TWD ~ Floating Islands

I should have really titled this, “Everything you ever wanted to know about creme anglaise but were afraid to ask.” This week’s challenge was selected by Shari of Whisk: a food blog. Floating islands. I remember coming across a recipe for these a while ago and wanting to make them but of course I never did. Thanks to TWD I finally got to do it.

What the heck is a floating island? No, this isn’t some time-jaunting funhouse of disturbia, or part of the 50th state in the union. We’re talking about a little cloud of sweet meringue floating in a pool of creme anglaise.  

The verdict: I’d say a winner. It isn’t a dessert, at least as written, to write home about. However, when you’re looking for something light and fairly easy to make this certainly fits the bill.

Reading the comments that TWDers left helped when it came time for me to attempt this. For example Steph from a whisk and a spoon suggested poaching the meringues before making the creme anglaise. If you do it this way, you don’t have to waste the milk from the poached meringues. I strained the milk after poaching (due to small bits of meringue sometimes breaking for it when I try to fish them out, and also some skin that developed on the milk) and just added some more to bring it up to the two full cups I needed for the creme anglaise recipe.

I’ve made both creme anglaise and creme patisserie (pastry cream) before. Thankfully I didn’t run into the problems that some TWDers had when making the creme anglaise. I think part of the reason for this is because I wasn’t trying to reach a particular temperature, but rather a particular consistency. I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start at the beginning of how I approached this.

I think custards of any type can be tricky but according to this article titled, “Custards Last Stand” at ChefTalk, creme anglaise is one of the trickiest. Not only creme anglaise, but also creme patisserie (known also as pastry cream) and creme brulee are all discussed in detail. According to the article, the tricky thing about creme anglaise is thickening the creme without curdling. Unlike creme anglaise, pastry cream contains cornstarch. The cornstarch’s roll is to thicken and protect against curdling, enabling the pastry cream to be boiled. Without this cornstarch, creme anglaise must be slowly cooked on a low heat until it reaches the proper consistency. (If you’re interested in a recipe for pastry cream as well as a photo essay of the technique check out Joe Pastry and his How to Make Pastry Cream posts.)

I’m stating this as, “the proper consistency” since I’ve read conflicting reports regarding an exact temperature to look for when cooking this custard. According to our fearless leader, Dorie, her recipe calls for the mixture to reach 180°F. The article at ChefTalk says to look for a temperature between 170-175°F, with 180°F being the temperature at which the creme curdles. Taking into account the trouble many of the TWDers who had trouble reaching the 180°F mark without curdling I’d have to say to ignore the temperature and just look for the consistency. If you work as a pastry chef maybe you look for the exact temp when working your magic, but I think those of us at home can just look for the consistency. (If any pastry chefs happen to read this (yeah, like you need to be reading my little blog), I would love to hear how the professionals approach creme anglaise.)

“What’s all this consistency crap she keeps harping about?” you ask. I’m talking about getting a feel and an eye for the creme itself while you’re cooking it. What you’re looking for is a thickening in consistency while you’re stirring. In the end, you’re looking for a consistency that coats a spoon and holds a line well. What do I mean by that? Check out this awesome video from Epicurious:

Remember this is creme anglaise, not pastry cream. It’s supposed to be more of a sauce, something you pour over rather than stuff pastry. Be prepared to take your time because cooking this properly takes a while. If you try to rush it along it will curdle. I ran into just a touch of curdling because I tend towards the impatient kind and kicked the heat up a notch. If you do have some curdling just make sure you run the creme through a sieve, but then again you should do that no matter what.

One thing I do highly recommend is using a real vanilla bean whenever making a custard that calls for vanilla. It really makes a big difference. There’s not too much of an excuse in not using them since there are online suppliers that sell them so cheap that Spice Islands should be in jail for the price they charge in the grocery store. I personally buy mine from Vanilla, Saffron Imports. They have the best price per bean I’ve been able to find. (If someone has a cheaper place let me know.) In all disclosure they aren’t particularly good at answering emails, as I asked a question before ordering that was never answered. I decided to order anyway. I can’t complain because I got a crazy amount of beans for less than thirty dollars. They ship quick and with a great price per bean. You can’t ask for much more than that.

I think the vanilla bean was the only real change in ingredients for me. I used to make creme anglaise with a mixture of milk and heavy cream, but this time I followed Dorie’s recipe and used all milk. This is by far the best creme anglaise I’ve ever made. It was perfect really. I’m not sure if it was due to using milk, or the brand of milk. I try to only use organic milk in general. I buy whatever is on sale or whatever I have a coupon for, in this case it was Stonyfield Farm. Maybe brand makes a difference too because this creme anglaise was really amazing. (Also, I let the milk and the vanilla bean simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes. Don’t forget to fish out the vanilla bean, but don’t throw it away. Leave it to dry for a week or so, then use it to make vanilla sugar. Or make your own vanilla extract.)

The rest of the recipe came out fine although I did have some trouble making nice drips of caramel across the islands. I ended up with a nest on top of one of them as you can see from some of the pictures. If you’re curious about the difficulty of making shapes, it’s super easy. I used a cookie cutter to cut the shape out of the poached meringue. Then I cut some squares with a knife. It couldn’t be simpler.

In the future I’d like to try and flavor the meringue a bit. I came across some pictures in an internet search of hazelnut and chocolate islands. I think a little creativity in the flavor of the meringue will probably put this dessert over the top of just good to wonderful.

Here’s some pictures of my process:

Tagged as: Creme Angalise, Meringue, TWD