Crème anglaise is a light pouring custard

Custard

Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on a cooked mixture of milk or cream and egg yolk. Depending on how much egg or thickener is used, custard may vary in consistency from a thin pouring sauce , to a thick pastry cream used to fill éclairs. The most common custards are used as...

 used as a dessert cream or sauce. It is a mix of sugar

Sugar

Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...

, egg

Egg (food)

Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...

 yolks and hot milk

Milk

Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...

, often flavoured with vanilla

Vanilla

Vanilla is a flavoring derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla, primarily from the Mexican species, Flat-leaved Vanilla . The word vanilla derives from the Spanish word "", little pod...

.

The cream is made by whipping egg yolks and sugar together until the yolk is almost white, and then slowly adding hot milk, while whisking. Vanilla beans (seeds) may be added for extra flavor and visual appeal. The sauce is then cooked over low heat (otherwise the yolks will cook, resulting in scrambled eggs) and stirred constantly with a spoon until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, and then removed from the heat. If the sauce reaches too high a temperature, it will curdle. Cooking temperature should be between 70 °C (156 °F) and 85 °C (185 °F); the higher the temperature, the thicker the resulting cream, as long as the yolks are fully incorporated into the mixture.

This can be poured as a sauce over cakes or fruits. Alternatively, it can be eaten as a dessert on its own, for example in Île flottante ("floating island

Floating island (dessert)

A floating island is a French dessert consisting of meringue floating on crème anglaise . The meringues are prepared from whipped egg whites, sugar and vanilla extract then quickly poached. The crème anglaise is prepared with the egg yolks, vanilla, and hot milk, briefly cooked.There is some...

"): the cream is poured into a bowl with a piece of meringue

Meringue

Meringue is a type of dessert made from whipped egg whites and sugar, occasionally some recipes may call for adding an acid such as cream of tartar or a small amount of vinegar and a binding agent such as cornstarch found in icing sugar which may be added in addition to the corn starch which...

 (blancs en neige) floated on top along with praline

Praline

Praline is a family of confections made from nuts and sugar syrup.-Europe:As originally inspired in France at the Château of Vaux-le-Vicomte by the cook of the 17th-century sugar industrialist Marshal du Plessis-Praslin , early pralines were whole almonds individually coated in caramelized sugar,...

. It can also be used as a base for desserts such as ice cream

Ice cream

Ice cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Most varieties contain sugar, although some are made with other sweeteners...

 or crème brûlée

Crème brûlée

Crème brûlée , also known as burnt cream, crema catalana, or Trinity cream is a dessert consisting of a rich custard base topped with a contrasting layer of hard caramel...

. It has a mild taste but a rich, and thick vanilla flavor. However, ice cream base is much thicker and has various flavorings.

Other names includes 'crème à l'anglaise' (French for English-style cream) and 'crème française' (French for French cream).

External links

• Making Crème Anglaise - video about how to make crème anglaise
• Cardamom Crème Anglaise - recipe