The Help Thread!

[Pheesh]

Cream is more indulgent and in my opinion much better than any substitute though, and it's the traditional way so that's definitely not what you're doing wrong. If you're having trouble with things splitting, be it eggs or dairy, it's just a matter of the heat being too high and/or not stirring quickly enough. My favourite trick is just before and after you add in the cream to lift the pan up on an angle by the handle so it's resting on just a small part of its edge. This greatly reduces the amount of heat going to the pan, and really your butter should be hot enough that you don't need to be using the hob until the cream is combined. Aside from that just stir like a madman, you won't be in danger of overworking anything so just make sure you're constantly stirring. With the cheese, you can add it right at the end if you're worried, and once again just take it off the heat, your sauce will be hot enough to melt it.

Alternatively, for a better explained version of everything I said watch the Julia Child egg episode of her cooking show. Obviously she's doing bearnaise and hollandaise in that episode but the same tips apply for a regular cream sauce. Hope it helps

EDIT: Also, just as an aside, I find havarti cheese to be the best for any kind of sauce. Parmesan is good to add in moderation but as the base for a sauce it's a bit too strong for my liking, so you should definitely give havarti or a comparable cheese a try in the sauce itself, and once you've tossed it through your pasta or put it on a veg you can just grate some parmesan over the top.