œufs
à la neige or Floating Island Dessert with flavors from Fennel, Rosewater, lime
n how to make islands floating light…
I
love beating egg-whites until they fluff up and try to become one with air. As
I beat in I trap billions of air bubbles into the whites. It is hard work n I
love doing this hard work n I don’t even use an electric beater; my friend is a
good old big hand whisk. Sometimes I feel there is a big traditionalist living
within me with experimental hands. There
is a sense of magic in cooking where one thing transforms right into something
else before your eyes, there is such a joy in observing that. Every time I beat
the egg whites to quadruple in volume, becoming white as snow I sense that joy
again n again. And that is at the heart of the floating island dessert.
The floating island dessert has another name- Snow Cream or œufs à la neige, French
in origin. Egg whites are beaten with sugar as they fluff up, then they are
quickly poached in vanilla milk, then placed in a vanilla custard known as
crème anglaise which is made from the same vanilla milk. Some people treat the
beaten egg whites with sugar or the meringue in a different way; they bake them
in the oven. The poached egg white portions are so light that they float on
this vanilla crème, n that’s how they become the floating islands.
They are so light to bite into, in fact there is almost nothing to bite
into…almost air with touch of vanilla, sweetness, and the crème
anglaise gives a smooth body that dissolves into my mouth. You have to close
your eyes when you experience this sensation.
I interpreted the floating island dessert with touches of fennel seed
known as ‘Saunf/ Mouri’, the citrus touch n fragrance from lime, the subtle
touch of rosewater. And three of them lift the islands to a new height only to
be enjoyed with your loved ones. After all it is a work of love. I dry roasted
the fennel seeds ever so slightly to boost their flavor and then pound them to
a fine powder, n I incorporated the powder at the final stages of beating the
egg whites. As I made the crème anglaise or vanilla crème I flavor it with some
whole fennel seeds just to give them a touch of that flavor, as it was cooling
down I introduced the hint of rosewater n lime into it.
Caramel was coming into life in a pan, so when it the sugar transformed
into dark caramel pour that over the chilled poached meringue floating in the
crème anglaise. Some of the caramel
drops into the vanilla crème and it further gives it a depth of flavor.
I completely transformed into a vanilla fennel guy as I went on with
the islands, all over I smelled of vanilla n fennel, as if I live in those
islands! Well I did live there for a while, you know.
Well now you must visit there, so here is the recipe. Bon voyage.
For The Recipe: You will need
Eggs-5 (4 whites n 5
yolks separated)
Caster sugar – around
80gms
Full fat milk- 800ml
Salt a pinch
Fennel seed- 1 tsp, roast
slightly half of the seeds n pound into a fine powder
Lime- 1 medium
Rosewater- a few drops
Sugar-3 tbsp to make
caramel
Vanilla flavor- 1-1 ½ tbsp
1. Begin by separating
the egg-whites carefully , make sure no drops of egg yolks comes into the egg
whites, yolks are fat , so their presence in the whites will reduce the rise of
the whites by a quarter of a volume. So add about 7-10 drops of lime juice into
the egg whites and then start beating them, the lime juice won’t let the egg
whites go grainy. Always beat them in a
big bowl so there is enough space for air to circulate. Use either a hand whisk
which will take about 20 minutes to make them reach stiff peaks or a electric
hand beater which will take about 5-7 minutes. Start beating the egg whites, as
the egg whites goes to soft peak stage start adding 1 tbsp of caster sugar as
you whisk, the sugar will sweeten n stabilize the meringue. Add another
tablespoon of caster sugar; in total add about 4 tbsp of caster sugar as you
beat in. When the whites begin to hold peak i.e. when you lift some of the
white with whisk it holds its shape with a stiff peak, sprinkle the powdered
fennel powder over them n beat them in
for a final time.
2. Take the milk in pan
with sides, add the vanilla extract, the rest of the fennel seeds and let the
milk come to almost a simmering point, then with a tablespoon or ladle lift 1
tbsp or 1 ladle of meringue n place them over the milk lightly, they will
float, don’t worry. In one go put about 5-6 portions, the milk should barely be
simmering n not boiling. Now put a high lid on the pan and give them 2-3
minutes, then turn them over and give them the same amount of time. If you have
dropped 1 tbsp of meringue, they will take about 2 minutes on each side and the
ladle scoop portions will take about 4 minutes on each side. After that with a
slotted spoon pick n drain them, put them a dish.
3. In a different bowl
take 5 yolks and 60 gm caster sugar and beat them with whisk until well combined
n smooth. Then take the hot milk in which the egg whites were poaching n pour a
little milk into the yolk mixture whisking, then gradually add the milk while
whisking all the time. After that place the mixture back into the pan and on a
very low heat keep whisking the milk. Add a pinch of salt. Don’t increase the
heat, the milk should not come to a boil or simmer. After about 5-7 minutes the
milk will start to thicken and it will comfortably coat the back of a spoon.
When the milk thickens slightly take them out of the heat and let it cool. Add 3-4
drops of rosewater and mix. I just want
a hint of rosewater, so add drop by drop n mix n taste, if added too much the
rosewater flavor will prevail. When the mix is almost cooled add 1tbsp of lime
juice, mix well. Taste, add more if you want.
4. Place the cooled
vanilla crème n the meringue in the freeze for a couple of hours to chill. When
you are about to serve make the caramel. In a pan take the sugar and add touch
of water so that the sugar is just wet, then on a high heat let it go to light
brown stage, the reduce heat and watch it as it reaches the dark brown stage,add a slight pinch of salt n a dash of lime juice, remove from heat. Pour the caramel over the floating meringue on the
vanilla crème. Pour some caramel over the vanilla crème. And now either you can
dig in or freeze it a little more. Scatter some lime zest over the islands as
you serve them n it is a beautiful sight to watch.
So now you are on the island, venture and
enjoy. Bon appétit.
GENIUS!!!
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