Snow eggs, a frothy concoction, is an any time of the year simple dessert despite it’s name. The snow is a floating island of sweet meringue poised delicate on top of a creamy crème anglaise – French custard!
Ingredients for 4
½ litre milk
1 vanilla pod
4 eggs – separate the yolks from the whites
120g sugar
Pinch of salt
Prepare the custard first. Split the vanilla pod in half. Heat with the milk. As soon as the milk begins to boil, remove the vanilla pods and take the milk off the heat.
Separately beat the egg yolks and 50 g of sugar for 5 minutes. Slowly pour in the still hot milk, whisking. Reheat everything over low heat, stirring. As soon as the foam disappears from the surface, remove from heat – it’s ready to serve.
For the snow: Whip the egg whites until stiff and add a pinch of salt. Once the ‘snow’ is firm, add the remaining 70g of sugar. Whisk for 1 minute until very stiff.
For soft meringue: In a pan, pour 5 cm of water. Simmer the water. Make ‘snowballs’ or ‘eggs’ using two tablespoons to mould them. Place the meringues in the water and be careful to not let the balls touch each other! Cook for a about one minute, turn them over and cook for one minute. Remove them then drain them delicately.
If you want crunchy meringues: place a lightly oiled mould onto a rack inside a roasting tin. Pour boiling water to the height of the rack. Pipe the meringue mix into the moulds and bake for 10 minutes.
Place the snow on the custard. You can decorate with caramel, fruit etc.
