Crème Anglaise
Here’s how to make a classic Crème Anglaise that’s rich, creamy & infused with vanilla & orange zest. This custard goes great with crumbles, pies, tarts & loads more!
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A properly made Crème Anglaise is seriously hard to beat & is the perfect accompaniment to tarts, fruit crumbles, pies, souffles & a whole lot more. Not only is it delicious but it’s also super easy to make & only requires a few ingredients!
What Is Crème Anglaise?
Crème Anglaise is a French vanilla custard sauce that’s made with milk, egg yolks, vanilla, sugar & sometimes double cream, for extra richness. This style of custard is served as a pouring custard & is cooked gently until it is just thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. The French term for this is “Nappe”.
To find a homemade dessert to serve with your Crème Anglaise, take a look at our ever growing collection of dessert recipes! There’s lots to choose from here, from sticky toffee pudding, to crumbles, poached pears, tarts & loads more…
What You’ll Need
- Whole Milk – Whole milk has a higher fat content, which makes our custard richer & creamier. However semi skimmed milk will work as well.
- Double Cream – Replacing some of the milk with double/heavy cream (in this case, a third), gives our custard a rich flavour & slightly thicker texture. Feel free to use just milk though if you’d prefer.
- Vanilla – A classic Crème Anglaise flavouring! I’d recommend using half of a good quality vanilla bean or a teaspoon of vanilla paste.
- Orange – Flavouring the custard with the zest of an orange gives it another level of flavour. Orange & vanilla also work really well together!
- Sugar – We’re using caster sugar for this custard recipe, as it has a cleaner flavour. This adds sweetness without interfering with the vanilla & orange.
- Salt – A pinch of salt brings out the flavours in our custard.
- Egg Yolks – Egg yolks is what gives a Crème Anglaise it’s rich flavour & velvety texture. You’ll need to cook out the egg yolks in order to thicken the custard, which needs to be done over a low heat, to avoid scrambling.
How To Make Crème Anglaise
The full, printable recipe card for this custard can be found at the bottom of this post! Here’s a quick rundown of the recipe…
- Infuse Milk & Cream
The first step when making Crème Anglaise is to infuse the milk & cream. To do this, we place milk & cream into a pan with sugar, half a vanilla pod (with the seeds scraped out), the zest of an orange & a pinch of salt. We warm this over a low heat until steaming hot then take off the heat, cover with a lid & leave to steep for 30 minutes. - Temper Eggs
Once infused, we return the milk to a low heat & warm back up. In the meantime, we add egg yolks & sugar into a mixing bowl & whisk to combine. We then whisk half of the warm milk into the yolks, to temper them – this prevents them scrambling as you cook the custard. - Cook To Thicken
Next, we pour the tempered yolks back into the pan of milk then set over a low heat. We then cook the custard, stirring constantly until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. This will take 4-5 minutes. The temperature of the custard will be 80°c/176°f once cooked. - Pass Through A Sieve
Once cooked, we pass the crème anglaise into a container, through a sieve then leave to cool, stirring occasionally. We refrigerate the custard until ready to use or if you’re serving it warm, the custard can be used as soon as it is cooked.
Crème Anglaise Tips & Tricks
- Replace a portion of the milk with double cream, for an extra rich custard.
- Infuse the milk & cream with a good quality vanilla bean, for the best flavour. I’d recommend letting the milk steep for 30 minutes before making the custard.
- To avoid curdling the custard, cook it over a gentle heat & stir it constantly with a spatula.
- Cook the custard until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. If you take the temperature of the custard with a food probe, it will reach 80°c/176°f once cooked.
What To Serve Crème Anglaise With
Crème Anglaise can be served either hot or cold & pairs fantastically with a wide range of desserts, from fruit crumbles, strudels & pies, to souffles, cakes, tarts & poached fruit. I served my Crème Anglaise with my mulled wine poached pears!
Frequently Asked Questions
Crème Anglaise is a pourable custard that originates from France. This style of custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (the French term for this is “Nappe”), however it is thinner than a traditional English custard.
To avoid curdling the eggs in your custard, it’s best to reheat it over a low heat, stirring it almost constantly. You could also reheat your Crème Anglaise in a microwave, in 20 seconds bursts. If you’re worried about scrambling your custard, you could use a bain marie (a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water) to reheat it, instead of a pan.
To avoid curdling, it’s important that you cook your custard over a low heat & stir it constantly, making sure to scrape down the sides & bottom of the pan regularly. If your custard does curdle slightly, give it a quick blitz with a stick blender to bring it back together.
Crème Anglaise should be stored in the fridge & is best eaten within 3 days. To avoid a skin forming on the top of your custard, cover the surface with a piece of baking parchment or clingfilm before refrigerating.
How To Cook Crème Anglaise On An Aga
With all of my recipes, I include cooking instructions for conventional ovens, fan ovens & also Agas. Here’s how to cook this recipe on an Aga.
Use the simmering plate to infuse the milk & to cook the crème anglaise.
Equipment Used
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More Desserts To Try!
- Banana Sticky Toffee Pudding With Miso Caramel
- Blackberry, Pear & Apple Crumble
- Cherry Bakewell Crumble
- Cake Crumb Treacle Tart
- Apricot & Almond Frangipane Tart
- Charred Vanilla Bean Custard
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Crème Anglaise
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Mixing Bowl
- Digital Food Probe
- Sieve
Ingredients
- 350 g Whole Milk
- 150 g Double Cream
- 75 g Caster Sugar
- A Pinch Of Sea Salt
- 1 Orange
- ½ Vanilla Pod (Or A tsp Of Vanilla Paste)
- 100 g Egg Yolks
Instructions
Infusing The Milk
- Add the milk, cream, 50 grams of the sugar, the pinch of salt, orange zest & vanilla into a saucepan.If you're using a vanilla pod, scrape the seeds out with a knife then add both the seeds & pod into the milk.
- Set the pan of milk over a low heat & leave to get steaming hot, stirring occasionally. Don't let the milk boil!
- Once warm, cover the pan with a lid, take off the heat then leave to infuse for 30 minutes.
Making The Crème Anglaise
- Take the lid off the pan of milk then set back over a low heat & leave to get steaming hot again.
- In the meantime, add the egg yolks & remaining 25 grams of sugar into a mixing bowl & whisk to combine.
- Once the milk is warm, gradually pour half of it into the yolks, whisking constantly as you do so.This is called tempering the egg yolks.
- Pour the tempered yolks back into the pan of milk then set over a low heat. Cook, stirring constantly until the crème anglaise is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. This will take 4-5 minutes.The temperature of the custard will be 80°c/176°f once cooked.
- Pass the crème anglaise into a container, through a sieve then leave to cool, stirring occasionally. Refrigerate until ready to use.
