Île Flottante

Ingredients

Meringue:
6 egg whites
½ cup granulated white sugar
Confectioners’ sugar for sprinkling

Caramel:
1 cup sugar

Crème anglaise:
1¼ cups milk
1½ cups cream
½ tsp. salt
2 vanilla beans
1 tsp. vanilla extract
23 cup sugar
6 egg yolks

Garnish:
Toasted slivered almonds

Instructions

For the meringue: Preheat oven to 200 degrees. In a stand mixer, whisk together the egg whites and sugar until glossy and at the medium-peak stage. Using two large spoons (and a container of hot water to dip them in), shape the meringue into quenelles and place on a sheet pan lined with a Silpat or other nonstick material. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and bake for 15 minutes.

Caramel: Add sugar and 2 tablespoons water to a saucepan set over medium heat and watch carefully as the sugar melts. When it turns a caramel color, remove from heat. Drizzle over each meringue when they are cool. Refrigerate the caramel-drizzled meringues until ready to use.

Crème anglaise: In a saucepan over medium heat, add the milk, cream, salt, vanilla beans (split and scraped), vanilla extract, and 13 cup sugar. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then remove from the heat. Place the egg yolks in a mixing bowl, add the remaining sugar, and whisk together. Carefully whisk a small amount of the hot-milk mixture into the yolks to temper them. Slowly whisk in the remaining hot-milk mixture and then return everything to the saucepan, stirring constantly to avoid cooking the yolks. Return the crème anglaise to a medium heat, stirring continually with a metal spoon until it thickens sufficiently to coat the back of the spoon. When you draw your finger along the coated spoon, the custard should not bleed down. Immediately strain and cool over an ice-water bath. The custard will continue to thicken as it cools. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To assemble: Fill each bowl with a shallow pool of chilled crème anglaise and top with a meringue. The caramel sprinkled over each meringue should have hardened to a crunchy consistency by now. Finish with a sprinkle of toasted slivered almonds.

(Published 2016)