Île Flottante: Poached Meringue on Crème Anglaise
By Joe
Source: Serious Eats — Genevieve Yam, Île Flottante (French Floating Meringues With Crème Anglaise).
A île flottante (french floating meringues with crème anglaise) recipe for 6 servings, written from a single tested source, with times and temperatures kept as the source set them.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
- 1
Bake. Adjust oven rack to the middle position and heat to 325ºF (160ºC). Line one 2-quart baking dish (see note) using parchment overhanging two sides. Spray using nonstick cooking spray plus keep to one side. In a mixer with the whisk, start whipping egg whites at low speed till whites start to look wet and frothy, around 1 minute. Tip in cream of tartar plus salt plus blend for 10 seconds with the mixer still running. Keeping the mixer at low speed, slowly tip in 1/4 of this sugar in a steady stream, next increase speed to mid-sized and slowly tip in the rest of the sugar. Keep mixing at mid-sized speed till meringue is thick plus shiny plus holds firm peaks when you lift the beat out of it, around 10 minutes. (While one could speed this mixer upwards for a faster meringue, the meringue is extra stable when blended for one longer time at slower speeds, making it less likely in order to deflate; the exact mixing time will depend upon your mixer and other variables, so carry on mixing in order to reach firm peaks even if longer than this estimated 10 minutes.) Using a silicone spatula, scrape meringue in the ready baking dish. Spread meringue into an even layer using an offset spatula. Bake till the meringue is still glossy, a little firm, plus bounces back when touched upon one of its corners (in order to avoid leaving a fingerprint, wet your fingertip before gently pressing the meringue), around 20 minutes. Take it out of the oven. Put the baking dish on a cooling rack plus leave till it is cold, around 1 hour. Lift meringue out of the baking dish and put on a work surface when cool. Line a rimmed baking tray with baking paper and spray with nonstick spray. And re-dipping among cuts, portion the meringue into 5 cm squares using a knife dipped in hot water. Move each square to the ready baking tray using a little offset spatula. To serve, spoon cr (1/2 cup)ème anglaise in each of 6 shallow bowls. Put a meringue square in every bowl plus garnish using toppings, if wanted.
Storage
Keep covered and eat within a few days; freeze leftovers if the dish allows it.
EU nutrition claims
- Low salt: 0.28 g salt per 100 g (limit ≤ 0.3 g)
Per 100 g of the finished dish, worked out from the nutrition per serving and the lowest likely cooked weight (about 177 g a serving), so the true values are, if anything, lower. Thresholds from the Annex to EU Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. How we decide
Free sugars
66.5 g per serving
133 % of the 50 g daily maximum · 266 % of the ideal 25 g
Free sugars under 50 g a day, ideally about 25 g, based on WHO free-sugar guidance (not endorsed by WHO). The share shown is the share of one serving. WHO
Equipment
- mixing bowl
- scales
- baking tin or tray
- stand mixer or electric whisk
Nutrition per serving Calculated from USDA FoodData Central
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 844 kcal |
| Protein | 8.5 g |
| Carbohydrate | 71.8 g |
| of which sugars | 71.6 g |
| of which free sugars | 66.5 g |
| Fat | 60.2 g |
| of which saturates | 38.4 g |
| Fibre | 0 g |
| Salt | 0.5 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
1 g High protein needs ≥ 5 g per 100 kcal (20% of energy) and ≥ 10 g per serving
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
