Which dessert is also known as 'île flottante'?

A floating island (also known as 'île flottante') is a dessert of French origin, consisting of meringue floating on crème anglaise. The meringues are prepared from whipped egg whites, sugar, and vanilla extract then quickly poached. The crème anglaise is prepared with the egg yolks, vanilla, and hot milk, briefly cooked.

The difference between the two dishes is that île flottante is often one large meringue cooked in a water bath in the oven, and may contain additional flavoring, while 'œufs à la neige' consists of smaller scoops of meringue poached in liquid on the stove.

Floating island consists of a meringue served floating on a milky custard sauce. Some variations use a thicker sauce, served on top of the dumplings, but usually the custard is thin and the dumplings "float" on top.

First, the custard made of milk, sugar, vanilla, and egg yolks is briefly cooked in a water bath. The custard should be thick enough to coat a spoon.

To make the meringue, the egg whites are beaten with sugar and poured into a mold that may be lined with caramelised sugar. It is then steamed in the oven in a bain-marie (water bath). Once the meringue is cooked and chilled, the sauce is poured on a serving plate and the unmolded meringue placed on the sauce to "float".

Alternately, the whites can be shaped with spoons and allowed to poach gently in sweetened milk with vanilla flavouring. The custard is topped with the egg white dumplings.