Why Ina Garten Melts Ice Cream on Purpose

Melted ice cream might bring to mind a sad fallen cone on the pavement. But for Ina Garten, it’s the secret to shortcut crème anglaise, a classic custard sauce that elevates homemade recipes into restaurant-worthy desserts. Making crème anglaise from scratch can be time-consuming, but for this trick Garten literally just melts vanilla ice cream — how easy is that? 

“Vanilla ice cream is essentially crème anglaise that’s been frozen,” explains Garten in Cook Like a Pro. “I reverse the process and end up with crème anglaise!” She doubled down on the tip in a 2023 video for Goldbelly, serving her “crème anglaise” underneath a chocolate layer cake.

What is crème anglaise?

Crème anglaise is a typically vanilla-flavored custard sauce that’s made by whisking egg yolks and sugar in a bowl, then tempering with eggs and hot cream before slowly mixing everything together in a saucepan. If you’ve ever made homemade ice cream, you know this is the same base that gets chilled and churned to make the frozen treat. 

By starting with vanilla ice cream, you’re essentially reverse-engineering the process. The key: using a high-quality vanilla ice cream (or “good ice cream,” as Ina would say). She swears by Häagen-Dazs, but look for any pint with at least 12% milk fat; the main ingredients should be ones you can pronounce like cream, milk, egg yolks, and sugar. 

To melt ice cream, gently heat it in a saucepan over low heat, or nuke it in the microwave in 30-second increments, on low power. You can also leave your ice cream in the fridge for a few hours, or on the counter during dinner (be sure not to leave it out for longer than two hours, though). 

Think of crème anglaise as the ice cream portion of a classic à la mode pairing. It’s especially delicious with cakes or desserts that can lean on the dry side, since they’ll soak up the extra liquid — try it with a classic pound cake, bread pudding, or molten chocolate cake. But really, this versatile custard sauce will complement almost anything you decide to serve it with. Spoon a little on a plate underneath your dessert for an elegant touch, or serve it in a saucer alongside.