The Simple "Floating Island"

I had some enthusiasm to create the classic French dessert, "Floating Island".

Comprised of steamed meringues that sit sweetly on a pool of cream anglaise, also known as vanilla custard. 

The meringue is created using a steaming method in which they cook in a bath full of milk and vanilla. 

The cream anglaise is a pure version of vanilla custard that is made using the milk and vanilla used to cook the meringue and mixing it with sugar and egg yolk. 

I'm not sure why I am suddenly giving instructions on how to make it as the recipe is easy to find. I guess this being my first post I am emulating something I am used to seeing in other peoples blogs. 

Most bloggers write freely about perfection they have achieved but I admire those that tell the truth about how many times they nearly burnt the house down as with making desserts of any kind, it is an art that requires patience and organisation. 

I read a proverb from Tzao that went something like this...

"Nature does not rush, but everything is completed". 

I am sure this is the motto recited by many pastry chefs that begin their daily routine. 

Another saying by some bloke...

"What can go wrong, will go wrong". 

These words hammer the head home with making desserts. If you are not prepared mentally and physically, all will burn in hell aka the oven. 

In any case, I wanted my first post to be about the simplicity of something so beautiful as with the French method, simplicity is the key. 

What went right... not much. the meringue stuck together and did not fall apart in steam bath. The meringue did float and the caramel was not burnt. Most importantly, my girl has not tasted a floating island before so she had nothing to compare it too. Although she did mention a cooked egg taste in the custard...

What went wrong... the egg white contained some yolk, the meringue broke into bits after it steamed, the custard overcooked creating an egg like taste and there was not enough caramel to make the dish aesthetically pleasing. 

After having the individual ingredients made, I assembled the dish. It looked good enough. My presentation is something that has always lacked any creativity. No number of books or blogs will help, I need to play around more...trial and error, baby. 

Getting the basics right, I will need to make this dish again. The kicthen was in a mess and my head was not in the right place to make such a simple looking dish, I should have known better. I need to be in the kind of head space which is similar to that of after a solid nights sleep. 

Note to self: Make this again with better ingredients like real vanilla so I can see the seeds, room temperature egg whites so they take in the sugar, a slotted spoon to flip the meringues and make enough caramel with other toppings to decorate for nicer photos. I made this dish a week ago, the only reason I remember all these points is because it is a known fact that when you have adrenalin through the body, everything is remembered much easily. 

In this instance, it's a good reason so I can learn from my mistakes.