The Ingenious Way Ina Garten Makes Easier Crème Anglaise

French cuisine has graced us with many delicious rich sauces, like Hollandaise, béchamel, and crème anglaise. The latter, a sweet custard sauce, is often drizzled on fresh fruit or used in desserts like floating island. If you've already tried to make your own crème anglaise, you'll know that it requires mastering a few steps, like tempering the egg yolks with hot cream and constant whisking to achieve the right texture. But thanks to Ina Garten, there's a much easier way to make this silky sauce: Use melted vanilla ice cream.

French vanilla ice cream (which contains egg yolks) is essentially made by freezing a crème anglaise mixture — so letting your vanilla ice cream melt and whisking it will give you the perfect shortcut sauce. You can either pour it onto individual servings of dessert, or serve the melted ice cream in a pitcher on the table so diners can help themselves. Fancy, yet effortless! 

If you're short on time, you could slowly melt your ice cream on your saucepan, on very low heat. But remember, your crème anglaise will only be as good as your base ingredient, so choose a good quality brand of vanilla ice cream with some aromatic vanilla flavors.

Crème anglaise might be a French sauce, but don't be fooled into thinking it only belongs in French desserts. Any sweet and rich cakes, like chocolate cake, can be served with some crème anglaise, since the sauce will offset any overpowering sweetness – it's one of Ina Garten's favorite pairings.

Drier cakes like pound cake or a sponge cake will also be complemented by this sauce, as it'll add some moisture to the dessert. You can even drizzle it onto your pancakes or waffles, as the vanilla flavor and silky texture will make your breakfast way more indulgent. Crème anglaise also pairs well with most fruit desserts like apple pie or citrus tart, enhancing the fruit's natural flavors and mellowing out any acidic notes. If you're serving your fruit dessert warm, drizzling on some cold sauce will be a refreshing contrast. 

Another great use is warming the sauce slightly and using it as a dipping sauce for marshmallows, easy homemade churros, or cookies. The crème anglaise will coat these foods just enough to add a velvety texture without being overly sweet. Sounds like we've just found another reason to always have a tub of vanilla ice cream handy in the freezer.