Try this homemade vanilla sauce recipe, which is perfect for pouring on top of other desserts. The German vanilla sauce is easy to make and adds a delicious touch to your favorite desserts.
This German vanilla sauce recipe is easy and quick to make. It is perfect for serving with any dessert, either bread pudding or something similar like the Kirschmichel, but also apple strudel, this Romanian apple pie or any other one, French toast, rhubarb and apple crumble, red currant cobbler, tarts, or pies.
You can also have it just as it is; if you ask my daughter and my husband, they don't need anything else to enjoy the homemade vanilla sauce.
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Difference between vanilla sauce, pudding, and custard
The German vanilla sauce, known as Vanillasoรe, is a thin, sweet, silky sauce ideally made with the seeds of a real vanilla bean. If vanilla beans are unavailable or too expensive, you can substitute with pure vanilla extract, vanilla sugar with ground vanilla bean, or vanilla bean paste.
Vanillasoรe has a light pouring consistency, similar to custard but runnier. It is made with eggs, whole milk instead of heavy cream, a little sugar, and vanilla and is usually thickened with cornstarch.
Vanilla custard sauce is much thicker and often uses butter or heavy cream to make it creamier and richer. In custard, the eggs or egg yolks act as the thickening agent. The main difference between German vanilla sauce and custard is the consistency.
Vanilla pudding, while also thick, is not as thick as custard. It is made without butter or cream, typically using just eggs, sugar, milk, and cornstarch as the thickening agent.
Both custard and vanilla pudding are usually sweeter than vanilla sauce.
To make it easier for me, I always think of three degrees of a โpuddingโ. The runnier one is the vanilla sauce, perfect for pouring on top of desserts or fruit compote, like this Peach Compote.
Then comes the vanilla pudding, which can be used the same way when served hot or warm and which makes a nice dessert on its own (with fresh fruit or fresh berries, for instance) when served cold and set.
Then comes the custard, which is thick and luxurious and mostly served as it is when baked, like in a crรจme brulee, for instance. Or, when stirred on a stovetop, it can be layered with other ingredients in a bowl to make a really decadent and delicious dessert, like a traditional English trifle.
Recipe ingredients
To make a good, traditional German vanilla sauce, you only need a few simple ingredients.
Vanilla: The best choice would be a vanilla bean or pod to make vanilla sauce.
- Vanilla sugar made with ground vanilla or pure vanilla extract is a good alternative. I would rather go for vanilla sugar, because when using it, I also have the nice little vanilla specks in the sauce as well.
- But the specks are optional. Pure vanilla extract is fine for taste as well, as long as you don't use artificial vanilla flavor. That might be okay when baking a cake, but I would never use it for vanilla sauce, pudding, or custard.
Sugar: The vanilla bean sauce recipe requires only 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon of vanilla sugar. If using a vanilla pod or pure vanilla extract, increase the sugar quantity to 3 tablespoons.
- Also, keep in mind that vanilla sauce is not very sweet. It should not be as sweet as the vanilla sauce. It is usually served on top of other sweet desserts.
Food coloring: Unlike commercial vanilla sauces, homemade vanilla desserts are not yellow at all; they are more of a vintage white.
If you want your sauce to be yellow, add a drop or two of food coloring. I rarely do this; it is totally unnecessary. However, just to demonstrate the difference, I added a very small amount of yellow food coloring to the vanilla sauce recipe.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make vanilla sauce?
Step #1:ย Place the egg, sugar, and vanilla sugar with ground vanilla (or pure vanilla extract) in a bowl. If using a vanilla pod, halve the vanilla pod lengthwise. Scrape the vanilla seeds and add them to the bowl. Don't discard the empty pods.
Step #2:ย Whisk well until frothy. Add the cornstarch and whisk again to ensure that there are no clumps in the egg mixture.
Step #3: Slowly and continuously pour in the milk and transfer the mixture to a small saucepan.
Step #4:ย Slowly bring it to a boil.ย Stir very often on medium-low heat while the mixture heats up. Let boil shortly until slightly thickened. It will continue to set when it comes to room temperature, so don't let it get too thick now; the consistency you are aiming for is slightly thicker yet pourable.
