Classic English Custard Sauce

Gather the ingredients.

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, add the cream, milk, and 1 teaspoon of the sugar.

Bring it to a gentle simmer over medium heat and then turn the heat down to its lowest setting.

In a large heatproof bowl, place the remaining sugar and egg yolks and whip by hand or with an electric mixer until light, creamy, and pale yellow in color.

While whisking constantly, slowly pour the warmed milk and cream into the egg mixture. Be mindful of not adding too much at a time because it can curdle and rapidly change in consistency from creamy to scrambled eggs.

Strain the custard sauce through a fine sieve.

Pour back into the saucepan and add the vanilla bean seeds.

Over low to medium-low heat, stir constantly until the custard starts to thicken and coats the back of a spoon. Do not raise the heat because you run the risk of the sauce curdling, and even worse, burning. The custard should thicken at a temperature of 160 to 170 F. Do not go much higher than 170 F.

Once thickened, remove from the heat and pass through a sieve again.