Alexander Pope once famously observed, "You eat, in dreams, the custard of the day." Here, custard is touted as the proverbial crème de la crème (pun intended), the best thing life has to offer.

In the relatively small world of dessert sauces, the ultimate is creme anglaise (pronounced krem ahn-glaze), also known as vanilla sauce, custard sauce and English cream. The versatility of this ...