Split the vanilla bean pods lengthwise down the middle. In a heavy saucepan, add 4 cups of heavy cream and the vanilla bean pods. Heat the cream over low heat until bubbles begin to form on the edges. Remove it from the heat.
Remove the vanilla beans from the cream. Using the back of a paring knife, scrape the inside of the vanilla beans to remove the insides. Add the vanilla beans back to the heavy cream. Discard the pods.
Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks and place the yolks in a large bowl. Reserve the egg whites for another recipe.
Whisk the sugar with the egg yolks until combined.
While whisking constantly, pour ¼ to 1/2 cup of the hot, heavy cream into the egg yolks to bring the yolks up in temperature. Add the remaining heavy cream and whisk quickly to combine.
Place the heavy cream and egg mixture on a burner over low heat. Low heat is essential here. Whisk constantly until the sauce is thickened and coats the back of a spoon, about 8–12 minutes, see the notes below. Remove from the heat and transfer through a fine-mesh sieve or chinois. Refrigerate for 90 minutes or until cool.
Serve by pouring some of the crème anglaise over top of fresh berries and serving with optional heavy whipping cream and mint.
Notes
Make-Ahead: You can make crème anglaise up to 4 days ahead of time before serving it to your guests. See the storage notes below.How to Store: When storing it be sure to hold in a plastic container wrapped with plastic in the refrigerator and keep it for up to 5 days. It will freeze, making a very rich, delicious ice cream. With that being said, it does not thaw well because it will begin to separate.How to Reheat: If you’d like to serve this hot, add it to a small saucepot and heat over low heat while continually serving until hot.Scalding means cooking over low heat, stirring occasionally until the cream starts to bubble along the edges and bottom of the pot. You’ll notice some of the insides of the vanilla bean start to release into the liquid—this is perfect.We’ll only use the yolks in this recipe, so save the whites for another recipe (a meringue or angel food cake would be tasty!).You temper the eggs slowly so that you don’t scramble the eggs by pouring in the entire pot of scaled milk.Vanilla beans add such a nice flavor that you can’t get from extract, but if you can’t find them, of course, feel free to use a high-quality vanilla extract made from real vanilla beans or a vanilla bean paste instead. Substitute 1 vanilla bean for 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract.You’re looking for an Alfredo sauce-like texture when whisking the crème anglaise over the burner. It should be somewhat thick and will coat the back of a spoon when it’s ready. This is also known as nappe.Observewhile whisking it over the burner, because the eggs can go from liquid to overcooked in moments!If you like using thermometers, the finished temperature of the crème Anglaise should be between 182° and 185°.