Floating Island Dessert, or île flottante, is an elegant dessert to serve at dinner parties that looks far more complicated and impressive than it actually is. This recipe shows you how to make this classic French dessert at home.
Floating Islands Recipe Snapshot
What it is: Delicate clouds of poached meringue on a sea of delicious Crème Anglaise (custard)!
Why you'll love it: A classy and effortless dinner party dessert that can be made ahead of time. It also uses up the egg whites and yolks - so there is no waste.
How to make it: Whip egg whites and sugar to make French meringue, then poach them in milk. Combine the hot milk with egg yolks to make the custard sauce.
This classic French dessert is a comforting and elegant option to serve at a dinner party. The poached meringue is incredibly light and soft, and the custard sauce is rich and luxurious. Classically topped with caramel for a bit of crunch and color. I have also seen these affectionately called 'snow eggs', which I just love.
One of the things I love most about this floating island dessert is that it uses the whole eggs - the meringue uses the egg whites and the custard uses the egg yolks, so it is a wonderful combination in more than just flavor! That may sound trivial, but often when I am making meringue recipes like my classic Pavlova, or custard recipes like my Custard Filled Donuts, or Crème Brûlée, I am left with a bowl full of leftover whites or yolks, and I hate to waste food.
Reader Review:
We have the same dessert in Hungary. It is called "Bird's milk" and we used to have it made for us when we were sick. It was almost worth it to get ill! Thank you for the excellent recipe and detailed instructions.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Peter
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What Is Floating Island Dessert?
Floating Islands (or île flottante) is a classic French dessert made of fluffy poached meringues sitting in dreamy créme anglaise (custard). It is also often topped with a drizzle of simple hardened caramel.
Ingredients
Though it may look like a complicated and fancy dessert, this floating island recipe actually uses only a few very simple ingredients. If you don't include a pinch of salt and some cornstarch for texture, there are really only 4 ingredients.
- Eggs - This recipe uses the egg whites for the meringue and the egg yolks for the custard, so the whole egg will be used! Make sure the eggs are at room temperature before beginning.
- Sugar - Use superfine white sugar for this (caster sugar in the UK) as we are making a French meringue and will need the sugar to dissolve easily into the egg whites.
- Milk - The milk will perform double duty in this recipe; we'll use it to poach the meringues, and then we'll strain it and use it to make the Crème Anglaise. Make sure you use whole milk for this recipe.
- Vanilla - The vanilla flavor will really come through, so try to use a high-quality vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste. If you have one available, you can even use a vanilla pod.
- Cornstarch - This is optional, but it helps to create a lovely, fluffy texture in the meringue.
See recipe card for the full recipe and measurements in both cups and grams.
How To Make Floating Island Dessert
There are three elements to île flottante: the poached meringue, the créme anglaise, and the caramel topping. Let's break each one down:
Make the Poached Meringues
This is a simple recipe, but poaching the meringues is a delicate process, and it took me a few mistakes to figure out the best way to do it - so now I'll share that with you so you can get it perfect the first time!
Make French Meringue
Whip the egg whites, starting on low speed and gradually increasing to high speed.
Once it starts to get foamy, start adding the sugar, one tablespoon at a time, whipping between each addition so the sugar can fully dissolve.
Keep going until all the sugar has been incorporated.
Whip To Stiff Peaks
Whip the meringue until it reaches soft peaks, then add a teaspoon of cornstarch and a pinch of salt.
Continue to whip until the meringue reaches stiff peaks. It should be thick, glossy, and hold its shape well on a spoon.
Heat The Milk
Put the milk and vanilla into a deep-sided frying pan or a large saucepan over medium heat until steam just starts to rise from it. Don't let it bubble.
Shape Meringues
Once the milk is warm enough, shape the meringue using two spoons to scoop it out and smooth the edges. Don't overthink the size and shape.
This can be a little fiddly, but don't overthink the shape and size, as the meringues will puff up as they cook anyway.
Poach the Meringues
Gently place a few meringues at a time into the hot milk and let them cook gently for 2-3 minutes, then gently flip them over with a large spoon and cook for the same time on the other side.
Don't overcrowd the pan as they will puff up, and you don't want them to stick together.
Once they're done, very carefully remove them from the milk with a slotted spoon and place them onto a baking tray lined with paper towels to soak up any excess moisture.
Chill until serving
Make the Crème Anglaise
Now for my favorite part of the floating islands dessert - the creamy vanilla custard sauce!
Prep Custard Ingredients
Take the milk that you used to poach the meringues and pass it through a fine sieve into a measuring jug to remove any lumps of meringue.
Check the measurements on the jug and top it up as needed to have the full 2 cups (500ml) again.
Pour the milk into a clean saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until it is scalding hot.
Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until thick and pale.
Temper the Eggs
Once the milk is scalding hot, slowly drizzle it into the egg yolk mixture, whisking as you go.
It's important to do this gradually to temper the eggs (slowly bring them up to temperature) so that they don't scramble.
Thicken Custard
Once all the milk is incorporated, pour the entire custard mixture back into the saucepan and return to the heat.
Cook, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon and draw a line through it with your finger.
Cool
Remove from the heat and pass through a fine mesh sieve to remove any lumps.
Pour the custard into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic touches the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming.
Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate until ready to serve.
