…There were several important events in his life. One day my mother bought some California prunes. Twice she did custard. These were very important events. He remembered them fondly. Then his mother told him about one outlandish dish and promised to cook it someday; the dish was called "floating island". “It will be better than custard,” said the mother. Johnny waited years for the day when he would sit down at the table and eat a “floating island”, until this hope also faded into the realm of unfulfilled dreams..

Jack London, "Renegade" (1906)

floating or floating island (Ile Flottante) - exquisite dessert from France , consisting of whipped with sugar and baked egg whites, "floating" in the cream of anglaise. This dish became especially popular in the 19th century, although its basis is a light and airy meringue cake (from fr. baiser- kiss) or meringue, has been known since the 17th century.

There are two versions of its origin. According to the first, merengue was invented by the Italian pastry chef Gasparini in the Swiss city of Meiringen - hence the name. According to the second, authorship is attributed François Massialo(1660 - 1733), a successful French chef, whom the nobility of that time hired on especially solemn occasions. He worked for Philip I, Philip II, Cardinal d'Estre, Marquis de Lavoie and others. In 1691, his cookbook " Chef of the king and bourgeois ". It contains the first recipe for meringue, as well as creme brulee, also credited to Francois Massialo.

(Earlier, under " Culinary Cinema”, site readers was presented, in which not only talented actors are involved, and the film is a biopic about a famous culinary specialist, but they also demonstrate magnificent beauty lemon meringue cakes. The film is recommended for viewing by both culinary specialists and film gourmets).

In pre-revolutionary Russia, meringues were called "Spanish wind". Mention of them can be found in the story of I.S. Turgenev "My neighbor Radilov" ("Notes of a hunter"): " The dinner was really not bad and, as a Sunday, was not without fluttering jelly and Spanish winds.”.

The second component of the “floating island” is cream angleise (Anglaise- i.e. English cream). Why vanilla custard got its name is unknown. Its analogues can be found in ancient Rome. AT cookbook Mark Gabius Apitius (1st century AD) - the famous Roman gourmet and glutton - provides several recipes for custards, however, without vanilla, which Ancient Rome simply did not know then.

In the Middle Ages, custard was used as a filling for pies and pastries, and since the 16th century it has gained popularity as an independent dish.

It is not known who came up with the brilliant idea to combine cream and meringue, but this person deserved the gratitude of thousands and thousands of sweet teeth for creating an amazing dessert.

TROPICANA FLOATING ISLAND RECIPE

Ingredients

For protein islands:

  • 4 large egg whites
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • a pinch of salt
  • finely grated zest of half a lemon
  • For Anglaise cream:
  • 1 glass of milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 vanilla pod
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 4 large egg yolks

For tropical mousse:

  • 1/3 cup passion fruit juice
  • 1/2 cup mashed banana (in food processor)
  • 3 tablespoons of sugar
  • 1/2 cup cold heavy cream

Beat the chilled proteins with a mixer until a strong foam is obtained. Continuing to beat, add sugar in a thin stream. Whipped foam should adhere well to the whisk without dripping. Gently stir in the lemon zest. Using two spoons, form the foam into shapes and place on a baking sheet (don't forget the parchment paper). Bake in the oven at a temperature of 80-100 degrees for one and a half to two hours. Or in microwave oven 30-40 sec. at maximum power.

Combine milk and cream, add vanilla pod (or vanilla sugar) and bring almost to a boil. Beat egg yolks with sugar until white. In a thin stream, stirring constantly, pour the milk into the yolks. Return the resulting mixture to the fire and heat, stirring constantly, until the cream begins to thicken. The temperature should not exceed 70-75C, at a higher temperature the cream will curdle, so during cooking, remove the cream from the heat from time to time. When the mixture stops dripping from the spoon and the groove drawn on it stops swimming, the cream is ready. Put the finished cream in the refrigerator for several hours so that the cream finally thickens and loses its characteristic egg taste.

Combine passion fruit juice, banana puree, cream and sugar in a blender and blend until smooth.

Place an anglaise cream in the form, on it is a protein island, add tropical mousse. Garnish with a sprig of mint and coconut flakes. Enjoy your meal!

