How do I get the sauce smooth and free of lumps?

Mix the cornstarch into a little of the cold milk first. Bring the rest of the milk to a boil with the vanilla, whisk in the starch slurry, then whisk the boiling milk into the egg and sugar mixture. The sauce is whisked constantly over the heat until it thickens.

Why should the eggs and sugar be whisked for 10 minutes?

Long whisking makes the mixture airy and pale, so the sauce turns out thick and fine when the boiling milk is whisked in. Also stir the sauce until it is completely cold, so no skin or lumps form.

Can I flavor the sauce with something other than vanilla?

Yes. The original recipe mentions rum, arrack, lemon, orange, caramel, coffee, or cocoa — chosen to taste and according to which dessert the sauce is meant for.

What are the ingredients in this 1914 recipe?

1 liter of fresh strained milk, 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, ¼ vanilla bean (or 1 heaping teaspoon of vanilla powder), 1½ eggs, 2 deciliters of cream, and 2 tablespoons of sugar. The recipe is on p. 502 of Henriette Schønberg Erken's "Stor kokebok" (1914) and makes about 8 servings.

Vanilla Sauce, Simple

Name: Vanilla Sauce, Simple
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Norwegian
Ingredients: 1 l fresh strained milk; 1 tbsp cornstarch; 0.25 pcs vanilla bean (or 1 heaping teaspoon of vanilla powder); 2 pcs eggs (the original gives 1½ eggs); 2 dl cream; 2 tbsp sugar

Simple vanilla sauce from Erken 1914: 1 l milk is boiled with vanilla and thickened with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, whisked into an egg mixture of 2 eggs and 2 tablespoons of sugar, heated until it thickens, and stirred cold with 2 dl cream. Can be flavored with rum, coffee, cocoa, and more.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 502 (falt i det fri)

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About the dish

The basic vanilla sauce recipe in the dessert-sauce chapter of "Stor kokebok" (1914). Erken notes that the same sauce can be flavored with rum, arrack, lemon, orange, caramel, coffee, or cocoa, depending on which dessert it is to accompany.

How to make it

1
Mix the starch
Mix the cornstarch into a little of the cold milk.
2
Boil the milk
Bring the rest of the milk to a boil with the vanilla bean, and whisk the boiling milk into the starch slurry.
3
Whisk eggs and sugar
Whisk the sugar and eggs together for 10 minutes into a pale, thick egg mixture.
4
Combine and cook
Whisk the boiling milk into the egg mixture, set it over the heat, and whisk until the sauce is thick. It must not come to a boil.
5
Cool
Pour out the sauce and stir it until cold. Stir in the cream. If you want a different flavor, add rum, arrack, lemon, orange, caramel, coffee, or cocoa instead of vanilla.

Changes from the original

The original's "1½ eggs" is rounded up to 2 eggs. Measures are converted to modern units, and "corn flour" to cornstarch. The cream, which is not explicitly mentioned in the method, is stirred into the finished, cooling sauce.

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Time machine – what changed?

Pick two editions and see what Henriette Schønberg Erken added, removed or changed between them.

From1914 1949 Modernised

To1914 1949 Modernised

1949 (proofread, p. 579) → Modernised~74% of the text changedremovedadded

~~½ l. nysilt melk~~ 1 l nysilet melk. 1 spiseskje ~~maismel ¼ stang vanilje eller~~ maisenna. 0,25 stk vaniljestang (eller 1 toppet teskje ~~vaniljepulver 1½~~ vaniljepulver). 2 stk egg (originalen oppgir 1½ egg). 2 ~~del. fløte~~ dl fløte. 2 spiseskjeer sukker. ~~Melet røres~~ Rør maisennaen ut i litt av ~~melken,~~ den kalde melken.. Gi resten av melken ~~og vaniljen gis~~ et ~~opkok, vispes~~ oppkok med vaniljestangen, og visp den kokende melken inn i ~~meljevningen. Sukker~~ meljevningen.. Visp sukker og egg ~~vispes~~ sammen i 10 ~~minutter,~~ minutter til lys, tykk eggedosis.. Visp den kokende ~~melk vispes i, settes~~ melken inn i eggeblandingen, sett den over varmen og ~~vispes~~ visp til sausen er tykk. ~~Helles op~~ Den må ikke koke opp.. Hell sausen opp og ~~røres~~ rør i den til den er ~~kold, tilsettes den stivvispede fløte. Istedenfor vanilje kan man tilsette~~ kald. Rør inn fløten. Ønsker du annen smak, tilsett rom, ~~arak,~~ arrak, sitron, appelsin, karamell, kaffe eller kakao ~~efter smak og efter hvilken dessert sausen skal brukes til.~~ i stedet for vanilje.

Note on Modernised

Originalens «1½ egg» er avrundet til 2 egg. Mål er omregnet til moderne enheter, «maismel» til maisenna. Fløten, som ikke er nevnt eksplisitt i fremgangsmåten, røres inn i den ferdige, avkjølende sausen.

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Frequently asked questions

How do I get the sauce smooth and free of lumps?: Mix the cornstarch into a little of the cold milk first. Bring the rest of the milk to a boil with the vanilla, whisk in the starch slurry, then whisk the boiling milk into the egg and sugar mixture. The sauce is whisked constantly over the heat until it thickens.
Why should the eggs and sugar be whisked for 10 minutes?: Long whisking makes the mixture airy and pale, so the sauce turns out thick and fine when the boiling milk is whisked in. Also stir the sauce until it is completely cold, so no skin or lumps form.
Can I flavor the sauce with something other than vanilla?: Yes. The original recipe mentions rum, arrack, lemon, orange, caramel, coffee, or cocoa — chosen to taste and according to which dessert the sauce is meant for.
What are the ingredients in this 1914 recipe?: 1 liter of fresh strained milk, 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, ¼ vanilla bean (or 1 heaping teaspoon of vanilla powder), 1½ eggs, 2 deciliters of cream, and 2 tablespoons of sugar. The recipe is on p. 502 of Henriette Schønberg Erken's "Stor kokebok" (1914) and makes about 8 servings.

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