Crème Bastarde
(Custard Sauce)

Origin: English      Period: Medieval

Original Recipe

Crème Bastarde (from Harleian MS 279)

Crème Bastarde.  Take te whyte of eyroun a grete hepe, & putte it on a panne ful of mylke, & let yt boyle; ten sesyn it so with salt and honey a lytel; ten lat hit kele, & draw it torw a straynoure, an take fayre cowe mylke an draw yt withallm & seson it with sugre; & loke tat it be poynant & doucet: serve it forth for a potage, or for a gode bakyn mete, wheder tat tou wolt

Translation:

Creme Bastarde.  Take the white of Eggs a great heap, & put it in a pan full of Milk, & let it boil; then season it so with Salt and honey a little, then let it cool, & draw it through a strainer, and take fair Cow's milk and draw it withal, & season it with Sugar, & look that it be poignant & sweet:  & serve it forth for a pottage, or for a good Baked meat, whichever that thou will.

Modern Redaction

Ingredients:

4 egg whites, well beaten
180ml whole milk + 2 tbsp cream
60ml single cream
2 tsp cream
2 tbsp honey
pinch of salt
2 tbsp sugar

Method:

Add the egg whites to a saucepan with the milk and 60ml of cream. Stir over medium heat as it slowly comes to a boil. Allow it to simmer for 5 minutes, stirring, before adding the honey and salt. Simmer for a further minute or two then remove from the heat and strain. Add the remaining cream and sugar and beat for 200 whisk strokes. Pour into a serving dish and chill for an hour (it will thicken as it chills).

When the hour is up, removed from the fridge and beat for 100 whisk strokes then chill until ready to serve. If you wish you can add 2 tbsp rice flour to the mixture and it can then be used to fill a pie.

Read: Recipe Articles and Reviews

More European recipes...

More dessert recipes...

More recipes for Eggs...

Are any of the terms used here unfamiliar, do you want to translate from British to American cookery terms? If so then this Glossary of US and UK Cookery Terms will help you.

Need to convert any units on this site?

As a guide 1 US cup of flour = 4 1/2 oz = 140g (this applies to breadcrumbs, ground almonds etc
1 US cup of butter/margarine or sugar = 7 oz = 200g

For temperature conversions (Celsius, gas mark, Farenheit) go to the Temperature conversion page.
For mass conversions (grammes, cups, spoons, ounces etc) go to the Mass/Weight conversion page.
For temperature conversions (litres, cups, spoons, fluid ounces etc) go to the Volume conversion page.
You can also see more cookery terms and meanings as well as ingredient descriptions at the Cooks' glossary