How To Serve Île Flottante
When you are ready to serve, it's best to assemble the floating islands before you start making the caramel, as it hardens quickly and you need to move fast.
If making caramel from scratch seems like a lot of work, you can also skip this step or top it with something else, like store-bought caramel, fresh berries, or even some toasted nuts or something for a bit of crunch. But here's how to do it the classic way:
- Spoon some of the custard into each of your bowls or serving dishes so each has a pool of crème anglaise in it.
- Gently place one or two of the poached meringues in the middle of the custard; they should just float on top.
- In a small saucepan, heat some sugar with a splash of water over a medium-high heat. Do not stir, but if crystals start to form, you can brush down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush. See my caramel recipe to read about preventing crystallisation.
Let the sugar boil until it turns a deep amber colour. Watch it closely as it changes colour fast.
- Once the caramel is ready, you need to work quickly. Dip a spoon in the caramel, then quickly drizzle the caramel in circles on top and around the ile flottante to make thin lines of caramel. The caramel will begin to harden right away.
Voila! Your floating island desserts are ready to enjoy!
Storage
Once the floating islands are assembled, I recommend serving them right away. But you can make the elements ahead of time.
The creme Anglaise will be good in the fridge for up to 3 days, and the poached meringues will be good for 2 days, but make sure you pat them down with paper towels to remove all excess moisture before storing in an airtight container. If they are wet at all, they won't hold their shape well.
Show Me Your Bakes!
If you make this recipe, please tag @bonni_bakery on Instagram or send me a photo - I love seeing all your creations.
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More Fancy French Desserts
If you love these floating islands, try some of these French recipes:
Recipe
Floating Island Dessert (Île Flottante)
Ingredients
- 200 g (1 cup) Superfine Sugar (for the meringues)
- 66 g Superfine Sugar (for the custard)
- 6 Large Eggs (medium in the UK)
- 480 ml (2 cups) Whole Milk
- 1 teaspoon Cornstarch (Cornflour)
- 1 pinch Salt
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 66 g (⅓ cup) Superfine Sugar
- 3 tablespoon Water
Equipment
- Large saucepan
- Stand Mixer or electric whisk
Instructions
- Separate the eggs into whites and yolks, set the yolks aside for making the custard later.6 Large Eggs
- Whip the egg whites on low speed, gradually increasing to high speed. Once they get frothy, start slowly adding the sugar, one tablespoon at a time, whipping in between additions until it is all incorporated. Whip until it reaches soft peaks.200 g (1 cup) Superfine Sugar
- Add the cornstarch and a pinch of salt and keep whipping until the meringue reaches stiff peaks. It should be thick and glossy and hold its shape.1 tsp Cornstarch, 1 pinch Salt
- Heat the milk and vanilla over medium heat in a deep-edged frying pan or large saucepan. Don't let it boil, you want it to be just before the point of small bubbles forming.480 ml (2 cups) Whole Milk, 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- Use two spoons to shape your meringue into whatever shape you like, I just passed the meringue back and forth between the spoons to make smooth edges.
- Gently place each meringue shape into the hot milk. Don't overcrowd the pan, the meringues will expand slightly while they are in there. Let them poach for 2-3 minutes, then flip them and poach for 2-3 minutes on the other side.
- Gently remove the poached meringues and place them on a plate with paper towels to soak up the excess liquid. Let them cool here before transferring to the fridge for at least 2 hours.
- Strain the milk from poaching the meringues to remove any pieces of meringue, and top it up if needed so you have 2 cups (500ml) of milk again. Return to the heat in a clean saucepan until it is hot (not bubbling).
- Whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until pale and thick.66 g Superfine Sugar
- Slowly drizzle the hot milk into the egg yolk/sugar mixture, whisking as you go. It's important to do this gradually so you don't scramble the eggs with the heat.
- Once all the milk is incorporated, pour the whole mixture back into the saucepan and return to the heat.
- Continue to heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens slightly. When it's ready, you should be able to coat the back of a spoon and draw a line through the custard and have the line hold its shape.
- Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic touches the top of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Let cool and eventually transfer to the fridge until ready to serve.
- When you are ready to serve, spoon some of the chilled custard into your bowls or serving dishes.
- Gently place one or two of the poached meringues on top of the custard, it should just float on top. It's best to prepare these before you make the caramel as you will need to work quickly once the caramel is ready.
- Heat the sugar in a saucepan with a splash of water, over medium-high heat. Let it come to a boil.66 g (⅓ cup) Superfine Sugar, 3 tbsp Water
- Once the sugar is boiling, watch it closely, it will look clear and then it will start to gain some color, first a little yellow and then amber.
- Once it reaches a deep amber color, remove it from the heat and immediately use a spoon to drizzle the caramel in circles over the floating islands. Work quickly as the caramel hardens very fast.
G Peter Pushkas
We have the same dessert in Hungary. It is called "Bird's milk" and we used to have it made for us when we were sick. It was almost worth it to get ill! Thank you for the excellent recipe and detailed instructions.
Jules Grasekamp
That is so interesting! I love hearing how desserts are enjoyed all over the world!
I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Jules
Lewis
These look better than the ones I tried in Paris!
Lydia Taypott
Had never heard of these - time to try something new! They look awesome!
Chris
SNOW EGGS! I want to eat these so BAAAD! These look amazing! What a cool idea for a dessert.