Name: Vanilla Sauce
Yield: Makes 1 1/2 cups
Ingredients: 1 cup whole milk; 4 egg yolks; 1/3 cup (2 1/4 ounces) granulated sugar; 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt; 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; 2 to 4 tablespoons liquor (optional)

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Vanilla SauceCookbook cover image courtesy of Random House

This sauce is the American version of crème anglaise, a vanilla custard sauce. Our recipe makes a basic vanilla sauce that goes well with every dessert. To enhance the sauce, you can add liquor (Calvados or pear brandy comes to mind). This sauce does not require heavy cream to taste sinful. Here, we use a milk base to create a simple, decadent sauce.

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