Spring Clouds In Strawberry Sauce Floating Islands Recipes

FLOATING ISLANDS WITH LEMON-SCENTED CUSTARD SAUCE AND RASPBERRIES

Steps:

• For sauce:
• Bring cream and milk to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Using whisk, beat egg yolks and sugar in medium bowl until light, about 2minutes. Gradually whisk hot cream mixture into yolks. Return mixture to saucepan and stir over medium-low heat until custard thickens and leaves path on back of spoon when finger is drawn across, about 3 minutes (do not boil). Pour custard into bowl. Stir in lemon juice and peel. Cool slightly, then chill uncovered until cold. do ahead Sauce can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.
• For meringue islands:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously butter six 3/4-cup soufflé dishes and dust with sugar. Place on baking sheet. Using electric mixer, beat egg whites with pinch of salt in large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar. Continue beating until stiff and glossy. Divide meringue among prepared souffl dishes, mounding slightly. Bake until meringues puff and begin to brown lightly on top and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature, at least 20 minutes and up to 3 hours (meringues will deflate).
• Divide custard sauce among 6 shallow soup bowls. Carefully run small sharp knife around edge of meringues to loosen, if necessary. Invert meringues, then turn top side up and place on sauce. Garnish with lemon slices and sprinkle with raspberries.

FLOATING ISLAND

Steps:

• Heat oven to 130°, oven rack to bottom third of oven, this is going to rise. Butter and sugar - like your were using flour, but use sugar to coat the sides of the dishes instead-- one or two tall-sided oven dishes, I use 1 soufflé dish and one bread pan usually.
• Be sure your egg white beating bowls are completely grease free and dry. Separate your eggs carefully, one by one into a separate bowl is best, you must not have even the tiniest bit of yellow in your whites or the whole recipe won't work.
• Start beating the egg whites at a moderate speed until foamy, beat in the lemon juice and salt and gradually increase speed to fast, you really need an electric beater for this. When the egg white form soft peak, very gradually add the sugar in small amounts, then beat at high for a few minutes til you get stiff peaks. Beat in the vanilla. Scoop the mixture into the prepared dish or dishes, you want them about filled, just use a second dish if you have too much. I sometimes use a prepared bread pan for the excess and slide it onto the same oven rack as the soufflé dish.
• Bake immediately in the preheated oven 35-40 minutes. It will rise and turn golden. A bit too much time is better than too little. Remove and cool at room temperature, it will sink a bit. When cool, cover and refrigerate. May be made up to a couple days in advance and even frozen.
• Cut into 6 wedges and serve on a pool of cool crème anglaise, which is actually a bit difficult to make at home. If you have any hesitation, buy it pre-made. If you are feeling adventurous, use your leftover egg yolks and any crème anglaise recipe from the web and follow the directions EXACTLY-- it must NEVER boil.

STRAWBERRY FLOATING ISLANDS

Steps:

• Beat the egg whites with the pinch of salt until softly peaked. Add four tablespoons of the sugar and beat until stiff. Gradually add all but one-third cup of the sugar, beating constantly, until the egg whites are stiff and glossy.
• Heat a large pan of water until the steam rises from the top but before it has come to a simmer. Using two large tablespoons or an ice cream scoop, form large ovals or rounds of the egg white mixture and drop them into the water. Poach for two minutes, turn once and poach them another two minutes. Remove the meringues as they are done and drain them on absorbent paper. Refrigerate for at least one hour. You may not be able to poach all the meringues at one time.
• Puree two pints of the strawberries and season the puree with the remaining sugar and the lemon juice. Add the cinnamon. Refrigerate the puree. Slice the remaining strawberries in half lengthwise and refrigerate. To serve, spoon the strawberry puree into a shallow serving bowl and float the meringues on top. Scatter the sliced strawberries around and over the meringues and serve.

FLOATING ISLANDS

Steps:

• For sauce:
• Scrape seeds from vanilla bean halves into heavy small saucepan; add beans. Add milk and bring to simmer over medium-high heat. Remove from heat, cover, and steep 10 minutes.
• Whisk yolks and sugar in heavy medium saucepan until thick, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in warm milk mixture (including vanilla beans). Stir over medium-low heat until custard thickens and leaves path on back of spoon when finger is drawn across, about 9 minutes (do not boil). Strain custard into small bowl. Cover and chill until cold, at least 3 hours and up to 2 days.
• For meringues:
• Lay smooth kitchen towel on work surface. Pour milk into medium (10-inch) skillet. Bring milk to simmer over medium heat.
• Using electric mixer, beat egg whites in large bowl until foamy. Add salt and beat until whites hold soft peaks. Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until whites are stiff and glossy. Scoop some meringue (about twice the size of an egg) onto large oval spoon. Using another large spoon and gently transferring meringue from spoon to spoon, shape meringue into smooth oval. Drop oval into milk. Quickly shape 2 or 3 more meringues, dropping each into milk. Simmer meringues 1 minute. Using heatproof rubber spatula, turn meringues over in milk. Simmer 1 minute longer (meringues will puff up while poaching). Using slotted spoon, transfer meringues to towel (meringues will deflate slightly as they cool). Repeat process, shaping and then poaching enough meringues to make total of 12. Transfer meringues to waxed-paper-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours.
• For caramel:
• Stir sugar and 1/4 cup water in heavy small saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and bring to boil, brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush to dissolve any sugar crystals. Boil until syrup is pale golden color, occasionally swirling pan, about 6 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Let syrup cool until thick enough to fall from tines of fork in ribbons, about 8 minutes. (If caramel becomes too thick, rewarm slightly over low heat, stirring constantly.)
• Spoon some sauce into center of each plate. Arrange 2 meringues on each. Dip fork into caramel and wave back and forth over meringues so that caramel comes off in strands that harden like threads, and serve.

STRAWBERRIES ON A CLOUD

Steps:

• In medium-sized bowl, whisk condensed milk, lemon juice and whipped topping until combined.
• Arrange half of the strawberries then half of the topping mix over bottom layer of the angel food cake.
• Top with remaining layer of cake, whipped topping and stawberries.
• Chill.
• Tip: Cut the bottom layer slightly thicker than the top layer for a solid base.