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Chefs use sauces to add flavor, moisture, and eye appeal to desserts. Vanilla sauce, also known as crème Anglaise (krem an-GLAYZ), is a classic accompaniment to soufflés and steamed puddings. It is a light, vanilla-flavored custard sauce made from milk, egg yolks, and sugar. Handle it carefully; it is quite delicate. It is especially important to assemble all the necessary equipment before preparing the sauce. If the sauce begins to overheat it can curdle, or develop lumps. It may be possible to save it by straining it immediately into a container set in an ice-water bath. Other popular sauces include caramel, butterscotch, chocolate, and fruit sauces. Fruit sauces can be raw or cooked, depending upon the desired flavor. A coulis is a fruit sauce made from fresh berries or other fruits. If cooked at all, it is cooked just lightly to activate a thickener. Strain out seeds and skins with a chinois, and thicken the remaining pulp with cornstarch, arrowroot, or even a light pectin. Keep cooking to an absolute minimum to maintain the fresh flavor of the sauce. Use coulis to top ice cream, cheesecake, or other dessert items. A coulis can be spooned on or piped through a tip. If piped, it should be thick enough to form a bead. A fruit syrup, by contrast, is a cooked sugar-based juice. The sugar itself provides the thickening as the liquid boils and is reduced. Use fruit syrups to garnish desserts and ice cream or to complement breakfast items.

Any of these sauces can be prepared in advance; however, sabayon (sa-by-ON), or zabaglione (zah-bahl-YOH-nay), is one sauce that is too delicate to be made ahead of time and held. Sabayon is a fragile foam of egg yolks, sugar, and Marsala wine. Whip it constantly as it cooks over simmering water until it becomes thick and light. Pastry creams, also called crème pâtissière, have greater density than custards and are frequently used as the filling for pastries such as éclairs. Use these creams as a soufflé base as well. Cook eggs, sugar, flour or cornstarch, milk, and/or cream together into a very thick, smooth mixture. Pastry cream, as a basic preparation, is part of the mise en place for many kitchen desserts.

Make delicate Bavarian creams by combining three basic ingredients: vanilla sauce, gelatin, and whipped cream. Combine the vanilla sauce with the dissolved gelatin. Then, cool this mixture over an ice-water bath until it mounds slightly when dropped from a spoon. Fold whipped cream into the mixture and pour it into molds. Use Bavarian creams as single items, or as fillings for a variety of pastries