Floating Islands with Strawberries and Caramel Sauce
Alexis and Eric Koefoed operate Soul Food Farm (see page 173) in a rural area of Solano County, Napa’s neighbor. The eggs from their pasture-raised chickens are so superior to conventional eggs that they inspired a cooking class at the winery. For the class dessert, Brian created this variation on floating island, a retro French dessert that deserves to come back into fashion. The “islands” are poached meringues that, in the original version, float on vanilla custard—a superb way to showcase first-rate eggs. The unusual caramel sauce flavored with Cakebread Cellars rosé is Brian’s addition.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 8
Ingredients
Vanilla Custard
Caramel Sauce
Meringues
Preparation
Step 1
For the vanilla custard: Place the milk in a small saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the halved vanilla bean and add them to the milk along with the pod. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then set aside to steep for 5 minutes.
Step 2
In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture is smooth, thick, and pale. Gradually whisk in half of the milk mixture to warm the yolks, then whisk in the remaining milk. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the custard thickens and coats the spoon, 1 to 2 minutes. Do not allow it to boil or it will curdle. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl set in an ice-water bath, then refrigerate. You can make the custard up to 1 day ahead.
Step 3
Toss the berries with the sugar and set aside for 30 minutes. Pour off and reserve the juices.
Step 4
For the caramel sauce: In a small saucepan, heat the sugar and water over medium heat, swirling the pan until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and cook until the syrup begins to turn a rich caramel color, about 5 minutes. Once it begins to change color, it darkens quickly, so remove the saucepan from the heat shortly before you think the caramel is done to allow for carry-over cooking. Off the heat, add the wine, which will cause the caramel to harden. (Be careful, as the mixture may splatter.) Return to medium heat and cook, stirring, until the caramel dissolves. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly, then stir in the reserved strawberry juices.
Step 5
Heat the milk, sugar, and whole vanilla bean to a simmer in a wide, deep pan, then adjust the heat to maintain a bare simmer.
Step 6
For the meringues: With electric handheld beaters or in a stand mixer on medium speed, whip the egg whites and lemon juice to soft peaks. Raise the speed to high, add the sugar gradually, and beat to stiff peaks.
Step 7
With a large soup spoon or serving spoon, scoop about one-eighth of the beaten egg white mixture and drop it onto the barely simmering milk, as if making a dumpling. Repeat with the remaining egg white mixture, taking care that the meringues do not touch. They will swell as they cook, so you may be able to cook only 4 meringues at one time. Cook for 1 minute, then carefully turn with a spoon and poach on the other side until the meringue feels set, 1 to 2 minutes longer.
Step 8
While the meringues poach, put a generous 2 tablespoons of vanilla custard in each of 8 shallow soup bowls. Spoon the strawberries in the center, dividing them evenly, then top with a meringue and drizzle the meringue with warm caramel sauce. Serve immediately.
