Îles Flottantes: Floating Islands

Photo by Michael Piazza / Styled by Catrine Kelty

This is basically a crème anglaise topped with poached meringue and a sprinkle of toasted almonds. All components can be made ahead of time and assembled when you are ready for dessert. Feel free to add more almonds if you like more crunch. It can also be drizzled with caramel sauce and served with berries.

Serves 4–6

2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
4 eggs, separated
¾ cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons
¼ cup toasted sliced or slivered almonds

For the crème anglaise, heat the milk and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat until hot but not boiling.

In a large bowl whisk the 4 egg yolks with ¾ cup sugar until light in color and all the sugar is evenly mixed with the yolks.

Quickly whisk ½ cup hot milk into the egg mixture to temper the yolks; pour in remaining hot milk very slowly while whisking constantly.

Transfer the mixture back into the saucepan and cook on medium heat, stirring until velvety and the sauce coats the back of a spoon, about 7 to 9 minutes, making sure it does not boil.

Set a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and strain the egg mixture. This will give you a very smooth crème anglaise. Set aside to cool; cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

For the meringue: one hour before serving, beat the egg whites in a stand mixer (or with handheld beaters) to soft peaks. Slowly add the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, one tablespoon at a time, and beat until soft and glossy.

Bring a large pot of water to a simmer.

Using a large serving spoon, gently drop 3 spoonsful of the egg whites at a time into the simmering water, turning them over to poach for about one minute. The eggs will puff up and change shape—different sizes and shapes are fine.

Transfer with a slotted spoon to a platter lined with paper towel to cool.

Repeat until there is no egg white mixture left. Set the platter to cool in the fridge for 1 to 3 hours.

When ready to serve, ladle the crème anglaise into shallow bowls. Top with 3–4 meringues, sprinkle with the almonds and serve.

This recipe appeared in the Spring 2020 issue as part of a larger story on Eggs.