Oma's German Vanilla Sauce Recipe – Vanillesosse Rezept

by: Gerhild Fulson  / Oma Gerhild shares easy, authentic German recipes you can trust, rooted in family tradition and featured in her cookbooks.

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German vanilla sauce is a perfect accompaniment to so many desserts! Try it out on almost any cake or ice cream!

My vanilla sauce recipe, Vanillesosse or Vanillesoße, is an easy one to make when you're needing that something special to go along with your dessert.

This is very similar to Crème anglaise (English cream) and is a light pouring custard that fits perfectly with some freshly baked apple strudel or over some stewed fruit.

There are many variations of the sauce, from using vanilla pods (which, unfortunately, are not readily available everywhere), to using yellow food coloring to replace the yellow from the egg yolks! 

There are three basic ways to make the German Vanillesosse, one uses egg yolks to thicken the sauce, another uses corn starch, and the third uses both. Below, my recipe uses both. 

Try this variation ...

Whip 2 to 4 egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the cold sauce and serve.

Super rich Vanilla Sauce ...

After the vanilla sauce has cooled, whip 1 cup of heavy (whipping) cream until soft peaks form. Fold this into the vanilla sauce. YUMMY!

A simpler, less rich Vanilla Sauce ...

Mix together 1 tablespoon flour and 1 egg yolk and gradually stir in 2 cups 2% milk. Add 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar. Bring to a slow simmer, stirring constantly, until thickened to a sauce. Add sugar to taste. 

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Serve this Vanilla Sauce with ...

Desserts like dampfnudeln, Götterspeise, rote grütze, apfelstrudel, bread pudding, rice pudding, chocolate pudding, steamed fruit, kaiserschmarrn, hefeklösse, etc.

Ready to make this vanilla sauce?

Print Recipe

Oma's German Vanilla Sauce Recipe – Vanillesosse Rezept

My vanilla sauce recipe, Vanillesosse or Vanillesoße, is an easy one to make when you're needing that something special to go along with your dessert. This is very similar to Crème anglaise (English cream) and is a light pouring custard that fits perfectly with some freshly baked apple strudel or over some stewed fruit.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings:

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 4 egg yolks
• 2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 cup milk
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks with cornstarch. 
2. In top of double boiler, combine milk with sugar and bring to a simmer.  
3. In a thin stream, whisk hot milk into the egg yolks and return to double boiler. Cook until sauce is thick enough to coat a wooden spoon, about 3 minutes. DO NOT let the sauce boil or it can curdle. Stir in vanilla extract.
4. Serve hot or cover with plastic wrap right on top of the pudding so that no 'skin' forms and refrigerate.

Notes/Hints:

• Use 6 egg yolks instead of the 4 if you'd like a thicker sauce.
• If the sauce curdles, you can try putting it in a blender or you can put it into a cheesecloth-lined sieve. Both methods should give you a smooth sauce to use. 
• For a richer sauce, use cream instead of milk.

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Unless otherwise noted recipe, images and content © Just like Oma | www.quick-german-recipes.com

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to your table

Complete your set today - order now!

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Hi, I'm Oma Gerhild! As a food writer and cookbook author, I'm always looking to find ways to pass on my German heritage using local ingredients. Quick and easy. That's my goal. Wunderbar food. That's the result.