My OperaCrème Anglaise
Tuesday, July 21, 2009 1:33:18 AM
First of all: What on Earth happened with Queijadinhas, in North America?
I mean, just today, I have already got more than 10 searches for that recipe. It’s a Brazilian typical sweet, mostly unknown by the rest of the world (except for Portuguese people). Was it some kind of appearance in the News? Was it Martha Stewart or Nigella Lawson suggestion? Really, guys, I got really curious about that! XD
So, if you are one visitor who were looking for my Queijadinha recipe, please, leave a comment! Allow this poor Brazilian blogger discover what made Queijadinha so famous!
Well, now, off to today’s topic. Crème Anglaise is one of the basic dessert sauces. Dessert sauces can be both fruity or creamy. Among the fruity ones, there are the jams / compotes, which are cooked, and the coulis, which is the raw fruit’s sauce, made by puréeing and straining it. Among the creamy sauces, the most common are chocolate (like a fudge) or the vanilla custards. Crème Anglaises are among this later one, being it a liquid custard, made from milk, yolks, sugar and vanilla.
I mean, just today, I have already got more than 10 searches for that recipe. It’s a Brazilian typical sweet, mostly unknown by the rest of the world (except for Portuguese people). Was it some kind of appearance in the News? Was it Martha Stewart or Nigella Lawson suggestion? Really, guys, I got really curious about that! XD
So, if you are one visitor who were looking for my Queijadinha recipe, please, leave a comment! Allow this poor Brazilian blogger discover what made Queijadinha so famous!
Well, now, off to today’s topic. Crème Anglaise is one of the basic dessert sauces. Dessert sauces can be both fruity or creamy. Among the fruity ones, there are the jams / compotes, which are cooked, and the coulis, which is the raw fruit’s sauce, made by puréeing and straining it. Among the creamy sauces, the most common are chocolate (like a fudge) or the vanilla custards. Crème Anglaises are among this later one, being it a liquid custard, made from milk, yolks, sugar and vanilla.
The good thing about sauces is that they can be both an extra or a main character in a dessert serving.
I decided to serve it with Vitor Hugo’s suggestion of strawberries & roses. But the other good option is pouring the crème on fresh fruits, allowing the juices to combine with the cream, when you bite into it!
Crème Anglaise
From David Lebovitz’s Room for Dessert
½ vanilla bean
500ml (2 cups) whole milk
5 tbsp sugar
pinch salt
5 egg yolks
Split the vanilla pod and scrape the seeds into the milk in a saucepan. Add the vanilla pod too, as well as sugar and salt. Heat it until it gets warm, before it starts to simmer.
Meanwhile, separate the yolks and lightly whisk them in a separate bowl. Also prepare an ice bath (I just used 1 liter chilled water, from the fridge, instead of ice).
When milk is warm, add it very slowly into the yolks, whisking constantly so your yolks don’t scramble. When about one third of the milk was added, you can pour everything back into the saucepan, continuing to whisk constantly.
Continue cooking on moderate heat, stirring with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom and sides so the custard thickens evenly, until it covers the back of a spatula. That means that you should be able to lift the spatula, scrape with a spoon or finger (watch out, it’s hot!), and it should leave the trail on it.
Strain the custard into the bowl on the ice bath, and stir with a spatula or even a whisk until cold. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
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