Floating islands recipe
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Total: 30 min Diners: 4
This is a recipe that is still little known in Spain (although in many areas are known similar with other names), since it was invented is one of the most typical desserts of French gastronomy.
August Escoffier, father of modern cuisine, revolutionized the gastronomic scene. He transformed the craft and set the guidelines to follow that we still keep today in many of the best restaurants in the world. Among many other things, he invented “floating islands” a dessert made with meringues that managed to displace the classic ‘eggs in snow’ and, in this way, he managed that both concepts, ile flottante and oeuf au niege, were used interchangeably.
The floating islands are nothing more than a meringue resting gently on a crème anglaise. It is not very easy, but perhaps the greatest difficulty lies in the execution of the meringues (and it should not be so because many tips and advice have already been given to come out perfectly) and to prevent the crème anglaise from cutting.
The recipe for floating islands is a fairly inexpensive dessert that after all only uses household products. Cooked separately, they then need to be assembled with the necessary delicacy to form a delicious and suggestive whole.
A base of creme anglaise (or custard if you want to Spanishize it, but just without starch to make it very light), a floating meringue and some homemade caramel, free of preservatives and colorings or supermarket junk; it will make you look like a real nouvelle cuisine restaurant chef at home.
How to make floating islands
Ingredients
For the crème anglaise:
Egg yolks, 6 u Sugar, 80 g Whole milk, 500 ml Cornstarch, 1 pinch (1/2 teaspoon) Vanilla, 1/2 pod
For the meringue:
Egg whites, 6 u Icing sugar, 50 g
For the caramel:
Sugar, 100 g Lemon juice, a few drops
Step 1
The first thing we will do for our floating islands will be to prepare the crème anglaise. To do this, separate the egg whites (we will leave them in a large bowl to whip them later in it) from the yolks. Join the yolks with the sugar and cornstarch and stir well.
Step 2
Heat the milk with the vanilla until it starts to boil. Pour the milk over the egg yolks, stirring constantly with the whisk. Take the preparation to the fire and heat until it thickens, stirring with the rods; this will prevent the preparation from curdling. It is better to do it little by little so that this does not happen. Once it has thickened, set aside and cool. Film on contact so as not to create a film.
Step 3
Prepare the caramel by melting the sugar in a ladle with the lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of water. Do not stir, wait for it to melt. If it is necessary to stir, use the movement of the saucepan itself, do not put anything in. Wait until golden brown and set aside.
Step 4
Whip the egg whites until stiff, with a pinch of salt, using a whisk. Add the sugar little by little.
Step 5
Bring water to a boil in a saucepan and cook the whipped egg whites in it, one tablespoon at a time, on both sides. It is best to use a skimmer to turn them over. Remove from the water after about 2 minutes and set aside on a clean cloth or paper towel.
Step 6
Plate the floating islands with a base of crème anglaise, top with the cooked meringue balls and finish with the caramel.
Tips and suggestions
You can give any flavor you want to the crème anglaise base, that will give a special touch to your floating islands. You could make a chocolate crème anglaise, also orange, coffee or almost any ingredient you like, previously flavoring the milk to be used: heat the milk with whatever we want, cover with plastic wrap, let stand 30 minutes, strain and then use as any normal milk.
