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This rich dessert sauce is adapted from a recipe in a nineteenth-century cookbook by author Hannah Mary Bouvier Peterson. It can be served with desserts such as bread pudding or apple pie.

Ingredients

  • 1 quart half-and-half
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 6 large eggs, well beaten
  • 2 teaspoons rose water

Directions

  1. In a saucepan, combine the half-and-half with the sugar. Set over medium heat, and stir until the sugar is dissolved and the milk is scalding (just below the boiling point). Remove from the heat.



  2. Whisk 1/2 cup of the hot cream into the eggs. Reduce the heat to low, and blend the egg-and-cream mixture into the hot cream, stirring constantly to prevent the eggs from curdling. Continue stirring until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.



  3. Remove the custard from the heat, and stir in the rose water. Pour the custard into a pitcher, and set aside to cool to room temperature. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Warm slightly before serving.