15 August 2008

Floating Island


Floating Island (île flottante in French) is a dessert made up of two components: poached meringue and crème anglaise, a sauce-like custard.


Instead of the crème anglaise I decided on a "soup" of macerated strawberries, which I mashed a bit before serving. Some bowls were served with a small amount of cream.
The meringue I used was leftover from another recipe, and it didn't have as much sugar as a regular meringue, but it still worked. The texture of of the "egg" was springy and light. Mixed with the strawberries, it was like a smoothie but in bowl form.

Probably one of the most protein-filled desserts I have made in a while, this was the epitome of a summer dessert. Light, satisfying, and flavorful, but best of all it utilizes one of summer's best fruits.



The directions for this are pretty simple, so I won't give exact measurements.

Floating Island
Adapted from a Wolfgang Puck recipe
Serves 4-8


Ingredients:

  • Your favorite recipe for meringue using 8 egg whites

  • 4 cups of sauce, be it the traditional crème anglaise or macerated fruit, enough for 8 1/2-cup servings

  • Freshly grated orange zest

Directions:

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Scoop large serving spoonfuls of meringue into the pot, three at a time. The meringue eggs will puff quite a bit, so don't overcrowd the pot. Poach for 3 minutes on each side, then remove to a cooling rack placed over a baking sheet to let the excess water drip down. Repeat until you have about 8 eggs

  2. Ladle 1/2 cup of sauce into each bowl, top with 1 or 2 eggs depending on how many you are serving. Sprinkle with orange zest before serving.


(EoP)
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7 comments

  1. Never heard of that type of dessert before - gorgeous!

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  2. Take a pic of your muscles before and after you eat that... You might have a difference :)

    High five for protein filled desserts!

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  3. It looks beautiful!

    So, what did you think? I realllly felt like I was going to get salmonella when I made mine.

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  4. VeggieGirl - I feel like a n00b for waiting this long to make it!

    Adam - Bwaha, yeah, sure!

    Protein! (I say this as I'm having steak for dinner in a bit!)

    Emiline - Well, it's poached thoroughly. I wonder more about it when I eat rare steak, heh.

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  5. Ahhh, the iles flottantes! Tres jolie! I have to admit, I have only had it once and it looked better than it tasted, but yours look better (shh!) than the one I had. It gives me hope! :-)

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  6. Mmm this looks so strange, but delicious!

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  7. I love these older french desserts. Looks wonderful.

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Thanks for taking the time to comment. Your thoughts are appreciated! ^,^

~Christina

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