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The recipe is famous not only for its taste but also for the speed of preparation. There is even a joke that dessert is prepared faster than the dishes for it are washed. Appearance the dessert is also quite unusual. Custard (often people) is poured on a plate. This serves as the "sea". "Floating Island" (one or more) is a delicate protein soufflé.

floating island by classic recipe, unfortunately, does not fit according to Dukan, as it contains sugar. However, by replacing it, you can cook the same dish only with fewer calories.

floating islands. Dukan's recipe

You can pamper yourself with this delicate and wonderful dessert already from the "Attack". And for its preparation you will need:

  • Egg - 4 pcs.;
  • Milk without fat content - 0.5 l;
  • Vanilla (if not available, vanillin is also suitable);
  • Sweetener.
  1. The first step is to put the milk on a slow fire and bring to a boil with the addition of vanilla (or vanillin). While this is happening, beat the whites into a steep foam.
  2. With the help of two spoons we form balls of the same size from the foam and place in hot milk. Periodically turning over, proteins should be saturated with milk and increase in size.
  3. Take out with a slotted spoon and put on a plate to drain.
  4. We turn to the preparation of the "sea". Beat the yolks until foamy, pour in the milk. We put on a slow fire and stir constantly (otherwise the cream will not work) until thickened.
  5. The dish is ready. It remains only to connect the parts of the dessert. Pour the custard onto a plate or flat bowl, and carefully place the protein soufflé on top.

Also, in addition to custard, or as it is also called, English cream, you can prepare no less delicious coffee sauce. The recipe is also quite simple. For this we need:

  • Milk left over from cooked soufflé + another 150 ml;
  • Brewed strong black coffee - 120 ml;
  • Corn starch - 3 tsp;
  • Sweetener.
  1. Mix milk with coffee and bring to a boil. At this time, beat the yolks, starch and sugar substitute until a fluffy mass is formed.
  2. Pour the coffee-milk mixture into it, mix and return to the fire again. Bring to a boil while stirring.
  3. If you want to please loved ones or guests who do not eat according to Dukan, you can make berry sauce. To do this, grind with a blender 600 grams of berries with powdered sugar. You can also add just one teaspoon lemon juice. If desired, rub the sauce through a sieve to get rid of the seeds.

Dukan air dessert recipe

The method of preparation is no different from classic version. In addition to the classic cooking in milk, you can make "floating islands" according to Dukan and in the microwave. The recipe is next.

I have not written anything for a long time, but now I have moved to France and have tried many new dishes and desserts, which I will slowly share with you.

The first will be the dessert recipe Ile Flottante, or "Floating Island". Here I tried it for the first time and really fell in love, I hope you will like it too. It is easy to spoil, so we will cook carefully.

Separate the squirrels from the yolks, put the squirrels in a larger bowl, they will need to be whipped.

Pour milk into a saucepan and put on fire. As soon as bubbles begin to appear, remove from heat.

Mix the yolks with 2 cl. l. sugar and a bag of vanilla sugar.

Slowly add the yolk mixture to the milk, stirring. We put the pan on a very small fire and keep it for 5-7 minutes, stirring constantly. Do not let the liquid boil, otherwise the yolks will cook and the dessert will be spoiled. Remove from heat, the first part of the dessert is ready.

Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff, add 2 cl. l. sugar and beat again. I don't have a mixer so I had to use a whisk.

With a tablespoon we form rounded islands. According to the original recipe they need to be placed for a minute in low-boiling water, but the first time I didn’t get it right. Now I used a more reliable method - a microwave.

We put the microfiller on Very low power, a little more than the minimum and place the islands for 45 seconds. Proteins should become dense, check if it will be necessary to put it on for another 5-10 seconds. Do not overdo it, otherwise you can turn the islands into a kind of foam.

It remains only to put the dessert in the bowls.

Pour a little custard, put an island on top (I carried it on a fork, it should not crumble or spread). Pour a little liquid caramel over the island. The dessert is ready, you can cool it, or you can immediately serve it to the table.

Enjoy your meal!

A wonderful summer dessert, very simple to make, moderately chocolatey, tastes - forgive me, true connoisseurs - for sure " bird's milk "... Not only did it come just "to the yard" - that is, completely on topic, it also cooked perfectly in the microwave. In 30 seconds. I'm not kidding ...
In general, as conceived by the authors of the dessert, the Island is called "floating" - that is, it should just float, in the original - in a lake of English cream. And I, adhering to the author's original idea, prepared an English cream. And cooled it down. And that was the hardest part of the preparation...

Dessert "Floating Island" is a classic French meringue, made from proteins and sugar equal in weight, beaten to the state of "solid peaks", and then boiled in milk. Yes, that's it. The finished meringue is simply taken with two spoons, formed into a ball and dipped in boiling milk. And they cook for a couple of minutes, turning several times ... It was this last step that always stopped me from cooking this light dessert.. Until I stumbled upon this option: in the book "Three Chocolates" the author suggested adding chopped chocolate to the already prepared meringue, and ... cook it in the microwave. Within 30 seconds! And to tell you the truth, in this version, chocolate English cream was, although tasty, but completely optional addition. The "island" itself was simply incomparable.

I already mentioned that the "Floating Island" is the most unsweetened meringue. Really, exactly two times less sugar is put in it than in the classic French meringue. This leads to the fact that in finished form, the dessert turns out to be very soft, airy, very light, more like a mousse in consistency.

