Vanilla Sauce

Vanilla sauce is a dessert sauce made of vanilla extract, sugar, corn starch, butter and salt which is commonly served with desserts like bread pudding, cakes, crepes, soufflés, waffles and strudels. It is a cream or yellow colored sweet sauce with the delicious flavor of vanilla.

History of Vanilla Flavored Sauce

The exact origin of the sauce is not known, but vanilla pods have been used for flavoring foods since historical times. Vanilla was first cultivated by people in the coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico. Mythological stories state that the plant originated when Princess Xanat escaped from her father to the forest, along with her lover. The lovers were found out and beheaded, and when their blood reached the ground, the vanilla vine grew on that land. The vanilla pod's popularity is known to have grown in the 15th century, and till the 19th century, Mexico was the principal producer of the plant. Later it spread to France and many other countries across the globe.

Ingredients Used and Vanilla Sauce Recipe Overview

The main ingredients for the vanilla sauce are vanilla extract, sugar, water, cornstarch, salt and butter. Different variants of the sauce may contain additional ingredients as well. To prepare the sauce, water is boiled, sugar and cornstarch is added, stirring well. When the mixture achieves a thick consistency, it is removed from heat, and vanilla, butter and salt are added. The contents are stirred till the butter melts, and the sauce is allowed to cool.

Serving and Eating Vanilla Sauces

The sauce is most commonly served with bread pudding and other such desserts. It is also served with sorbets, hot fritters, pastry cream, cakes, pies, ice-creams, etc. It is often topped over pound cakes, fruit cakes or just sliced fruits.

Popular Vanilla Sauce Recipe Variations

The basic vanilla sauce can have several fancy variations, with the addition of different kinds of ingredients. Here are some popular variations to the sauce-

• Spiced vanilla sauces: They contain additional ingredients like nutmeg and allspice to give the sauce a unique, spicy taste.
• Tahitian vanilla sauce: It is made of pure Tahitian vanilla and omits use of alcohol and dyes.
• Ginger vanilla sauces: They consist of grated ginger and apple juice concentrate apart from the other ingredients of the basic version of the sauce.

Flavored Variants of Vanilla Dessert Sauce

Besides the typical vanilla sauce, there are complex vanilla based dessert sauces which come in different flavors, some of which are as follows -

• Dark Chocolate Sauce-It is made of unsweetened chocolate, sugar, water, butter and vanilla. It is often poured over desserts and ice creams.
• Hot Fudge Sauce- It is made of cocoa, all purpose flour, brown sugar, sugar, evaporated milk, water, butter and vanilla.
• Butterscotch Sauce- It is a butterscotch flavored classic sauce made of corn syrup, brown sugar, evaporated milk, butter, baking soda and vanilla.
• Caramel Sauce- It is made of sugar, flour, water, salt, butter, cream and vanilla.

Health and Nutrition Facts of Vanilla Sauces

100 ml of vanilla sauce contains about 31kcal, 3.4g fat, 3.5g carbohydrates and 1.9 g sugar.