Crème Anglaise

Crème anglaise (pouring custard) teaches the central discipline of every stirred egg sauce: heat gives yolks their silken body, then steals it the instant the pan boils. The one true thing to know before touching the stove is simple. Stop while the sauce merely veils the spoon, because the saucepan's stored heat will finish the work.

The original gives two professional routes and assumes a saucier free to stir at the stove, then watch a broad enamel basin while the sauce cools. This version follows Recipe B, keeping its medium ratio exactly, twelve yolks and six ounces of sugar for each quart of milk, and multiplies it to the requested two-quart party batch. The ribbon-stage mixing belongs to the alternate Recipe A, so omitting it isn't a shortcut. One heavy saucepan, a flexible spatula, a fine sieve, and an ice bath replace the extra hands. Only the brigade's watched cooling has changed; constant stirring over gentle heat remains the dish.

When it is right, the crème anglaise is pale ivory, glossy, and fluid enough to fall from the spoon in a broad ribbon. Watch the bottom and corners of the pan, not the clock. If the first fine grains appear, lift it from the heat immediately. Ça se rattrape, and the rescue is waiting in the method.