Sweet Vanilla Sauce
This dairy free warm sweet sauce can be poured over slices of your favorite cake, or over a traditional steamed Christmas Pudding.
You can use either white or brown sugar – depending on the flavor and color you want your final sauce to be.
Once everything is combined together and the mixture has been brought to a roiling boiling, allow to boil vigorously for 2-3 minutes or until lightly thickened. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Butter adds a richness to the flavor, silkiness to the texture, and a shiny sheen to the sauces color – so be sure not to omit it.

Sweet Vanilla Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup white or brown sugar*
- 3 Tbsp corn flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 cups boiling water
- 2 Tbsp butter or margarine
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, mix together the sugar, corn flour and salt until well combined.
- Whisk in boiling water and bring to a boil over medium heat. Once boiling, allow to boil for 2 minutes to thicken, then remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla.
- Use warm or at room temperature.
Notes
*For those who can have dairy, and want a richer, creamier and thicker sauce, replace the boiling water with hot milk
Hi there,
I love your recipes. I’ve found so many that I can make myself for foods that I thought I couldn’t eat again. And though I would love to make this sweet white sauce, I’m confused by the ingredients and directions. When you say corn flour, do you mean the stuff that is often used to make grits or do you mean corn starch and there appears to be a typo in the direction No. 1 – I don’t know what corn flour milk is. Please could you clarify.
Thanks,
Lorene
Corn flour is very different from cornstarch, in that they cannot be used interchangeably. Corn flour is ground from the whole corn kernel (contains proteins & starches), whereas cornstarch is obtained from the endosperm of the kernel (contains only starch). Cornmeal is similar to corn flour in that both ground from the whole kernel, the only difference being cornmeal is ground to a coarse gritty texture, where corn flour is ground to a fine powder. Again, to add more confusion, masa harina is a Mexican corn flour however lime has been added to give it its unique flavor.
This recipe was actually on my list to update, so I’m glad you brought it to my attention! This is actually the recipe my Grandma used to pour over her homemade steamed Christmas Puddings – although I did have to edit the recipe to replace the wheat flour – I hope you enjoy it. Have a great day!