Sweet White Sauce

[MrsMontyD]

My auntie used to make a sweet white sauce at Christmas to serve with Christmas puddings, I was very young at the time but I'm sure it had nutmeg in it.

I have a vague memory of something similar being sold in tins but I've looked (hoping to recreate it from the ingredients) and I can't see anything.

I've googled but can only find recipes which use water and cornflour, in my head this was more like a sweet béchamel but I could be wrong.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Was it something using condensed milk?

A homemade custard? They can be quite pale.

Waitrose sell - or used to - a vanilla custard which was white.

Sorry - hit post too soon - also Sainsbury's. It was in a tub like fresh custard in the chiller.

I'm sure other supermarkets do similar.

Could it be brandy sauce? It's traditionally served on Christmas puddings.

www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/brandysauce_2534

It definitely wasn't custard, more like a sweet béchamel. I might have to try the recipes with cornflour I found and see if they're similar.

It's butter a bit of cornflour and milk. Usually flavoured with some sugar and some brandy. Traditional to serve with Christmas pudding! And it's a very similar texture to bechamel.

Maybe it was brandy sauce without the brandy (she was a Methodist) and she added nutmeg. That recipe looks more like it.

Something like this OP?
www.food.com/recipe/nannys-sweet-white-sauce-364584

I'll add this one to the list, the egg will make it richer than the just water and cornflour recipes I found. I would have asked for her recipe books when she died if I'd had a chance.

Used to have sweet white sauce with Christmas pudding as a child. Then either the galloping gourmet, Fanny Craddock or Zena Skinner suggested sieved icing sugar and double cream.
Perhaps a cookery book like a 60s edition of Good Housekeeping or Constance Spry would have a recipe.

I'd use this one

The previous recipe linked to, which uses an egg, risks ending up like scrambled egg, whereas this recipe is much simpler.

And points out you could use cornflour rather than plain flour if you want a less creamy sauce - so depends on the texture you want!

I'm glad someone else remembers this, my memory is from probably the late 70s, but my auntie would have learned to cook in the 40s and 50s.

I was going to say this, just flavoured differently — we put rum in ours.

Sorry, missed your post. I'm going to try this out later, I have some fruit cake we can test it with. I'm going to give it a go with cornflour and a roux and see which is most like I remember. I have brandy if it needs it.

Thank you.

Brandy sauce.
Cornflour, milk, sugar, brandy

My grandmother was a Methodist too, and teetotal, but used brandy in the Christmas pudding sauce as the alcohol evaporates.

And we still have our Christmas Pudding with brandy sauce.

Bread sauce?

Maybe someone in my long ago childhood made sweet bread sauce. Some of us were quite peculiar. Still are.

My grandmother was a Methodist too, and teetotal, but used brandy in the Christmas pudding sauce as the alcohol evaporates.

Not if you’re making it right it doesn’t!

The brandy you flame a pudding with, or the wine in a casserole, will burn off or evaporate – but you add the brandy to brandy sauce at the last minute when it’s stopped simmering, so the alcohol stays in it.

I make a similar sauce as you would custard with custard powder, using cornflour instead of custard powder, and using less sugar. I add brandy to some and vanilla essence to a separated out bit as my Mum doesn't like the brandy flavour. Might try nutmeg instead this year!

There was definitely no Brandy at my Aunties house, she was the type of Methodist who wouldn't take part in a raffle (gambling) never mine have alcohol in the house, not even for medicinal purposes.

I've interrogated a cousin and we think it was essentially brandy sauce without Brandy but she agrees with nutmeg added for flavour, I'm going to give it a try tomorrow with some fruit cake in lieu of Christmas pudding.

I think you’re spot on with the brandy sauce minus the brandy. We have this every Xmas - recipe handed down from Baptist Gt Grandmother so definitely no alcohol!!
I shall try adding nutmeg this year.

This is it , made it recently to go with ginger sponge

Traditional Sweet White Sauce

Ingredients

300 ml of milk

28g butter or margarine

20g cornflour

1 teaspoon of sugar

Method

(1) Melt the butter or margarine into a saucepan. Remove from heat and blend in the cornflour.

(2) Stir in the milk gradually, and add the sugar.

(3) Bring to the boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Hi I remember this (a year too late!) Ambrosia used to make white sauce and it was lovely. You can make your own; whisk a pint of milk with 2 tbsp cornflour (plain flour is for savoury I'd suggest) and a knob of butter, 2 tbsp sugar and a grating of nutmeg, whisk as the butter melts. Bring to the boil stirring very often so it doesn't catch, adjust as you like if too thick/thin...