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Floating island (dessert)
Dessert made with meringue and crème anglaise From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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A floating island or île flottante (French: [il flɔtɑ̃t]) is a dessert consisting of soft meringue floating on crème anglaise (a vanilla custard). The meringue used is baked in a bain-marie.[1][2] It may be served at room temperature or chilled.
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Terminology
Œufs à la neige ("eggs in snow", [øz‿a la nɛʒ]) is a similar dessert where the meringue is in egg-sized pieces and poached, rather than in one large baked piece.[3][4]
History
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The earliest known English-language reference to a floating island is in The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy (1747) by the English cookery writer Hannah Glasse. Her recipe, entitled The Flooting Island [sic], is made with sweetened thick cream, sack and lemon peel whipped into a froth, then layered with thin slices of bread alternating with jelly, piled high with the stiffened froth. Fruits and sweetmeats are arranged in a ring around the edge of the dish that is presented as a centerpiece for the table with candles all around it.[5]
A 1771 letter from the American founding father Benjamin Franklin reported eating a floating island at a dinner.[3] An 1847 American cookbook lists floating island as a Fourth of July celebration dessert.[6]
The historical form was quite different in England than in France, where it was known as Île Flottante. Some scholars say that today's dish more closely resembles the 18th-century French Île Flottante than the elaborate cake and jelly constructions of English cuisine,[4] while others say that the early French versions were not made with meringue, but layers of liquor soaked spongecake or brioche served in custard sauce (or berry puree).[7]
Elizabeth Raffald's 18th-century recipe published in The Experienced English Housekeeper seeks to create a pastoral winter landscape:[7]
"beat the white of an egg to a strong froth, and roll a sprig of myrtle in it to imitate snow ... let it stand till it is quite cold and stiff, then lay on rock candied-sweetmeats upon the top of your jelly, and sheep and swans to pick at the myrtle; stick green sprigs in two or three places on top of your jelly, amongst your shapes".
According to Larousse Gastronomique the dessert was served a little less by the time the encyclopedia was published in 1938, and its writers expressed regret because the dish is "excellent".[8] The version recorded in the Larousse Gastronomique was made with stale Savoy biscuits sliced thin and soaked in kirsch and maraschino, layered with apricot marmalade, and a garnish of chopped almonds and currants. The layers were assembled to form a type of cake that was frosted with chantilly cream, with either custard or berry puree poured over the whole thing.[9]
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Preparation
 | This section needs additional citations for verification. (November 2022) |
Floating island typically consists of a meringue served floating on a light custard sauce. Some variations invert this by using a thicker sauce served on top of the meringue instead.
To make the meringue, the egg whites are beaten with sugar and poured into a mold that may be lined with caramelised sugar.[10] It is then steamed in the oven in a bain-marie. Once the meringue is cooked and chilled, the sauce is poured on a serving plate, and the unmolded meringue placed on the sauce to "float".
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