Floating Island Snow Eggs Food

FLOATING ISLAND (SNOW EGGS)

Steps:

• Separate the egg whites and egg yolks.
• Beat the egg whites until stiff, then add ⅛ cup/20g of sugar and continue beating for 1 minute.
• Bring the milk to a boil and lower the heat to medium. Make large egg white pieces using 2 tablespoons. Dip them one by one into the milk and poach them for about 1 minute on each side. Place them on a plate covered with paper towel.
• Scrape the vanilla bean and add the pods and seeds to the milk. Bring to a boil. Take off heat and infuse for a few minutes.
• Sieve the milk into a bowl.
• In another bowl, whisk the yolks with ½ cup/100g of sugar until the mixture becomes pale yellow.
• Gradually pour the hot milk over it and put this mixture in another large saucepan.
• Heat over medium heat without stirring until thickened. Pour into large bowl and let cool. Set aside in the refrigerator.
• Heat ½ cup of sugar with 2 tablespoons of water in a saucepan for a few minutes until the sugar begins to melt and turns into a golden syrup.
• Assembly
• Divide the custard into ramekins or cups. Place an egg white piece over the custard.
• Then drizzle with caramel over the egg white and sprinkle with lightly toasted almonds.
• Serve immediately.

ŒUFS à LA NEIGE (SNOW EGGS)

Steps:

• To make the crème anglaise, combine the milk and sugar in a medium saucepan. Split the ½ vanilla bean lengthwise then scrape out the seeds and put them, and the pod, into the milk. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. (Use six if you want a standard custard sauce, eight if you prefer it extra-rich.)
• Make an ice bath by nesting a medium size metal bowl in a large bowl filled with ice and a little cold water. Set a mesh strainer over the top.
• Heat the milk until steaming. Whisk some of the warmed milk mixture into the egg yolks, then scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom, sides, and corners of the pan, until the custard is thick enough to coat the spatula. Don't let the mixture boil.
• Immediately strain the custard through the mesh strainer into the chilled bowl. Pluck out the vanilla pod, wipe off any bits of egg on it, and return it to the warm custard. Stir the crème anglaise to help cool it down. Once cool, refrigerate.
• To make the meringues, line a baking sheet lined with a clean tea towel or paper towels. In a large, wide saucepan or casserole, fill it about halfway with water and heat it until it comes to a lively simmer.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment at medium speed, or by hand with a whisk, whip the egg whites with the salt until they are foamy. Increase the speed of the mixer (or your whipping, with the whisk) until the egg whites begin to start holding their shape. Whip in the 1/3 cup sugar, one tablespoon at a time, until the whites hold their shape when you lift the whip. Do not overwhip or the meringues will be dry.
• Using two large soup spoons, scoop up a generous amount of the meringue onto one spoon - it should be heaped up so high that it threatens to fall off - then take the second spoon to scrape it off, dropping the oval of meringue into the simmering water. (You might be tempted to spend a few moments shaping the meringue into a nicer oval with the second spoon before scraping it off, but in the finished dessert, it won't really matter much all that much. Remember, this is a home-style dessert.) Don't crowd too many into the pot; they should be allowed to float freely. Doing six at a time is usually a good number. Plan on getting sixteen meringues from the egg whites, total. But don't worry if you don't; two makes a good portion for some people, others want three.
• Poach the meringues for 3 to 4 minutes, then flip each one with a slotted spoon, and poach for another 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the meringues with a slotted spoon and put them on the lined baking sheet. Poach the remaining meringues.
• When all the meringues have been poached, pour the crème anglaise into a large, wide, chilled bowl. Nest the meringues close together on the top, floating them in the crème anglaise.
• To make the caramel, heat the sugar and water in a skillet, swirling it as little as possible, if necessary, so it cooks evenly, until it turns a medium amber color. Turn off the heat and use a spoon to drizzle the caramel over the meringues.

FLOATING ISLAND

Steps:

• In a large, wide saucepan, bring the milk and vanilla bean to a simmer.
• To make the meringues: In a mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in 1/2 cup sugar and continue beating until stiff but not dry. Scoop up several large serving spoonfuls and poach on the simmering milk, about 3 minutes on each side. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on serving plate. Repeat until all the egg whites have been used.
• To make the creme Anglaise: in another large mixing bowl, whisk together egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar until light and ribbon-y. Add the warm milk to the egg yolk mixture and return to the saucepan. Cook, over low heat, stirring constantly without letting it come to a boil, until mixture thickness and coats back of spoon. Strain and flavor with rum and vanilla extract. Ladle creme Anglaise around poached meringues.
• To make the Caramel: in a small saucepan, cook the remaining 1 cup sugar until caramelized, stirring constantly. Stir in the almonds. Turn off heat, being careful not to burn the caramel. Carefully spoon caramel over the meringue.

FLOATING ISLAND (OEUFS A LA NEIGE)

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.