How to Make Crème Anglaise

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[Narrator] Making creme anglaise.

Creme anglaise is a rich, vanilla cream sauce.

You can serve it over cake or other desserts,

and it can be served either hot or cold.

It's also the base for making most ice creams.

To make creme anglaise, we'll begin

by splitting a vanilla bean in half lengthwise.

Now, we'll scrape the seeds from the bean

using the back of our knife.

We'll add the seed and the bean to the saucepan of cream.

You could also use milk to make a lighter creme anglaise.

It is important to use a heavy bottomed sauce pan,

so that the cream doesn't scorch.

We're going to heat the cream on moderately low

until it's steaming, but not boiling.

You don't want the liquid to boil

because this will cook the eggs.

Watch it carefully because it tends to boil over easily.

Now, while that's heating, we'll whisk together the sugar

and egg yolks, whisking thoroughly

so the sugars dissolves into the eggs.

Once the cream is hot, combine it with the egg yolks.

To keep the hot liquid from cooking eggs,

we'll first add a little bit of the warm cream,

just one ladle full, while whisking constantly

to keep the eggs from scrambling.

This is called tempering.

Then, we'll continue whisking

and slowly add the rest of our eggs.

Once you've mixed the cream,

we'll cook it over a moderately low heat,

stirring constantly until it thickens

and reaches 175 degrees Fahrenheit.

Stir constantly and don't let the mixture boil.

Boiling would make it curdle.

The sauce is done when it coats the back of a spoon

with a layer thick enough to hold a line

when you draw your finger across it.

This will take a number of minutes, so be patient.

If you're not using the sauce right away,

you can chill it in the refrigerator.

Put a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface

of the custard to keep a skin from forming.

Let's pour the creme anglaise into a sauce boat.

See how thick and glossy it is!

We'll pour ours over some yummy chocolate cake.

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