Sunday, March 29, 2009

Floating Islands ~ Iles Flottantes




Had one of those moments this afternoon wondering what could we have for dessert.....not that we really needed any tonight. Always some eggs, sugar and milk around, so off to the library!

Custard
5 large egg yolks.
1 t. vanilla.
2 1/4 cups of milk.
1/2 cup of turbinado sugar.


For the meringues
3 large egg whites.
1/3 cup of superfine sugar, plus 2 T. more.


Toasted, sliced almonds for garnish.
1/2 cup of turbinado sugar for the caramel.


I heated the milk in the microwave to give it a head start. Whisk the yolks in a bowl that can be placed in water. Fill a pan with at least one inch of water, place bowl in water and heat the egg mixture until a custard consistency. Keep whisking. This will take about seven to ten minutes. After the egg mixture has thickened, pour and cool in individual bowls and cover with plastic wrap. Let cool.

For the meringues, I was not to sure how all of this was going to shake out, but it did! Line a cookie sheet with a dish towel. Fill a skillet with water and bring water to a light boil. While the water is getting ready, beat the egg whites until soft peaks have formed, gradually adding the sugar. Take large spoons and gather up the egg whites and then drop into the simmering water. Simmer for thirty seconds on each side. Remove meringues with slotted spoon and place on the towel lined tray. Repeat until you have about ten to twelve meringues. You have just made the islands!

Place two meringues in each bowl and add the almonds. Heat up a small pan and add the sugar. Heat until it melts and turns golden in color. Drizzle the caramel on top of the meringues. Server warm or chilled.


11 comments:

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

;) my that makes me smile. While I've done all of these separately, I've never actually put them together like this and my mom used to do this a lot.
Yours are really beautiful Jann!

Foodiewife said...

Wow. This looks light, tasty and beautiful. This is something I'd love to make.

Debby

Simona Carini said...

Isn't it nice when you start with no definite plans and you make some as you go along and at the end you have something amazing? Your dessert looks beautiful. I particularly like the island making process.

Judy said...

Wonderful dessert. You make it look so easy and yummy.

K and S said...

this looks wonderful!

Christine said...

I love what you've done here, Jann. They look so delicious, I see that I'm going to have to try my hand at making this!

Jann said...

Christine~thanks for your comment. I had no idea how this would turn out. I think one could use any recipe for the custard. I would have preferred a custard a tad more creamy. But, this ws very delicious, so my hubby said.

Jann said...

K&S ~ Thanks for stopping by! Always good to hear from you.

Jann said...

Simona ~I do like having a plan when cooking. Hate running out of the ingredients and then a shuffle to the grocery store while I have everything going on~this was an easy one.Happy cooking to you! Your posts are amazing!!

Peabody said...

Such and fun and pretty dessert.

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

Your floating islands are gorgeous. I always thought they were difficult but you make them look easy.
Sam