2397—Crème Anglaise

This custard allows of various methods of preparation which are subject to the purpose for which it is intended. It is the chief sauce for entremets, and whether it be poached in a deep dish or in a mould, it constitutes one of the oldest and best-known entremets. This last kind of custard will be examined hereafter. At present I shall only deal with the variety used either as a sauce or an accompaniment, cold or hot. It is extremely difficult to prescribe fixed quantities for this custard, for the former depend a great deal upon the consumers’ tastes, and, whereas some like a thick custard, others go to the extreme of wishing it just liquid enough to be drunk like any other beverage.

The quantities given below are suited to a custard of medium consistence, but if a thicker custard were desired, the number of egg-yolks would have to be proportionately increased, and vice-versâ.

The quantity of sugar also varies, subject to the consumers’ tastes, and, as the amount used (except in the case of unreasonable excess) does not affect the consistence of the custard, it may be graduated from three to ten or twelve oz. per quart, as taste may dictate. Six oz. of sugar per quart of milk constitutes a happy medium.

English custard admits of all the aromatic essences used for entremets, but the one which suits it best is vanilla. When this last-named flavour or that of filberts, almond No. 2352, Pralin, or coffee is used, it is well to put the required quantity to infuse for twenty minutes in the boiling milk, after the latter has been measured off. Chocolate is first melted and then gradually added to the custard before it is cooked. Other aromatic essences or liqueurs are added to the custard after it has been strained.

English custard admits of two methods of preparation:—

Recipe A.—Put twelve raw egg-yolks and three-quarters lb. of powdered sugar in a bowl. Mix the sugar a little with the yolks, and stir the latter briskly with a spatula until they have entirely absorbed the sugar, and the resulting paste is white and has reached the No. 2376, Pâte à Génoise Fine stage. Then pour one quart of boiling milk into the paste, little by little, mixing the whole the while with a whisk. Then put the preparation on the fire, stirring it with a spatula, and cook it until it approaches the boil and properly coats the withdrawn spoon. Take care not to let it boil, for this would turn the preparation. In any case, when the sauce is intended for hot sweets, by adding a tablespoonful of arrowroot, it may be prevented from turning.

When the custard is cooked, as already explained, strain it, either through a strainer, into a bain-marie, if it is to be served hot, or through a sieve into a large, enamelled basin, where it should be frequently stirred to be kept smooth while cooling.

Custard prepared in this way forms the base of all ice-creams, of which I shall speak later on. It may serve as an adjunct to all cold or hot sweets which allow of a sauce. When, while it is still lukewarm, it is combined with its weight of best butter, it constitutes the delicious butter cream, which is the richest and most delicate of the pastry-cook’s confections.

Finally, if eight melted gelatine leaves per quart of cooled milk be added to it, and it be mixed with twice its volume of whipped cream, it represents the preparation for “Cream Bavarois” and “Russian Charlottes.”

Recipe B.—Melt six oz. of sugar in one quart of milk; boil, and pour the mixture, little by little, over twelve egg-yolks, whisking the latter briskly the while. When this custard is to be moulded, or is intended for a Cabinet Pudding, or some other similar preparation, which must be ultimately poached, strain it as soon as it is mixed, without cooking it.

If, on the other hand, it be intended for an accompaniment, or for the preparation of butter creams or ices, cook it as directed in Recipe A.