Vanilla Custard Sauce

I had a sweet tooth today, so I thought I'd try something unusual for dessert. I decided to make a sauce to serve on top of pears and bananas. I found the recipe on page 673. It did not turn out at all like I imagine it should have. First of all, I did not have a thermometer, so I couldn't check the temperature like it recommended. But, the recipe did say that it would be done when there was a thick coating on the back of the spoon. This never really happened, and instead a lot of clumps started appearing in the sauce that slid off the back of the spoon. I strained the clumps out, but the rest of the "custard" remained incredibly watery. I still had some of it with my bananas, however. It was okay, but I imagine the rest of it would taste great as a flavored "milk" in coffee or tea! I'll have to try that out tomorrow. -Deidra A