FLOATING ISLAND (OEUFS A LA NEIGE)

Floating Island (Oeufs a la Neige) image

A soft vanilla custard with floating clouds of poached meringue.

Provided by SUE WILLIAMS

Categories World Cuisine Recipes European French

Time 1h50m

Yield 5

Number Of Ingredients 5

Ingredients

3 eggs
½ cup white sugar, divided
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Steps:

Separate two of the eggs. In top of double boiler, combine 1 whole egg and 2 yolks with 1/4 cup sugar and the salt, whisking until smooth. Whisk in the milk and cook over simmering water, stirring constantly with a spatula or wooden spoon. When the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, remove it from the heat. (Do not boil. If custard should start to curdle, remove from heat and beat vigorously until smooth.) Pour the custard through a strainer into a bowl and stir in the vanilla extract. Cool and refrigerate.
In a heat-proof bowl, lightly whisk the 2 egg whites with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, just enough to dissolve the sugar. Place the bowl on top of a pot of simmering water and stir constantly until the temperature of the whites reaches 145 degrees F (63 C) or hotter. Immediately remove the bowl from the heat, and use an electric mixer to beat the warm egg whites until they form stiff, glossy peaks.
Pour the chilled custard into a serving dish. Drop the meringue by heaping tablespoons onto the custard to make islands. Chill before serving.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 166.4 calories, Carbohydrate 23.6 g, Cholesterol 118.3 mg, Fat 5.3 g, Protein 6.1 g, SaturatedFat 2.3 g, Sodium 234.7 mg, Sugar 23.6 g