Oh, buoy: Floating Islands dessert puts you on Cloud 9

Eaten any clouds lately? That’s what it’s like to dive into Floating Islands, the gently cooked meringues surrounded by vanilla custard sauce.

Claudio Pirollo learned how to make them the classic French way as a cook’s apprentice in Belgium at age 16. But at his Et Voila! in Washington, the chef has re-engineered the recipe to make it more restaurant-kitchen efficient, and in doing so, he’s done the world a favor. Instead of poaching the islands in milk, he steams them briefly in the oven. Piped into ring molds, they become modern structures that he finishes a la brulee.

Floating Islands (Iles Flottantes)

8 servings

8 large egg whites, plus
1 extra-large egg white (1⅓ cups total) all at room temperature

1½ cups sugar

Pinch of kosher salt

4 cups whole milk

Generous cup of heavy cream

2 split vanilla beans

9 large egg yolks (a generous ½ cup)

8 teaspoons turbinado sugar

Combine egg whites in the warmed bowl of a stand mixer with a balloon-whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high; once frothy, add sugar, a tablespoon at a time, and the salt. Beat for 3 minutes after the sugar has been added; the resulting meringue should be firm and smooth. Transfer to a piping bag with no tip.

Arrange eight 3-inch-wide, 2½-inch-tall ring molds on a perforated pan suspended over a pan filled with a few inches of just-boiled water; a vegetable grilling basket works, too. Fill the molds with meringue. Use a spatula to level the tops. Or you can pipe 8 islands onto the perforated pan or basket. Bake at 205 degrees for 3 minutes, then turn off the oven. Let sit for 3 minutes, then transfer in their molds to a small baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 2 days.

Combine milk, cream, vanilla and yolks in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium; cook for 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until the thickened to form a creme Anglaise. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer; discard the vanilla. Cover, refrigerate until chilled.

Before serving, sprinkle each island with a teaspoon of turbinado sugar. Use a kitchen torch to melt and brown the sugar. Place an island on each plate; pour the chilled creme Anglaise around it. Serve right away.