Vanilla Sauce

This is the easiest vanilla sauce recipe ever! It contains only 3 ingredients and goes perfectly on just about anything sweet like bread pudding, cakes, and pancakes.

Erez and I agree on most things, but not when it comes to choosing between vanilla and chocolate. I prefer chocolate (obviously), while he goes the more traditional route. The only time I really prefer vanilla is when we’re picking out ice cream.

When I made this cake for a party, as always, the cake itself just wasn’t enough for me and I wanted to add a little something to it. The cake is great on its own, but the bar is constantly being raised among my sweet, demanding friends ever since the moment they tagged me as the baker of the group. So I need to pull something extraordinary out of my sleeves every single time in order to please them. Erez wouldn’t agree with me, though. He says that what I consider to be just ok will surely satisfy his hungry friends, and that I shouldn’t sweat it. He’s probably right, because he almost always is.

So I ended up making chocolate sauce and vanilla sauce to serve with the cake, and no one really cared for the chocolate sauce, but they all asked for the vanilla sauce recipe. 

Only 3 ingredients

With only 3 simple ingredients, this is the easiest vanilla sauce recipe in history. You’ll find yourself making it over and over again. It goes perfectly with just about everything: cakes, pancakes, waffles, crepes, bread pudding, ice cream, and a few other things I shouldn’t even mention I added it to. Or, you can just drink it straight from the jar.

How to make vanilla sauce

All you need for this sauce is to heat together heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla, for a few minutes, and voila! Letting it simmer gently for 10 minutes should be enough for it to thicken, but if it doesn’t, leave it for longer. It should be like thick liquid. I once forgot about it and left it on the stove for a while, luckily on very low heat, and that’s how I learned how thick and wonderful this sauce can get over time.

Tips:

• I usually use pure vanilla extract for this. Don’t use artificial. If you prefer using a vanilla bean, substitute the extract with 1 split and seeded vanilla bean. Cook the mixture with both the pod and seeds, and once the mixture is ready, discard the pod.
• For a richer, thicker sauce, you can add butter to the recipe – up to 1 stick/113g. .
• For a thicker consistency, you can add about 1 tablespoon cornstarch. If you do, you’ll have to whisk the mixture constantly until it’s smooth, or it can get lumpy.

Recipe to use this sauce with:

• My Favorite Bread Pudding
• Apple Cake
• Almond Cherry Cake

5 from 6 votes

Vanilla Sauce

This is the easiest vanilla sauce recipe ever! It contains only 3 ingredients and goes perfectly on just about anything sweet!

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Ingredients

• 2 cups (480 ml) heavy cream
• 1/3 cup (65 g /2.3 oz) granulated sugar
• 1-2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (or 1 vanilla bean - read above post)
• Optional: up to 1/2 cup (1 stick/113 g) butter for more flavor and a thicker, creamier consistency

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens, 10-15 minutes (or keep cooking until desired consistency).
2. Drizzle sauce over cakes, pancakes, waffles, bread puddings, and more. Serve warm or slightly cool (the sauce will thicken as it cools).
3. Sauce will keep in the fridge, in an airtight container, for up to a week.