In the world of plated desserts, sauces rarely play a starring role: rather,
they are a supporting player to the dessert itself. But savvy pastry chefs know
how important this role is-a sauce not only adds color and flavor to a dessert ,
but texture as well. And with the creative painting and feathering of sauces
that is so prevalent in today’s desserts, the sauce contributes greatly to
overall presentation. It’s difficult to categorize all the different types of
dessert sauces available to the pastry chef, but for the most part, there are 10
classifications. Here is dessert sauce 101.
Custard Sauces are
generally made by thickening milk, cream, or half and half with eggs. The most
common of these sauces is crème anglaise, or English sauce (which is the basis
for many other dessert sauces such as ice cream and Bavarian creams). Crème
anglaise can be enhanced with flavorings other than its classic vanilla to
produce bourbon sauce, coffee or mocha sauce, chocolate sauce, and a variety of
others.
Coulis is
the sauce of the century. The term originally, say 500 years ago, was used to
describe the drained broth of juices from meat. Today, a coulis usually refers
to a strained puree of fruits or vegetables. Fruit coulis are generally made
with pureed fruits sweetened with a simple syrup, then strained through a
chinois or cheesecloth. They are not cooked, which gives them a fresh flavor and
appearance but can make their consistency difficult to manage since some fruits
contain more starch than water, and vice versa. With the advent of
pre-gelatinized starches, this problem is
rectified; a pre-gelatinized starch need not be
cooked to thicken. The starch is combined with sugar (usually four parts sugar
to one part starch) to prevent clumping, and then whisked into the
puree.
Reduction is
one of the oldest and purest ways to thicken a sauce and develop incredible
flavor. Most fruit and wine sauces are appropriate for this technique.
Reductions rely on the evaporation of water from the sauce by cooking it in a
shallow pan over low heat while stirring frequently. Reductions can dramatically
alter the flavor of some fruits (such as kiwis and oranges) and make them either
too sweet and candy-like or bitter. There is no better way to intensify the
flavor of some sauces than through reduction.
Starch Thickened Sauces
are fruit and wine sauces, as well as sauces that are based on liqueur, that are
thickened with starches, such as cornstarch or
arrowroot. Both of these starches must be mixed with a portion of sugar,
dissolved with a portion of liquid, and then cooked quickly to thicken and
eliminate a starchy aftertaste. In general, fruit sauces that don't fare well
through reduction can be thickened easily with a starch.
Caramel Sauce
is made by caramelizing sugar to a golden amber,
then adding heavy cream and butter to produce a rich, gooey sauce. Spirits can
be added to alter or intensify the flavor. It's best to use the wet method of
caramelization (cooking the sugar with water in a
three-to-one ratio) with the addition of just a
little bit of glucose or corn syrup to prevent crystallization of the sauce
later on. Caramel sauces are almost always served hot.
Sabayon is a
classic mixture made by thickening egg yolks with sugar and
Marsala wine over a
bain-marie until light and fluffy. Modern versions use anything from
Champagne to orange juice in place of the Marsala. Sabayon can be thickened and
fortified with the addition of lightly whipped cream. Sabayon is classically
served over fresh fruits that have been tossed in
sugar and a spirit of some sort (as in strawberries Romanoff). It can also be
served as a dessert by itself.
Preserve-based Sauces are
made by thinning preserves with a simple syrup. The mixture is usually heated
with the addition of a dash of lemon juice to cut the sweetness. The best-known
version of this sauce is the classic raspberry-flavored
Melba sauce, created by
Auguste Escoffier to adorn the classic peach
Melba in honor of Dame Nellie Melba, an opera diva
of the time.
