Learn to make this quintessential Dutch dessert called “vlaflip.” We didn’t eat this every night as dessert. Most nights it was vla, or yogurt, but sometimes we got this delicious dessert. The three components go so well together: rich, velvety vanilla custard, sweet and fruity syrup, with the tangy yogurt on top!
As an adult, I have modified the recipe a bit and replaced the cloyingly sweet syrup with a homemade fruit sauce. I’m sure if I traveled back in time, and asked my younger self if I would ever prefer a less sweet alternative to ranja (fruit syrup), I’d have said “Heck no!” But I would have been wrong: this less sweet alternative pairs perfectly!
While this is an old-fashioned dish, I think we can all use something sweet, simple, and comforting in our lives right now, and this definitely fits the bill.
If you’ve never made a custard, don’t be afraid, it’s quite simple, but does require a bit of patience. Follow my steps, and I’m sure yours will come out great.
Ingredients
Vanille Vla
- 1 l Whole Milk
- 100 ml Whole Milk
- 80 g Granulated Sugar
- 40 g Cornstarch
- 2 Vanilla Bean
- 5 Egg Yolk
- 1 pinch Salt
Fruit Sauce
- 250 g Raspberries
- 250 g Strawberries
- 120 ml Water
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice Freshly Squeezed
- 75 g Sugar
Other Ingredients
- Greek Yoghurt
NUTRITION
Disclaimer
Nutrition Facts provided are a calculated estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Instructions
Making the vanille vla
- Pour the Liter of milk into a heavy bottom saucepan.
- Cut the vanilla beans in half, scrape out the seeds, and add the seeds and beans to the pot of milk.
- Over medium heat, stirring frequently, bring the milk to a gentle boil.
- Once the milk boils, turn down the heat, and let it simmer for 15 minutes. Make sure to stir occasionally, to prevent milk from burning/sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Once the milk is done simmering, remove the vanilla beans. Move quickly to the next step.Note: I will rinse them completely to remove any milk residue. Then I'll let them dry completely. Once they're dried, I add them to a jar of sugar, to make vanilla sugar.
- In a large bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch, 100ml milk, and salt. Whish together until there are no more lumps in the milk.
- Add the egg yolks, and whisk them through until fully combined.
- Get the hot milk, and while continually whisking the egg mixture, slowly add a small ladle at a time of the hot milk into the egg mixture. This will temper the eggs, to prevent them from curdling/cooking. Don't rush this.Repeat until you've added approximately half of the hot milk to the egg mixture.
- Strain the milk/egg mixture into the pot of hot milk, and over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, cook the mixture until it is just shy of your desired consistency. Vanillevla should be thick enough to not pour out in a stream, but rather in globs.note: Your custard will set more once it's in the fridge, so stop before you hit your final consistency.
- Pour the custard into a clean glass bowl. Let it cool down for a few minutes, and then cover it with plastic wrap. Make sure the plastic wrap touches the custard (to prevent a skin from forming), and place it in fridge for at least 2 hours.
Make the fruit sauce
- In the jar of a blender, combine the water, sugar, lemon juice, strawberries and raspberries.
- Blend on high until it's a smooth sauce.
- To make sure there are no seeds in the sauce, pour it through a strainer into a glass storage container.Let cool in the fridge.
Assembling the vlaflip
- Remove the vanille vla from the fridge. Remove the plastic wrap and stir/whisk it through until it's loose.
- Fill a 200ml (7oz) glass halfway with the vanille vla.
- Add a generous amount of the fruit sauce on top of the vla.
- Top it off with plain Greek yogurt.Repeat with the rest of the custard. The base recipe should make approximately 6 servings.Note: You will have a good amount of fruit sauce leftover. I recommend pouring it in an icecube tray, and freezing it.
