Dessert Sauces

In addition to the recipes presented in this section, the following types of dessert sauces are discussed elsewhere in this book or can be made easily without recipes.

• Custard Sauces. Vanilla custard sauce, or crème anglaise, is presented earlier in this. It is one of the most basic preparations in dessert cookery. Chocolate or other flavors may be added to create variations.

  Pastry Cream can be thinned with heavy cream or milk to make another type of custard sauce.

• Chocolate Sauce. In addition to the three recipes that follow, chocolate sauce may be made in several other ways. For example:

  Flavor vanilla custard sauce with chocolate.

  Prepare Chocolate Ganache I through step 3 in the procedure. Thin to desired consistency with cream, milk, or simple syrup.

• Lemon Sauce. Prepare Lemon Filling, but use only 1½ ounce (45 g) cornstarch, or use 1 ounce (30 g) waxy maize.

• Fruit Sauces. Some of the best fruit sauces are also the simplest. These are of two types:

  Purées of fresh or cooked fruits, sweetened with sugar. Such a purée is often called a coulis (pronounced koo-lee).

  Heated, strained fruit jams and preserves, diluted with simple syrup, water, or liquor.

  For greater economy, fruit sauces can be stretched by diluting them with water, adding more sugar, and thickening them with starch. Other sauces, such as those made of blueberries or pineapple, may have a more desirable texture when thickened slightly with starch. These may also be flavored with spices and/or lemon juice.

• Caramel Sauces. The first section of this chapter explains the stages of sugar cooking, the last stage of which is caramel. In other words, caramel is simply sugar cooked until it is golden. The simplest caramel sauce is merely caramelized sugar diluted to sauce consistency with water. The addition of heavy cream makes a creamy caramel sauce, as shown by the recipe in this section.

  Two methods are available for caramelizing sugar. In the wet method, the sugar is first combined with water and boiled to dissolve it, making a syrup. Glucose or an acid such as cream of tartar or lemon juice may be added to help prevent crystalization. The sugar caramelizes after the water has boiled off. The recipe for caramel sauce in this section is prepared using the wet method. Follow the guidelines for preparing syrups discussed at the beginning of this chapter.

  The second method is called the dry method. In the dry method, the sugar is melted in a dry pan without first making it into a syrup. Often, an acid in the form of a small amount of lemon juice is added to the sugar and rubbed in so the crystals are slightly moist. Place the sugar in a heavy saucepan or sauté pan. Set it over moderately high heat. When the sugar begins to melt, stir constantly so it caramelizes evenly. Many chefs prefer to add the sugar to the pan a little at a time. More sugar is added only when the previous addition is fully melted. Butter caramel, included in this section, is prepared using the dry method.

  Remember that sugar, when turning to caramel, is very hot, well over 300°F(150°C). Water or other liquids added to hot caramel can spatter dangerously. To minimize spattering, allow the caramel to cool slightly. To stop the cooking quickly and prevent the sugar from becoming too brown, dip the bottom of the pan in cold water for just an instant. Alternatively, heat the liquid first, then add it carefully to the caramelized sugar.

  A more complex type of caramel is butter caramel. The recipe included in this section is rarely used by itself (except to make hard toffee candies). Rather, it is a component of other preparations, such as caramelized fruits. See, for example, the recipes for Caramelized Apricots, Figs in Port Wine, and Spiced Pineapple. Because butter caramel is somewhat difficult to make, it is included here to give you an opportunity to study it by itself and master it before trying one of the recipes mentioned. It is necessary to follow the instructions in the recipe procedure carefully in order to make the butter and caramelized sugar form a uniform, emulsified mixture.