Poached meringue ‘snow eggs’ floated on cold vanilla crème anglaise and laced with amber caramel.
Untested: not yet made in this kitchen. It is part of the collection’s French batch and is adapted from the source named in the Notes.
Ingredients
Crème anglaise
- 2 cups (500 ml) whole milk
- 6–8 large egg yolks
- ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- ½ vanilla bean
Meringues
- 6–8 large egg whites, at room temperature
- ⅓ cup (65 g) sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
Caramel
- ¾ cup (150 g) sugar
- 3 tablespoons water
Directions
Key ingredients
Crème anglaise
- Put the milk and sugar in a saucepan with the scraped seeds and pod of the vanilla bean. Whisk the yolks in a separate bowl (6 for a standard sauce, 8 for extra-rich). Set a metal bowl in an ice bath with a strainer over it.
- Heat the milk until steaming, temper the yolks with some of it, then return everything to the pan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until it coats the spatula. Do not boil.
- Strain at once into the chilled bowl, return the pod, stir to cool, and refrigerate (up to three days ahead).
Meringues
- Line a sheet with a clean tea towel. Half-fill a wide pan with water and bring it to a lively simmer.
- Whip the whites with the salt until foamy, then faster until they start to hold their shape; add the ⅓ cup sugar a tablespoon at a time until they hold their shape. Do not overwhip.
- Scoop a heaped spoonful with one large spoon and scrape it into the water with a second, about six at a time without crowding. Poach 3–4 minutes, turn, and poach 3–4 minutes more. Drain on the towel and repeat; plan on about sixteen.
Assemble
- Pour the cold crème anglaise into a wide chilled bowl and float the meringues close together on top.
- Cook the sugar and water in a skillet, swirling as little as possible, to medium amber. Off the heat, drizzle it over the meringues.
Notes
Source Adapted from David Lebovitz, “Oeufs à la Neige (Snow Eggs),” davidlebovitz.com, inspired by Jean-Pierre and Denise Lurton Moullé’s French Roots. The source prints no yield; sixteen meringues serve about six.
Poaching The meringues are poached in water here; it is also common to poach them in the milk and then use that milk for the custard.
Food safety The meringues are poached only a few minutes, so the whites may not be fully cooked through. Pasteurized eggs remove that risk.
The photo The photograph shows an île flottante with caramel at Bouillon Racine, Paris.