For two servings (yeah, perfect option dessert for romantic dinner) you will need:

- For chocolate English cream :

  • 2 yolks
  • 250 ml milk
  • 30 g sugar
  • 30 g chocolate (any - black, milk or white)

I wrote in detail how to cook an English cream. The only difference is that at the end you need to add chopped chocolate to the still hot cream and stir until it dissolves. Cover the cream with foil and refrigerate.

- For the island itself:

  • 2-3 proteins (weigh)
  • the same amount of sugar
  • 60 g chopped chocolate (any, I took black)

Beat egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form, gradually add sugar, increase speed and continue beating until the meringue is moist and shiny and forms firm "hard peaks".

Add chocolate to the finished meringue, mix, put into portion molds, run a knife along the walls of the molds and put in the microwave for exactly 30 seconds - no more !! Ready islands need to be cooled.

Pour a little on a plate chocolate cream, put the island on top.
By the way, it can also be eaten hot (conditionally, of course) - then the chocolate will still be melted, and the meringue will be moderately elastic. In any case, I can say with full responsibility that in five minutes of preparation (including whipping the meringue) you will prepare a very worthy dessert.

And again french recipe. Dessert Floating Islands is a very simple, primordially French and fastest dessert recipe in the world in terms of cooking speed. Cooking dessert floating islands is faster than washing dishes afterwards. This is a joke, but very close to the truth.

The name in French is îles flottantes (il floatant) - just in case you want to order it in France.

This dessert is interesting for its unusualness: you get a “sea” of custard that you cook yourself, and islands floating in it in the form of a delicate protein soufflé cooked in the microwave.

It must be said that the age of the dessert exceeds the age of microwaves (it was invented earlier) and at first the protein soufflé was boiled in milk. That is, it was necessary to form lumps of proteins whipped with sugar with the help of two spoons, then put them in boiling milk, then catch them with a slotted spoon. But if there is a microwave in the house, then this step may be easier.

Ingredients

  • 6 chicken eggs
  • 0.5 liters of milk
  • A pinch of vanillin or its pod
  • 100 g sugar
  • 40 g powdered sugar for proteins

Cooking

The cooking process consists of two stages: you need to make custard and prepare protein soufflés.

Custard is also sometimes referred to as English cream. I think that this is the “complexity of translation”, because that is how it is literally called in French. Therefore, if you ever meet an English cream in a recipe, know that this is just the custard we know. The only thing is that in this recipe we will cook it ourselves. Before, I confess honestly, I bought it dry in briquettes, known to us since Soviet times.

  • First you need to separate the yolks from the whites. For those who do not know: there should not be a drop of yolk in the proteins. If this happens, the egg whites will not whip, so use them elsewhere, and for dessert, start all over again.
  • Next, you need to put milk, put half the sugar and a pinch of vanilla in it. If you have a wonderful vanilla pod, then use it: it will be even tastier. Milk must be boiled and boiled for several minutes so that it is saturated with the smell of vanilla.
  • While the milk is heating, beat the yolks with the second half of the sugar until white.
  • Once the yolks are whipped and the milk is hot, pour the milk in a thin stream, stirring all the time into the beaten yolks.

  • And then put this mixture on a small fire, continuing to stir constantly so that the custard thickens. But in no case do not bring to a boil: the yolks will curdle! You can put a container in which you have yolks with milk on water bath. Cook for a while until the custard is of such a consistency that it begins to envelop the spoon. I want to warn you that you will not get the same thick consistency as a store-bought cream from a briquette. Even if it is liquid, it will suit us: the islands must float in something, and not stand still.

  • So, after you decide that the cream is ready, remove it from the heat and cool.
  • And you can proceed to the "islands".
  • Beat the chilled proteins (after separation, put them in the refrigerator) with a pinch of salt at medium speed, gradually adding powdered sugar. Beat until strong foam.

  • Then take cups or molds and spread the whites whipped with powdered sugar in them with a spoon. Press the protein foam well with a spoon so that there are no empty spaces, because the “islands” will not be even and smooth, but “embossed”, although also edible.
  • And then put these cups in the microwave for 30 seconds at maximum power.
  • If you don't have a microwave and want to try this dessert, try making the classic way(boil in milk - I wrote about it above) or in the oven.
  • After 30 seconds, remove the soufflé molds from the microwave. And most importantly, calmly: they themselves will not fall out of there, but if you slightly pry them with a knife, they will easily fall out onto the plate you need. Let cool (5-6 minutes).
  • And then pour into vases, plates, bowls, etc. custard, and put on top of each on a floating island.

This dessert will definitely need a spoon. There is an island with cream. The cream is sweet, and the island is slightly sweet.