French Fridays: Ile Flottante

Instructions

Make the crème anglaise:

1. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a medium bowl until well combined. Place the bowl on a damp cloth or paper towels to hold it in place later when you are whisking one-handed.
2. Meanwhile, heat the milk and cream in a small pot over medium-high heat until simmering. Do not boil.
3. Remove the milk-cream mixture from the heat and gently drizzle about 1/4 cup (60 mL) of it into the egg yolk mixture, whisking the yolks constantly (this is where the damp cloth helps prevent the bowl from dancing all over the countertop). You want to whisk constantly so that you don’t end up with scrambled eggs.
4. Continue to drizzle all the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly as you do so.
   Pour the mixture back into the pot and cook over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring it with a wooden spoon, until the custard thickens slightly. It should be the consistency of heavy cream. Remove from the heat.
5. Place a metal sieve over a small bowl or jug and strain the custard through the sieve.
6. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, with the wrap touching the surface of the custard to avoid a skin forming, and refrigerate until chilled and ready to use.

Make the meringue

1. Preheat the oven to 300˚F (150˚C). Butter the ramekins and place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
2. In a metal or glass bowl, using handheld electric beaters on medium speed, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar to soft peaks, about 2 minutes.
3. With the beaters running, gradually add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. When all the sugar is incorporated, increase the speed to high and whip for a further 2 minutes to shiny, stiff peaks.
4. Gently fold in the vanilla with a rubber spatula. You should only need a couple of turns of the spatula to fold this in. You don’t want to deflate the meringue.
5. Divide the meringue between the ramekins, smoothing the tops with the back of a spoon or a rubber spatula. Rap the ramekins gently on a hard countertop to help the meringue settle.
6. Bake for 20 minutes—the meringue might start to go a little brown on top, but that’s okay—then remove from the oven and place the ramekins on a wire rack.
7. Allow to cool to room temperature before you serve.

To serve:

1. Gently run a knife around the edges of the ramekins to loosen the meringue.
2. Divide the crème anglaise evenly between six shallow bowls and place a meringue on top of each.
3. Drizzle the caramel or dulce de leche over the top of the meringues, if using.