Iles flottantes with Crème Anglaise

"Iles flottantes", which you could literally translate from French as "floating islands", are such a delicious dessert; poached whipped sweet egg whites that resemble a fluffy marshmallow, served on top of a crème anglaise, which is a light liquid custard, with roasted almonds and caramel. Is it enough to make your taste buds drool?! Great, so let's get this recipe started.

For 4 to 6 servings - depending on the size of your îles flottantes, you will need:

For the custard:

• 350 milliliters of milk
• 1 vanilla pod
• 3 egg yolks
• 75 grams of sugar

For the poached egg whites:

• 3 egg whites
• A pinch of salt
• 40 grams of sugar

For the delicious decoration:

• A handful of sliced almonds
• Some caramel sauce

Preparation time: 30 minutes (15 minutes for the custard and 15 minutes for the egg whites)
Cooking time: 30 minutes (20 minutes for the custard and 10 minutes to poach the egg whites)
Resting time for the custard: 2 to 3 hours

Start by preparing the custard, as it will have to rest in the fridge.

Slice the vanilla pod open along its length.

Pour the milk into a saucepan and add the vanilla pod. Warm up the milk to let the vanilla infuse, but make sure to not boil it.

After 5 to 7 minutes, the milk should be infused and warm. Remove it from the stove, remove the vanilla pod, and set aside.

Add the egg yolks and the sugar to a bowl, and whisk until you obtain a smooth and silky mixture.

Add the milk to the egg yolk-sugar and mix it in well.

Place back on the stove on low heat. For about 7 to 10 minutes, don't stop mixing gently and make sure to not let it come to a boil.

Once the custard is smooth and warm, remove it from the stove and filter it into a bowl to rest first. Then, let it cool down before placing in a airtight container in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours.

About 15 to 20 minutes before serving the dessert, take the custard out of the fridge and set aside. It is also now time to prepare the rest of your dessert.

On medium heat, dry roast the sliced almonds in a pan. Keep an eye on them as they brown quickly and can burn easily. Once they are brown, take them out of the pan and set aside.

Start preparing the îles flottantes.

Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt with a hand-mixer until they are firm. Then add the sugar while continuously beating.

Once the egg whites are ready and firm, it is time to poach them.

Bring a pan of water to a slight boil and add a scoop of egg whites and let it poach for about 30 seconds. Then, turn it over and let it poach for the same amount of time.

Let the egg whites rest and drain for a minute or so on a paper towel.

Now that all the ingredients are ready, you can dress your plate. Pour some custard, place a poached egg white, sprinkle with some roasted almonds, and drizzle some caramel.

And here you are, ready to enjoy your delicious îles flottantes with crème anglaise, roasted almonds, and a drizzle of caramel!

As with all the other recipes we put on this site, this is meant to be easy to follow. We are hobby chefs who love to cook, and we are always up for learning new techniques. If you know of anything in this recipe which can be done a different way, whether for increased ease of preparation or better taste, please add a comment below!

Whipped up by Charline Leblond

Eggnog

What a perfect season for eggnog! Whether you make it for your Christmas party, or a romantic evening next to the fireplace. Or just because you simply want to treat yourself to something tasty and delicious, or even for a family get-together; of course, don't add the rum or any alcohol if kids are going to taste it.

It is a very easy recipe to make and it will delight adults and children during this holiday season.

To make about 4 cups of eggnog, you will need:

• 4 eggs
• 1/3 cup of sugar
• 1 pint of milk
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 9 ounces of spiced rum*
• 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon of sugar

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Resting time: A few hours in the fridge until serving


Start by separating the egg whites from the egg yolks and put them in two separate bowls.

Grate the nutmeg and keep aside.

In a bowl, mix the milk and the heavy cream.

In a standing mixer, or with a hand-mixer, whisk the egg yolks until they get lighter in color.

Once it's done, gradually add the 1/3 cup of sugar and continue to whisk until the two ingredients are combined.

