Floating island dessert – easy fun french dessert

Floating island dessert is an easy fun french dessert recipe made of a light vanilla custard with a poached meringue floating on top.

Floating island dessert – reviewed recipe : 100 % Keto + Sugar free

This french island dessert really means something to me because it was the dessert my grandma Maria cooked for me after school when I was a kid. This recipe post is for her : my missed loved and good cook French grandma Maria. I reviewed her favorite French floating island recipe to be 100 % Keto + Sugar free +Low carb using few tricks.  Of course, I will still give you her original French recipe but in case it is the one you prefer to try. So all you need to make this lovely French island dessert is 4 ingredients:

• Eggs – make sure you split egg yolk from egg white
• Milk – the original french recipe use regular cow milk which contains sugar from lactose. I prefer to use full fat canned coconut milk to make the dessert keto friendly and sugar free
• Sugar free crystal sweetener – the original recipe use white sugar if you want to follow the classic French recipe from my grandma
• Vanilla extract

My french childhood

My grandma was leaving in a huge and old-style French farm in East of France. I was staying there everyday after school as my mum was working late. I loved this place because it was always smelling good food and grandma was always busy cooking or preparing food. Grandma was cooking every meal and grow her own vegetables and fruits that she canned for the winter. I have no idea how much pot of jam I prepared with her or how much potatoes and cabbage we picked up on the garden but it was huge. The door were always open to the outside and I can go-in and out freely. I was running in the orchard and the garden playing with the real thing. It was a really old fashioned French house with the only necessary tools in the kitchen. No electrical mixer, no electrical oven, no electrical plate. Everything was cooked with gas and all dishes prepared with hands.

French floating island dessert the first recipe I learnt!

The recipe I am sharing today was the first recipe I learnt. My first experience in the kitchen creating something special. I was so proud. I was 8 years old and I was too small to reach the bench top so grandma installed a chair with a big cushion to sit me there.  This day I separated my first egg apart and I remember how I was impressed by her doing this with one hand. Then came the crucial step of this recipe. Whisking the egg really fast with my hand whisk until they are firm and form a stiff peak. Most chief will tell you to upside down the bowl of your egg white to check if they are firm enough. Grandma had a different approach. She was always telling me : While you still feel your arm, it is not ready!

She was like this my grandma. A strong little woman who was putting lots of love and energy in anything she did. Each meal, recipes were a real work and it was tastier than anything you can eat now.

Post in honor of  my French Grandma Maria because I will never forget where I come from

This day, after I prepared the meringue I was exhausted and I just wanted to go out and play. I remember telling her that I will never love cooking as it is too hard. Look where I am now ! Anyway I can not aboard what I started so I had to finish the recipe and prepare the light custard. She boiled the milk for me, pour it on the yellow egg and again ask me to whisk as fast as I can. Holly crap my arm was falling apart. She left me in the room a moment and said : keep going and when I am coming back the custard will be thick and ready. That is when this recipe became a disaster. I thought I could sit and rest while she was away and then pretend I did whisk the custard. But baking do not lie. The egg yolk started to cook in the hot milk and when she came back the custard was smelling like omelette and looks like milk full of lumps.  When she came back I was proud to show my work and she laugh at me. She was like that grandma. A nice woman. Never angry. Always seeing the good thing in anything.That is how I learnt baking and cooking. With a patient and hard working woman. That is where this recipe comes from and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I still do today.

I am sure you will do. It is the best and easiest French family dessert to prepare. It consist of a fluffy steamed meringue floating on a light vanilla custard and traditionally  topped with a caramel sauce. Usually this dessert is made with a bit of sugar – to form the meringue –  but I tried it with Natural Sweetener as well for diabetics like me. It works perfectly too.

Why you will love this dessert ?

• it is full of protein which means it makes me feel full really quickly.
• It is sugar-free, gluten free and it required only 15 minutes to be prepared. Ahaha if you have got an electrical mixer !
• It is easy to customize which makes it a perfect dessert or afternoon snack for kids too. You can add any kinds of toppings sliced almonds, toasted coconut, berries, chocolate sauce etc

Floating island dessert

Floating island dessert is an easy fun French recipe with a light vanilla custard with a poached meringue floating on top.

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cooling down 1 hr

Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins

Author: Carine

4 people

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Ingredients

Light vanilla custard

• 2 cup Unsweetened coconut milk or regular milk (original recipe)
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
• 4 Egg Yolk
• 1 cup Erythritol or white sugar (original grandma recipe)

Poached Meringue

• 4 Egg White
• 2 tablespoons Erythritol or white sugar (original grandma recipe)

Decoration

• 2 tablespoons Sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup Raspberries fresh or defrost

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Instructions

Prepare the Light Vanilla Custard

• In a saucepan, under medium heat, bring the milk and vanilla extract to a light boil. Remove from heat, set aside.
• Split the egg yolks and egg whites in two separate bowls. Set aside the bowl with the egg whites for later. 
• In the egg yolk bowl, add the sugar-free crystal sweetener. Using an electric mixer, on medium/high speed, beat the egg yolk and sugar crystal for 30/45 seconds or until lighter in color and fluffy. Stop beating. 
• Stir in the lukewarm vanilla milk into the egg yolk mixture. 
• Return this mixture into the saucepan. Place the saucepan under medium heat, stir and cook for 10 minutes on low/medium heat (don't boil it again!) until slightly thickens as you would do for a regular custard.
• When it has thickened, remove from heat, cool down in a bowl then store in the fridge for 2-3 hours to fully cool down.

Prepare the meringue and poach the meringue

• In another bowl, using the electric beater again beat the egg whites on medium/high speed, for 45 second, or until it starts to firm up. 
• Add the sugar-free crystal sweetener and beat until a stiff peak forms. Make sure you clean and dry your electric beater attachment before using them into the egg white mixture or the egg white won't get fluffy! Set aside the meringue. 
• In a large saucepan, bring 1 litre of water to boil, reduce to a light boil. Using a skimmer, scoop out some meringue mixture, plunge into the boiled water and cook/poach for 30 seconds on both sides.  
• Remove from the water using the skimmer, place on a plate and store in the fridge to fully cool down or until serving.

Serving instructions

• Split the vanilla custard into 4 dessert bowls or jars. 
• Top up with the poached meringue and decorate with melted chocolate, caramel syrup, sliced almonds or raspberries.

Nutrition panel is for one serve using full fat canned coconut milk and sugar-free crystal sweetener you can also use regular milk to half the calories but it will up the net carbs to 6.6g per serve (here 3.7g)

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Nutrition Facts

Floating island dessert

Amount Per Serving (1 serve)

Calories 297

% Daily Value*

Saturated Fat 28.9g181%

Carbohydrates 3.7g1%

Sugar 0.3g0%

Protein 8.6g17%

Net Carbs 3.7g

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition panel for the floating island using sugar free crystal sweetener and regular milk. This recipe serve 4 people. Net carbs 6.6g per serve coming from the milk lactose – using dairy free full fat coconut milk to decrease carbs.