Oeufs à la neige are a popular dessert in France, but the recipe has never really caught on in North America. And that’s a shame. This delicious dessert makes a lovely finish to any meal, especially during the holidays.
The classic version of snow eggs consists of a velvety vanilla custard (crème anglaise), topped with fluffy poached meringue “eggs” that are drizzled with caramel. What could be better than a classic vanilla crème anglaise? Crème anglaise flavored with pistachios!
In 2019 I visited Burlington’s sister city Honfleur, in Normandy, with a small group of AFLCR members. On the last evening of our visit, Honfleur’s comité de jumelages took our group to the harborside restaurant Le Bistro du Port for a spectacular farewell dinner. For dessert, the restaurant served snow eggs with a pistachio crème anglaise. I thought that the concept was brilliant and proceeded to develop my own version when I returned to Vermont.
Oeufs à la neige is sometimes called île flottante. Although the components (vanilla custard, meringue, and caramel) of both desserts are similar, the preparation is a little different. To make snow eggs, spoonfuls of meringue are poached free form. For floating island, the meringue is cooked in a mold in a water bath.
Traditional recipes for snow eggs call for poaching the meringues in milk, then using the strained milk to make the custard. I have never found that milk enhances poached meringues, so I poach them in water. Poaching the meringues in water is also more practical because the custard can be stored in the refrigerator longer than the delicate meringues.
Crème anglaise is distinguished from a standard American custard by the fact that it contains no starch or binders; egg yolks alone provide the thickening. As the yolks will curdle when they reach a temperature of 180°F, the cook must stir the custard constantly and remove it from the saucepan as soon as it’s thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. (The custard will continue to cook with the residual heat of the saucepan, so act quickly!) Straining the custard helps ensure a silky consistency. I recommend that you place a clean bowl and a fine-mesh sieve beside the stove before you begin cooking so you can strain the custard as soon it’s ready. It’s also helpful to chill the custard quickly in an ice bath before refrigerating until thoroughly chilled.
To flavor the custard with pistachios, I simply infuse the hot milk with ground pistachios before cooking the custard. The resulting color is a festive pale green. Instead of the caramel glaze, I make a pistachio praline for the topping. This is a simple matter of coating pistachios in caramel, letting the caramel harden, and then grinding it into a delicious coarse powder. A few jewel-like pomegranate arils make an especially festive garnish. I hope you enjoy this classic French dessert this holiday season. Joyeuses fêtes!
Equipment: Stand mixer or hand-held mixer; food processor or blender; instant-read thermometer for checking the temperature of the custard (optional)
Ingredients
Pistachio Custard
½ cup shelled unsalted pistachios
5 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
2 cups whole milk
4 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Pistachio Praline
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons water
1/3 cup shelled unsalted pistachios
Meringue “Eggs” and garnish
4 large egg whites
½ cup granulated sugar
Pomegranate arils for garnish (optional)
Preparation
1. To prepare the pistachio custard: Place ½ cup pistachios and 3 tablespoons sugar in a food processor or blender and process until the pistachios are ground. Transfer to a heavy medium saucepan and add the milk. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring often, until steaming hot but not boiling. Remove from the heat and let steep for 30 minutes.
2. Set a fine-mesh sieve over a medium bowl and place it by the stove. Gently re-warm the milk mixture until steaming. Place the egg yolks and 2 tablespoons sugar in another medium bowl. Whisk vigorously or beat with an electric mixer until thickened and pale in color, 3 to 4 minutes if whisking by hand, or 1 minute if using an electric mixer. Slowly pour the milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly.
3. Pour this mixture back into the saucepan and return to medium-high heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon in a figure-eight motion, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, 2 to 4 minutes. The custard should reach a temperature of 165–176°F. Don’t let it boil. Immediately, pass the mixture through the strainer into the clean bowl; press on the pistachios to extract maximum flavor. (You can keep the pistachios for a cook’s snack; store in the refrigerator.) Using a clean whisk, whisk the almond extract into the custard.
4. Place ice cubes and water in a large bowl to make an ice bath. Set the bowl of custard in the ice bath to cool quickly, 20 to 30 minutes. When the custard reaches room temperature, cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours. (You can refrigerate the custard, covered, for up to 3 days.)
5. Meanwhile prepare the pistachio praline: Lightly oil a baking sheet. Combine ⅓ cup sugar and 3 tablespoons water in a small saucepan. Cover and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Remove the cover and cook, without stirring, until the syrup starts to turn color, 4 to 6 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook until the syrup turns a rich amber color, tilting the saucepan to swirl the syrup so it colors evenly. Once the caramel is ready, immediately add ⅓ cup pistachios and stir to coat. Scrape the praline onto the prepared baking sheet. Let cool until the caramel has cooled and hardened, about 15 minutes.
Break into chunks and transfer to a food processor or blender. Pulse into a coarse powder with some chunks. Alternatively, place the praline chunks in a zip-lock bag and smash with a rolling pin or meat mallet until the praline forms a coarse powder with some chunks. (You can store the praline in an airtight container airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week. You may not use it all for this recipe; it’s also delicious sprinkled over ice cream.)
6. Several hours before serving, prepare the meringue “eggs”: Fill a large pot or a large deep-sided skillet halfway full of water and bring to a simmer. Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Place the egg whites in a stand mixer fitted with the clean whisk attachment or a portable hand-held mixer. Starting at medium-low speed, beat the egg whites, and gradually increase the speed to medium-high until they start to hold soft peaks. Gradually sprinkle in ½ cup sugar, continuing to beat until stiff, shiny peaks form.
7. Using 2 soup spoons, shape ovals of meringue, and drop 4 to 6 “eggs” into the barely simmering water. Don’t crowd the “eggs” in the pot, and don’t worry if the shapes are irregular. This is a rustic dessert. Poach gently for 3 minutes.
Carefully flip the “eggs” with a slotted spoon and poach until firm, about 3 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the “eggs” to the paper-towel-lined baking sheet. Continue until all the meringue is used up. The “eggs” will collapse slightly as they cool. (You can refrigerate the meringue “eggs” for up to 1 day.)
8. Just before serving, assemble the dessert: Spoon the custard into dessert dishes. Top each serving with one (or more) meringue “eggs,” depending on size. Sprinkle with pistachio praline, garnish with pomegranate arils, if desired, and serve.
Makes 6 servings, about 1/3 cup custard and 1-2 meringue “eggs” each.
Tip: Beating egg whites. Egg whites will not whip up into a fluffy meringue if there is a trace of fat in the equipment used for beating or the whites themselves. When separating eggs destined for meringue, place each egg white into a separate bowl before adding it to the rest of the egg whites to eliminate the risk of contaminating the entire batch. Also, make sure that the bowl and beaters are scrupulously clean.
Tip: Cleaning up after making caramel. Don’t scrub, dissolve! Pour boiling water into the saucepan you have used to make caramel, cover, and let sit until cool. The caramel should pour right off.
Patsy Jamieson