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Sauce

German Sauce

A custard-like sauce made with egg yolks, powdered sugar, cream, and beaten egg whites.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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German Sauce

Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓

German Sauce

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Beat the egg yolks and powdered sugar together.

  2. Add the cream and mix well.

  3. Place the mixture in a double boiler.

  4. Beat the egg whites to a stiff froth and set aside.

  5. Stir the mixture in the double boiler until it begins to thicken.

  6. Add the beaten egg whites and any flavoring, then beat thoroughly.

  7. Serve immediately.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  2. Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together122,807 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  3. Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together42,166 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

Egg and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Egg yolks
Thicken the sauce and add richness as they set gently over heat.
Egg whites
Whipped to a stiff froth, they add lightness and airy texture to the sauce.
Cream
Adds moisture and richness, giving the sauce a smooth, velvety body.
Powdered sugar
Sweetens the sauce and dissolves smoothly into the yolks.

The step that matters

Stir the mixture in the double boiler until it begins to thicken. Egg yolks thicken through gentle heat; if the water is too hot or the sauce is stirred too little, the yolks can scramble and curdle. Keep the heat moderate and stir constantly to get a smooth, thickened sauce.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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