While continuing to whisk on a slow setting, add the milk/cream mixture, the rum*, and the nutmeg to the mix.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks. Then add the tablespoon of sugar and continue to whisk until the egg whites form stiff peaks.

Gently whisk the egg-yolk mixture to the egg-white mixture.

You've just made eggnog!

Keep the eggnog in a sealed container in the fridge until serving. Simply re-froth before serving.

Enjoy!

*Note: You can make this recipe alcohol-free by not adding the rum. The recipe steps stay the same; simply remove the rum from the ingredients.

Tip: Keep the leftovers of the eggnog in a sealed container in the fridge. Simply re-froth before serving.

As with all the other recipes we put on this site, this is meant to be easy to follow. We are hobby chefs who love to cook, and we are always up for learning new techniques. If you know of anything in this recipe which can be done a different way, whether for increased ease of preparation or better taste, please add a comment below!

Whipped up by Charline Leblond

Spanish Omelette with Chorizo

Tortilla de Patatas con Chorizo, as it would be called if you were in Spain, is basically a thick omelette made with potatoes - and in this case, Chorizo. You could serve this as part of an assortment of tapas, or as a brunch with a side salad. The best thing is that it does not need to be served hot, so you can make it in advance and serve it at room temperature. And since you are basically making one large omelette and then dividing it up into slices, pizza style, it is a much easier way to serve up breakfast for a family - rather than making four or five individual omelettes.

The following recipe is for four people if you are serving this as a brunch or lunch, more if you are serving small portions as tapas.

You will need:

• Eight large eggs
• Four medium potatoes, cut into small cubes
• One medium onion, sliced
• One small shallot, sliced
• One clove of garlic, finely chopped
• About 120 grams of sliced Spanish chorizo
• Salt and Pepper
• Olive Oil
• Some chopped parsley (for garnish)

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes

The first thing we need to do is to get the onions/shallots and potatoes started. In a hot saute pan, add about two tablespoons of olive oil.

Add the onions and shallots to the pan, and lower the heat to medium-low.

Toss the onions and shallots around for a few minutes until they start to turn translucent.

Next, add the potatoes to the pan.

And mix them well in with onions and shallots and season with salt and pepper.

While the potatoes are cooking, break the eggs into a large bowl.

Beat them vigorously with a whisk.

Add a pinch of salt and pepper and mix it in with the eggs. You can also add some paprika, chilli flakes, and herbs, if you like.

Meanwhile, check your potatoes for doneness. They should be almost cooked, still slightly firm. At this point, add the garlic.

Add the chorizo to the pan.

And mix it in with the potatoes to get an even distribution.

Leave the mixture to sit for a few minutes for the potatoes to cook a little more and to warm up the chorizo and render some of the fat.

Then add your beaten eggs and mix everything to make sure the eggs really get all around.

Now, just cover the pan and step aside for five minutes.

Your eggs will still be runny on the top; don't worry about that. Stick a spatula around the sides to make sure the omelette is not stuck and will come away easily.

Now for the flip. There are a few ways to do this, and they all involve a third accessory to aid in the process. Do not try to simply flip this with a spatula, it is quite heavy and will definitely break. One way to do it is to place a large plate upside down on top of the pan. Ideally, the plate should be larger than the pan, but you can see that mine was just-right. Do not use a smaller plate!

Now, put one hand on the plate to hold it in place, and the other hand on the handle of the pan. In one smooth movement, invert the pan and plate so that the omelette ends up upside down on the plate.

Yes, that looks good, but we are not done yet. This is not meant to be a runny, gooey omelette, so now slide the omelette back into the pan, gooey side down, for one minute.

Again, with the aid of a plate, invert the omelette to serve.

Finally, dress with some chopped parsley, and you're done! Slice pizza style for individual sized portions, or cut into small squares and serve on toasted bread as an appetiser or with tapas.

As with all the other recipes we put on this site, this is meant to be easy to follow. We are hobby chefs who love to cook, and we are always up for learning new techniques. If you know of anything in this recipe which can be done a different way, whether for increased ease of preparation or better taste, please add a comment below!

Whipped up by Shyamal Addanki