just a little warm milk to the eggs, stirring constantly to temper it. You don't want to scramble the eggs, so you have to get them used to the warm milk. Add a little at a time then once relatively warm and thinned out, you can add the rest.

Continue to stir as you warm it again to thicken, or else it may both stick on the bottom and become lumpy. If you accidentally get lumps, you can usually rescue it by putting it through a sieve before serving.

If you want to serve it warm alongside a dessert, serve immediately. If you leave it any time make sure you put cling wrap/film over the top, touching the surface, to avoid a skin forming. You can store it in the fridge to serve it cold and also to use later. It will keep for a day or two and you can reheat if you prefer to use it warm.

How do you use it?

While I have memories, and still love to have this on it's own chilled with fruit, this sauce makes a great addition to many desserts such as pies, crumbles and crisps. It can be served both warm and chilled, as suits your taste and the dessert. 

Why not try it with my walnut crumble-topped apple tart or strawberry rhubarb crisp, or over bread pudding. A traditional French way to use it is to make "isle flotante" (floating island) with meringue in the middle.

It can also be used as the base for ice cream, though you will want to add more sugar to make it stable when frozen, in most cases. You can also use it as the base for creme brûlée, you will just need to cook further in a bain Marie to get it to set, then chill and add the topping.

Creme Anglaise is such a wonderfully creamy and tasty vanilla custard that's perfect both as a dessert in itself or alongside fruit, crumbles and more. It's easy to make and a wonderfully tasty treat.

Like creamy desserts? Try these!

• Crema Catalana
• Peach panna cotta
• Strawberry tiramisu
• Rhubarb fool
• Plus get more dessert ideas in the dessert recipes archives.

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Creme Anglaise (vanilla custard)

Nothing like the stuff out of a packet, this 'real custard' (creme Anglaise) is rich, creamy deliciousness.

Prep Time2 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Total Time12 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: British

Servings: 2 (or more, depending how used)

Calories: 288kcal

Author: Caroline's Cooking

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Ingredients

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US CustomaryMetric

• 1 cup milk
• ¼ cup heavy cream double cream
• ½ vanilla pod
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoon sugar (fine)
• 1 teaspoon corn starch corn flour (optional)

Instructions

• Warm the milk, cream and vanilla in a small pan over a low heat until it is just about to simmer (If you are using a pod, you may like to slit it open to let some of the seeds into the sauce). Remove from heat and remove the vanilla pod, if you used a pod.
• While the milk is heating, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and corn starch (if using) in a medium bowl until they are well combined - it should go a pale yellow color and be almost glassy-looking.
• Gradually add a little of the warm milk at a time to the yolk mixture, whisking so they are combined, until it has all been added.
• Transfer the mixture back to the pan and warm over a low heat, stirring regularly with a wooden spoon/spatula, until it thickens up. It should just coat the back of the spoon as you take it out the mixture.
• Either serve warm immediately eg as a side to pie or crumble, or transfer to two small ramekins. Cover the surface with cling wrap/film and leave to cool then put in the fridge to chill. Serve cold with berries eg redcurrants or raspberries.

Video

Notes

Traditionally, this doesn't have corn starch so you can omit if you prefer. It will just take longer to thicken or, you can use an additional egg yolk if you prefer to help things along.

If you don't have cream, you can also use all milk to make this. 

If you don't have a vanilla pod, you can substitute ¼tsp vanilla extract or paste, though ideally with seeds.

This makes around 2 servings if served as a dessert in itself, eg with berries, but will serve more if used as more of a sauce. 

Nutrition

Calories: 288kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 248mg | Sodium: 72mg | Potassium: 202mg | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 895IU | Calcium: 180mg | Iron: 0.5mg

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See some of my favorite cooking tools and ingredients in the Caroline's Cooking Amazon store. 

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