In a French classic, meringue sails on a sea of custard
Offer ile flottante as a dessert to someone who is not in a French bistro and you might be met with a quizzical look. Mention floating island and you may strike a chord of recognition. This homey dessert -- meringue floating on a heavenly rich vanilla custard sauce, topped with caramel -- goes by several names. To add to the confusion, the dessert is also known as oeufs a la neige (snow eggs).
Some say the meringue technique determines what the dessert is called. Using that theory, if the meringue is baked, it is ile flottante (floating island). If it's poached in spoonfuls, it becomes oeufs a la neige. More often than not, the terms are used interchangeably.
This elegant dessert is a classic in traditional French kitchens, and lately it's been popping up in cookbooks and on menus. Usually when a confection enjoys a revival, it's not difficult to make, and that's the case with this one, too. The custard sauce, also called creme Anglaise (English cream) is the trickiest part -- egg yolks and milk are cooked until they thicken, and doing that without curdling the mixture takes skill. But meringues are easy, and in this dessert, they use up the egg whites left from making the custard.
In ''Simple Soirees," author Peggy Knickerbocker offers a recipe for ''floating island pudding" that came about after a lunch in Paris with a friend. Knickerbocker and her friend both ordered ile flottante, a favorite dessert, and before it arrived her friend delivered his theory on ile flottante: that it either celebrates the sauce or the meringue. Knickerbocker prefers a fabulous puffy white meringue.
Knickerbocker's friend told her that Inez Casalderry makes the best ile flottante in Paris. A cooking session was arranged. Casalderry, who is a private cook, poaches meringues in barely simmering water, and Knickerbocker was pleased with the results. Her floating island pudding is based on Casalderry's.
Her ile flottante is a three-step process, none of them particularly complex. ''[This] is a great party dish because it can totally be done ahead," says Knickerbocker on the phone from her home in California. ''It is perfect for a winter menu. Though it's basically a light dessert, it's a little heavy for summer because of the creme Anglaise."
In her menu-based book, Knickerbocker suggests serving ile flottante after crispy duck legs and a persimmon and pomegranate salad. But she says it would be the perfect ending to a dinner of lamb shanks, beef stew, or any chicken dish.
Locally, Petit Robert Bistro pastry chef Kristen Lawson has her own take on ile flottante. First Lawson whisks egg whites and sugar in a big bowl. She transfers the bowl to a water bath and beats the whites until they are stiff. Then, using a pastry bag, she pipes the beaten whites into ramekins, or small ovenproof custard cups, and bakes them in a water bath.
To serve them, the pastry chef unmolds the meringues, scoops out the insides, and fills them with caramel mousse -- ''my little surprise," she says. ''This is a little nontraditional. Traditionally, [the meringue] is poached in water or milk. My [version] is a compilation of a lot of recipes."
To serve the desserts, she pours creme Anglaise into martini glasses and lets the perfectly round meringue bob on top. Then she drizzles it with caramel sauce. Needless to say, the dessert is very popular, particularly at this time of year. ''The meringue is light, but with the creme Anglaise, it fills people up," Lawson says.
In his ''Classic Home Desserts," the late Richard Sax, a much-admired baker, suggests a different approach to floating island. He based his recipe on an idea from the late chef and author Pierre Franey. Sax's method involves oven-poaching one large meringue in a buttered kugelhopf or ring mold, then setting it afloat ''on a custard sea." It is a fantastically easy method. The recipe suggests garnishing with strawberries -- not ideal in New England's winter -- with caramel as an option. Traditionalists who have already made the soft white meringue pillow will want to give the dessert its grandest presentation and offer the caramel, too.
