Name: Île Flottante (Slow-Baked Meringues with Crème Anglaise and Bittersweet Chocolate)
Yield: Makes 6 Servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: ½ vanilla bean, split; 5 large egg whites; 5 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder; ¾ cup heavy cream; Mint Oil, in a squeeze bottle; Fleur de sel; Block of bittersweet chocolate for chocolate shavings; 1 cup sugar; 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped; 1 large egg white; ½ cup meringue (reserved from above); 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour; ¼ cup powdered sugar; ⅓ cup sugar; 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) unsalted butter, at room temperature; 5 large egg yolks; 1 cup heavy cream; 1 cup milk

Preparation info

Makes
6
Servings

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The French Laundry Cookbook

By Thomas Keller

Published 1999

About

This is a classical French preparation, further enhanced and refined. The meringue is very finely textured (before it’s cooked it should look exactly like shaving cream) and we put a surprise inside—a chocolate ganache. To take it to the next level, we set a “salad” of chocolate shavings on top, and, as a salad typically requires some sort of dressing, we drizzle mint oil on the chocolate and finish it with some crystals of fleur de sel, which enhance the sweetness.