Applesauce

Ingredients

• 3 pounds apples, such as McIntosh or Empire
• ½ cup water or apple juice
• (2 tablespoons lemon juice, or to taste)
• (One 3-inch cinnamon stick or ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon)
• ¼ to ½ cup white sugar, brown sugar, or maple syrup, to taste
• (2 tablespoons butter, softened)
• (1 teaspoon vanilla)
• Hide ingredients for Crème Anglaise or vanilla ice cream 1 Crème Anglaise or vanilla ice cream (opens in new tab) Crème Anglaise or vanilla ice cream
  • 5 large egg yolks
  • ⅓ to ½ cup sugar
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups whole milk, 1 cup whole milk plus 1 cup heavy cream, or 2 cups half-and-half
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla, rum, or dry sherry, or a little grated lemon zest

  Sub-recipe steps

  1. Lightly beat in a medium bowl: 5 large egg yolks; ⅓ to ½ cup sugar; ⅛ teaspoon salt
  2. Heat in a medium saucepan over medium heat until bubbles form around the edges: 2 cups whole milk, 1 cup whole milk plus 1 cup heavy cream, or 2 cups half-and-half
  3. Slowly whisk the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture to warm it. Return this mixture to the saucepan and place over medium-low heat. Stir the sauce gently but constantly with a silicone spatula, sweeping the entire pan bottom and reaching into the corners. As soon as the custard is thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon and reaches 170° to 175°F on an instant-read thermometer, pour it through a sieve into a bowl and stir in: 1 teaspoon vanilla, rum, or dry sherry, or a little grated lemon zest
  4. Serve warm or cold. If serving cold, let the sauce cool thoroughly before covering and refrigerating. Condensation will cause it to thin. The sauce can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days. To reheat, scrape the sauce into a double boiler over warm (165°F) water and stir occasionally until warmed through.