Good to know!
Don't waste the leftover vanilla pods If you are using vanilla pods, don't discard them after scraping out the seeds. You can use them to make vanilla sugar or vanilla extract.
Vanilla sugar: Cut the empty pods into 3-4 smaller pieces and grind them in a food processor. Mix the ground pods with granulated sugar to make vanilla sugar.
To make powdered vanilla sugar, process the chopped pods and granulated sugar into a powder. The powdered vanilla sugar tends to become hard after a while, but that doesn't affect the taste; just scrape out the needed amount with a spoon whenever necessary.
Alternatively, fill a jar with sugar and stick the vanilla pods inside. The resulting vanilla sugar will not be as powerful as the mixtures mentioned above, but it would be perfect for flavoring coffee or other drinks, for instance.
Keep all kinds of vanilla sugar in airtight containers.
Vanilla extract: Place the vanilla pods in a bottle or jar and cover with alcohol, preferably vodka, but brandy or rum can be used instead. Make sure that the vanilla pods are submerged in alcohol.
Leave for about 8 weeks before using so that the flavors will have time to develop. You can keep adding more vanilla pods when you happen to have leftovers and topping with vodka when the pods are no longer submerged.
Recipe FAQs
Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the German vanilla sauce while it cools to prevent skin from forming. Since this sauce is rather thin, it won't develop as much thick skin as pudding or custard, but this method will help avoid any skin formation.
The German vanilla sauce can be served immediately while still hot or warm or when completely cooled.
You can easily reheat it. Heat it gently in a small pan while stirring continuously and adding a small splash of milk to make it slightly saucier again.
Vanilla sauce keeps well in the fridge for a couple of days. Keep it in a closed jar or another airtight container, whisk it well, or heat it gently before serving.
Vanilla Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 3 tablespoons if using a vanilla pod or pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar with ground vanilla Note 1
- 1 ยผ tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 cups full-fat milk 500 ml
- a few drops yellow food coloring optional, Note 2
Instructions
- Mix ingredients: Place the egg, sugar, and vanilla sugar (or pure vanilla extract) in a bowl. If using a vanilla pot, halve it lengthwise, scrape the seeds out of the pod, and add them to the bowl. Whisk well until frothy. If using vanilla extract or vanilla seeds, remember to add 1 tablespoon of extra sugar.1 large egg + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar + 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar with ground vanilla
- Add cornstarch and whisk very well again, making sure that the mixture doesn't have any clumps.1 ยผ tablespoons cornstarch
- Slowly pour in the milk while whisking.2 cups full-fat milk/ 500 ml
- Cook vanilla sauce: Transfer the mixture to a saucepan and gently bring to a boil while whisking almost constantly. Let the vanilla sauce bubble shortly while whisking continously until it thickens slightly. Stir in a few drops of yellow food coloring if desired.a few drops yellow food coloring
- Consistency: The vanilla sauce will continue to set while it cools, so don't let it get too thick at this point; the consistency you are aiming for is slightly thicker yet pourable.
- Store and reheat: Serve hot, warm, or cold, as suggested above. The German vanilla sauce can be easily reheated. Heat it gently in a small pan, stirring continuously and adding a small splash of milk to make it slightly thinner again.
Notes
- Vanilla: Use ยฝ to 1 vanilla pod or 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract. If not using vanilla sugar, add 1 extra tablespoon of granulated sugar.
- Food Coloring (optional): If desired, add yellow food coloring to make the pudding look more like commercial vanilla sauce or pudding.
Diane Fitzgerald says
How much milk is needed in this recipe?
Adina says
It says in the recipe card. 500 ml/ 2 cups.
Tayt says
Do you think This could be spread over a vanilla cake and topped with buttercream and frost as usual?
Adina says
Hi. No, it's not suitable for fillings, it's too runny.
Tapita says
Hi. Can this be frozen?
Adina says
No, I don't think that will work well, Tapita.
Kelly | Foodtasia says
Adina, this vanilla sauce looks so delicious! It's so perfect for serving with sweets. It would make a wonderful replacement for ice cream or whipped cream. Or I'd probably eat most of it right off of the spoon!