Snow Eggs or Floating Islands

Prepare an English cream (No. 42) with six egg-yolks, seven ounces of sugar, a quart of milk, lemon peel and a grain of salt; strain it several times, then let get cold. Beat up five or six egg-whites to a very stiff froth and incorporate into them very delicately seven ounces of fine lemon-flavored sugar (No. 3165). Boil some water in a deep sautoir, remove it to one side, mold the beaten whites with a large spoon, as explained in No. 155, and let the preparation fall into the sautoir, retaining the shape of the spoon; turn them over carefully. As soon as these whites become hard remove them with a skimmer and drain on a cloth spread over a sieve; when cold take them up one by one to pare and dress in a pyramid on a cold dish; cover them lightly with some of the cold English cream, serving the remainder separately.

These eggs can be poached in sweetened milk flavored with vanilla instead of water, using the milk to make the sauce by adding a few egg-yolks.