Floating Island

Content… What Is It? Recipe Ingredients How to Make It Recipe Variations Tips and Tricks Make-Ahead Instructions Serving and Storage Instructions FAQs What to Serve More Dessert Recipes to Try Conclusion Watch How to Make It

What is Floating Island Dessert?

This dessert is essentially a meringue “island” floating on a sea of vanilla sauce or custard and drizzled with homemade caramel sauce. I told you it was fancy! 😏 Fresh fruit or mint leaves are often used as a garnish to add a pop of color.

Recipe Ingredients

• Eggs – You’ll need egg whites for the meringue and egg yolk for the vanilla sauce. Doesn’t that work out perfectly? 
• Sugar – Two kinds of sugar complete this dessert, making it delightfully sweet: confectioners’ sugar and good ol’ granulated sugar. 
• Vanilla – Another ingredient found in all three elements, you’ll need vanilla extract and, if you can get your hands on it, vanilla bean.
• Dairy – Milk and heavy cream make up two of the three elements. What could be better?

How to Make a Floating Island

The Meringue

• Prepare the Baking Dish – Spray a 4-quart, 3-inch-deep baking dish with baking spray. Dust with confectioners’ sugar. Then tap to shake off any excess sugar. Set aside. (Photo 1)
• Bring Egg Whites to Room Temp – Pour the egg whites into a medium stainless-steel bowl. Let them sit out for 20 minutes if the eggs are straight out of the fridge.
• Whisk Them – Using an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites at medium speed until they foam up. (Photo 2)
• Add Salt and Cream of Tartar and keep whisking the egg white mixture until soft peaks form.
• Keep Beating – Increase the mixer speed to high and add sugar one tablespoon at a time until it has been used up and the meringue is thick and glossy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as you need.
• Add Flavor – Pour in the vanilla and add lemon zest. Next, transfer the meringue to the prepared baking dish. (Photo 3)
• Bake on the lower rack in the middle of the oven for about 40-45 minutes until the meringue has risen 3-4 inches or a toothpick or skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. (Photo 4-5)
• Cool – Remove and let it cool while you make the vanilla sauce. (Photo 6)

The Vanilla Sauce

• Mix the Milk and Cream – Pour the milk and cream into a medium-size saucepan.
• Add Vanilla Bean – Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds using a sharp knife. Then, add the pod and seeds to the cream and milk mixture.
• Heat the cream and milk mixture over medium-low heat until tiny bubbles appear around the edges. Then remove it from the stove.
• Whisk the Yolks and Sugar in a medium mixing bowl until it becomes pale in color.
• Temper Eggs – Pour a small amount of the cream and milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture so you can temper the egg yolk mixture, preventing it from curdling when added to the hot liquid).
• Combine – After tempering the egg mixture, pour all of it into the milk mixture.
• Cook – Return the saucepan to the heat and continue cooking on low heat until the sauce thickens slightly (about 5-6 minutes). If you’re unsure the vanilla cream is done, use an instant-read thermometer to measure the temperature. It should read 170℉/76℃, never more than 180℉/82℃.
• Cool – Remove vanilla pods. Let the sauce cool to room temperature.
• Chill – Place the sauce in individual serving bowls and put them in the fridge until ready to serve.

Make the Caramel Sauce

• Start the Sugar – Add sugar and enough water to moisten the sugar in a medium saucepan. Turn the stove to medium heat, then stir with a wooden spoon until sugar dissolves and the water is clear. Clean any crystals that may have formed on the sides of the saucepan with a pastry brush. (Photos 1-2)
• Cook, without stirring, until the sugar mixture turns an amber hue, approximately 10 minutes. For a deep and rich amber color, cook for an extra 2 minutes or more until you reach your desired color. (Photos 3-4)
• Warm the heavy cream in the microwave or on the stovetop. 
• Add the Cream – Reduce heat and whisk in heavy cream and butter. Don’t be alarmed if the caramel bubbles up. (Photos 5-8)
• Continue Cooking – Continue stirring until heavy cream and butter have been fully incorporated into the caramel mixture, about 2-3 minutes. It should be smooth and thick. 
• Add Vanilla – Stir in vanilla extract, if desired.
• Cool – Take the caramel sauce off the heat and let it cool to room temperature, keeping in mind that it will thicken up even more as it cools.

Assemble the Floating Islands

• Sauce – Remove individual bowls from the fridge. (Photo 1)
• Island – Scoop out 2-3 meringues with an ice cream scoop or spoon, placing them on the vanilla sauce. (Photo 2)
• Caramel – Drizzle caramel sauce over the meringues and serve with fruit, if desired. (Photos 3-4)

Recipe Variations

1. The traditional way to cook meringues in this recipe is by poaching. If you are a master chef, feel free to take this route. I prefer baking because it’s so much easier! 🙊
2. Get creative with your garnishes. You can garnish floating islands with fruit, spun sugar, pistachios, toasted almonds, hazelnuts, or anything else you think will complement the vanilla goodness of this dessert. The sky is the limit, so use your imagination!

Tips and Tricks

1. To see if your vanilla sauce is thick enough, coat the back of a spoon with it. If you run your finger across the back of the spoon, it should leave a visible track. See the picture to know how it will look.
2. Even if you temper your egg yolks in the vanilla sauce, there’s still a slight chance some of the egg might end up cooking. That doesn’t mean your dessert is ruined, though. As long as there aren’t too many lumps, you can simply pour the sauce through a fine sieve to remove any cooked egg lumps, and voila! Perfectly creamy vanilla sauce.
3. When making the caramel, swirl the saucepan with sugar and water as needed instead of stirring to prevent crystals from forming.

Make-Ahead Instructions

You can make the vanilla and caramel sauce the day before serving floating islands. Simply store them in the fridge in airtight containers. It’s better to make the meringue the day you’ll be serving it, though. Otherwise, it can lose its perfect, fluffy texture.

Serving and Storage Instructions

Ensure all ingredients have been chilled for long enough before assembling the floating islands. Then serve them immediately after assembling.

Store each element of the floating islands separately in airtight containers. Assemble when you’re ready to enjoy another plate. 

The caramel sauce can be left at room temperature for 2-3 days. You can refrigerate it for up to a month or store it in the freezer for three months. The vanilla cream and the meringues don’t do well in the freezer. Instead, they need to be stored in the fridge, and they’ll stay good for 2-3 days.

FAQs

What to Serve With Floating Islands

Did someone say specialty drinks? Serve your floating islands with a chai latte or a blended Thai iced coffee for maximum fanciness.

Since it is very sweet, this dessert also goes well as a follow-up to any dish that is either salty or features bitter elements, such as roast beef with Southern mustard greens.

More Dessert Recipes to Try

1. Boston Cream Pie
2. Victoria Sponge Cake
3. Peach Cobbler Egg Rolls
4. Vanilla Cake
5. Hot Milk Cake

Conclusion

Get your fancy on and try out this dessert! It doesn’t take a chef to make this bougie-looking dessert – but we won’t tell your dinner guests that. 😜 Hungry for more sweet, decadent desserts? Sign up for my newsletter and keep in touch.

Watch How to Make It

[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”ZKNRm9JA” upload-date=”2022-05-06T15:37:48.000Z” name=”FLOATING ISLAND EDITED.mp4″ description=”This beautifully decadent dessert features silky meringue, creamy vanilla custard, and a rich caramel sauce perfect for your family or dinner guests. The recipe may seem intimidating but never fear! Floating islands are easier to make than you think. ” player-type=”collapse” override-embed=”false”]