Plant-Based Crème Anglaise

A great classic of French pastry, reworked

But do you know its history?

Despite the essential place it holds in French pastry today, crème anglaise has old roots, tied in particular to the British tradition of custard, a preparation based on milk, eggs and sugar. Over the centuries French pastry chefs made it their own, turning it into a more fluid and delicate cream that became one of the emblematic bases of our craft.

And what a place it holds in our desserts. You find it alongside the famous îles flottantes, chocolate fondants, soft cakes, loaf cakes and poached fruit. In its traditional version it also goes into many preparations, notably certain ice creams, bavarian creams and entremets.

Suffice it to say that making a genuine fully plant-based alternative to this emblematic cream was a challenge I really wanted to take on.

Traditionally, crème anglaise is made with milk, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla. The whole difficulty lies in the cooking: you have to heat the preparation gently, generally between 82 and 84 °C, without ever letting it boil, or the yolks curdle and the cream loses its smooth texture.

That technical constraint is precisely what I wanted to simplify in my plant-based version.

And I am particularly happy with the result.

With only plant-based milk, margarine, sugar, starch and vanilla, I managed to recover that soft, silky, coating texture I so love in a traditional crème anglaise.

And the great advantage of my recipe is that you no longer need to watch a temperature as precise as in the egg-yolk version.

All you have to do is work over low heat, stir regularly and above all stay near the pan to watch the texture develop. As soon as the cream is silky enough to coat your spatula delicately, you have reached the right consistency.

You still have to keep the heat gentle and stay attentive, of course, but this version is far more approachable and lets you recover the pleasure of a homemade crème anglaise without some of the difficulties of the traditional recipe.

For me it is another fine demonstration that fully plant-based pastry can keep all the richness and elegance of our great French classics.

A few words to finish…

I am genuinely very happy to be able to share this plant-based vanilla crème anglaise with you. It is a recipe simple in appearance, but one that represents what I love deeply about my work: searching, experimenting, adapting and above all recovering the flavors and textures that make our pastry what it is.

I sincerely hope you take as much pleasure in making it as I took in working it out.

And if you are looking for a fine pairing, I warmly recommend eating it with a good chocolate loaf cake, as I suggest in my post. The sweetness of the vanilla and the intensity of the chocolate marry wonderfully. A very simple pairing, but such a comforting one.

As always, I will be delighted to see what you make and to hear your thoughts. Do share your photos, your experiences and your moments of indulgence with me on social media or write to me directly by email.

Hearing from you is always an immense pleasure and encourages me to continue this adventure alongside you.

I wish you fine results and, above all, a wonderful tasting.

With all my love of good food,

Les Secrets d’une Cheffe