Gooseberry Gin Custard Sauce Recipe

Gooseberries are typically added into cakes ( like this Honey Gooseberry Cake), fools and crumbles alongside some kind of custard. Take your custard up a level with this lip smacking Gooseberry and Gin Custard Sauce. This Custard Sauce is also sometimes called crème anglaise. Make sure you select a high quality gin for this recipe. There is very few ingredients to this recipe so selecting a good gin is very important. Go for a botanical gin like these, by Glendalough for best results.

So how do I make this Gooseberry Gin Custard Sauce from scratch?

This Gooseberry Gin Custard Sauce requires just a touch of attention but is totally worth it. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container and kept for 3 days refrigerated.

In a saucepan, add cream, sugar and vanilla. Bring this mix to a very gentle boil. Temper your egg yolk by adding a little hot cream into the egg yolk, whisking briefly and returning it to the saucepan. Tempering the egg yolks brings them up in temperature slightly so when you add them to the hot cream mix, they don’t immediately cook and scramble. Whisk in the gooseberry puree. Continue heating the custard slowly, constantly whisking. The custard is ready when a spoon dipped in still has a coating on the back when lifted. Whisk in the gin and immediately pour through a sieve. Cover the surface of the custard with cling film or parchment paper to help prevent a skin forming on top.

Why did my custard sauce curdle?

Your custard sauce could have curdled for a number of reasons. It’s possible you didn’t temper the egg yolks correctly, you used too high of a heat, you cooked the custard for too long or you didn’t strain it.

To temper the egg yolks properly, you should add a large splash of the hot cream into a small bowl along with the yolks. You should immediately whisk this together briskly and thoroughly. You may then add this back to the saucepan with your hot cream.

It’s also possible you cooked the custard on too high of a heat. Once the cream has been warmed, the egg yolks tempered and added into the saucepan, reduce the heat down to the lowest possible heat. It may feel like not much is happening for a while but keep cooking it on low, whisking constantly. Turning up the heat may leave you with a curdled custard.

Similarly, it’s possible you could have cooked the custard sauce for too long. It should only take 5-10 minutes of further cooking once the egg yolks have been added. Dip a spoon into the custard to check that it’s done. If the custard sauce coats the back of the spoon thickly, it’s ready.

Straining the custard is also a very important step that should not be skipped. Pouring the cooked custard through a sieve before cooling ensures that you catch any overcooked egg. This will result in a silky smooth custard sauce.

What’s the difference between Custard Sauce and Crème anglaise?

Typically, an English style Custard Sauce is made using sweetened cream or milk and some kind of starch as a thickener, sometimes along with egg yolks. This can be custard powder (which is mainly made up of flavourings and some kind of starch) or cornflour. It is traditionally served warm.

French style Crème anglaise is very similar, also made from sweetened cream or milk but usually thickened only with egg yolks. Adding cornflour or starches creates a Crème pâtissière or “pastry cream”. This sets much thicker and is used to fill all kinds of baked goods. They are both typically served cold.

Recommended Equipment

For Cakes to pour this all over, check out my Cake Category, here.