Best Floating Islands Recipe // Best Recipe for Îles Flottantes

Floating Islands might be one of my favorite French desserts. In fact, I love them so much that I snuck them into the first edition of my everyday French cookbook … even though they are certainly not something you’d make every day.

Don’t get me wrong, they’re worth every minute you spend in the kitchen … but for the second edition of my Everyday French cookbook, I axed the recipe. It just didn’t fit with the sharply focused ethos of the second edition, which truly, honestly focuses on recipes you can cook without a lot of fuss.

Still, I know there are cooks who will be looking for a reliable recipe for Floating Islands. For them I’m happy to offer you this lovely – and very doable – recipe, which appeared in the original version of The Bonne Femme Cookbook.

French Floating Islands Recipe // Iles Flottantes

What are Floating Islands/Iles Flottantes? Floating Islands is a splendid dessert of poached meringues set in a pool of custard sauce (crème anglaise), topped with caramel and/or chocolate sauce.

Îles flottantes, as they’re called en France, are a great dessert to make when you’re serving something heavy for dinner, such as a hearty stew. You’ll end the meal with something cool and light, yet also splendidly rich (because, you know, sometimes sorbet just doesn’t cut it).

This recipe gives the option of caramel sauce or chocolate sauce. I generally serve both, putting chocolate sauce in the bottom of the dish and using caramel sauce for drizzling on the top (plus a little chocolate sauce for the visual effect). And using purchased sauces—as long as they’re the best you can find—is definitely what many French home cooks would do.

Note that the recipe will make more meringues than you need—that gives you a few extra scoops of meringue if some come out less than perfect.

Makes 4 servings

6 large very fresh egg whites
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup purchased caramel sauce or chocolate sauce, or 1/4 of each
1 recipe Crème Anglaise (see recipe, below), chilled
Freshly grated nutmeg

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and salt on high speed until soft peaks form. Slowly add the sugar while continuing to beat to stiff peaks.

2. Fill a large skillet halfway with water; heat to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat until the water is just simmering. Using an oval-shaped soup spoon, scoop up a mound of the meringue about the size of the spoon. Using a small spatula, scoot the oval from the spoon into the simmering water. Repeat quickly with 5 more ovals to place a total of 6 ovals at a time in the simmering water. Let them cook in the simmering water for 1 minute; turn them with a slotted spoon and let them cook until delicately firm but not sticky, about 1 minute more.

3. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the poached meringues to a paper towel–lined plate to drain, then transfer to a clean plate. Repeat with the rest of the meringue until you have 12 “islands” in all (you will have more meringue than you need, but that’s okay—continue cooking until you have at least 12 islands that look good). Cover loosely with plastic wrap and chill until cold, about 1 hour, or for up to 2 hours.

4. In a small saucepan, gently warm the sauce of your choice to drizzling consistency. Spoon 2 tablespoons of sauce in each of 4 serving bowls. Divide the chilled crème anglaise evenly among the bowls. Top each with 3 poached meringues. Grate a little nutmeg over each meringue and thinly drizzle a little more sauce on top. Serve.

Crème Anglaise (English Custard Sauce):
Makes about 1 cup

1 cup heavy cream
3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt

1. Place the cream in a medium-size saucepan and heat over medium heat until steaming.

2. In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and salt until thick and lemon colored. Slowly whisk the warm cream into the egg mixture (if you do this too quickly, the eggs will curdle). Return the custard to the saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, reaches 165°F on an instant-read thermometer, and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla extract. Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate up to 3 days.