VANILLA CUSTARD SAUCE RECIPES RECIPES

Steps:

• Place half and half in heavy medium saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Bring to simmer. Remove from heat, cover, and let steep 30 minutes.
• Whisk yolks and sugar in medium bowl until thick. Whisk half and half with vanilla bean into yolk mixture 1 TBLS at a time until the eggs warm up to prevent cooking. Return mixture to same saucepan. Stir custard over low heat until thickened enough to leave path on back of spoon when finger is drawn across, about 6 minutes (do not boil). Pour into bowl. Chill uncovered until cold, about 2 hours. Then cover and chill until you use it, can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Remove vanilla bean before using - you can rinse dry it and add it to a jar of sugar for vanilla sugar.
• Note - some people like warm custard sauce over cake - just cool to your prefered temp and frig any leftovers.

Steps:

• Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and salt until well combined.
• Pour milk into a heavy-bottomed, nonreactive saucepan. If using the vanilla bean, scrape seeds from pod halves into the milk using the tip of a knife. Add pod halves. Place over medium heat until small bubbles appear around the edges of the pan.
• Remove from heat and slowly pour milk mixture into egg mixture, whisking constantly. Pour mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a spatula, until slightly thickened and coats the back of the spatula, about 5 minutes. Pour into a medium bowl and set bowl in ice water bath. Let cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Stir in vanilla extract, if using.
• Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into another bowl, cover, and refrigerate until serving.