But what will cream English ever be ?! Maybe a variant of the custard? Or an overseas version of crème brûlée? Yes and no! It is a so-called base cream, a close relative of the best known custard but compared to the latter it does not contain flour or starch and is simply prepared with milk / cream, egg yolks and sugar. Precisely due to the absence of starches, it appears as a rather fluid but velvety sauce on the palate that is used to accompany dry desserts, baked cakes and biscuits. But that’s not all! The custard also acts as a base for the preparation of Bavarian cream, creamy and mousse or even for cream ice cream! Let’s go and see how this delicious sauce is prepared!

Preparation

1

A cooking thermometer will be useful to make the custard but do not worry, even without a thermometer and with a little attention we will still be able to prepare an excellent sauce. proceed with cooking in a bain-marie which, being sweeter and slower, will allow you to better monitor the thickening of the cream that will be ready when it veils the back of a metal spoon. The mixture will therefore still be liquid but slightly more creamy and full-bodied than at the beginning.

2

First we go to flavor the milk with the seeds of the vanilla bean: heat it in the microwave or in a saucepan without boiling and leave to infuse for at least 30 minutes. At this point, mix the egg yolks with the granulated sugar in a saucepan.

3

Add the still lukewarm milk and bring the mixture to 82 ° / 83 ° C, mixing with a wooden spoon or a silicone spatula.

4

As soon as we reach the desired temperature, remove the cream from the pan and pour it into a large bowl or deep plate so that cooking does not go on and the cream cools faster.

Tips and Variations

English cream can be used cold or even better if slightly lukewarm to accompany your favorite sweets. Finally, let’s not forget that this sauce is also the basis for the preparation of delicacies such as Bavarians or mousse. You may have wondered why the thermometer is. Well, for a matter of food safety we must pasteurize the yolks bringing them to a temperature of about 82/83 ° C but taking care not to exceed 85 ° C, after which the yolk proteins coagulate making us obtain a real sweet omelette. ! No panic! If we were to reach 86/87 ° C we can still recover the cream by blending it with an immersion blender.

Obviously in this case the egg taste will be more pronounced. As mentioned, cooking in a bain-marie, certainly slower but less “aggressive” will allow us to better control the cooking of the cream itself. As an alternative to vanilla it is possible to flavor the cream with lemon or orange peel, which we will take care to remove before pouring the milk over the egg yolks.

It is possible to store the custard in a airtight containeror or covered with cling film in the fridge up to a maximum of Three days. Depending on the desired consistency and taste, it is possible to prepare the custard with milk, cream or cream and milk together. Obviously a milk based cream will have a lighter taste than a cream based cream or milk and cream.