Oeufs à la Neige (Snow Eggs)

Creamy snow eggs in vanilla sauce

Snow eggs, also known as oeufs à la neige, Île flottante, or Snow eggs), are an elegant French dessert that will make you dream away. A light eggwhite foam that melts on your tongue.

This snow egg floats in a bed of creamy vanilla sauce. And on top of that, a crunchy, nutty almond praline. You may think of a dream, but this delicious dessert is named Oeufs à la Neige, or snow eggs in English.

Easy French Dessert Recipe

They get their velvety texture by beating egg whites and then poaching them in warm milk. We then use the remaining egg yolks to make a custard. The creamy custard combines perfectly with the airy snow eggs.

And by combining this with crunchy almond praline, you get a perfect combination of texture and taste that you will love.
Try it yourself; the recipe is easy, and find out why the French love Oeufs à la Neige so much.

What do you need for Floating Islands?

You require the following ingredients to prepare this Oeufs à la Neige (Snow Eggs). You can find the correct amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of the blog:

Ingredients Almond Praline

• Almond slivers: As the name says: slivered almond. It has a slightly sweet, nutty taste.
• Sugar and water: To make a caramel that you mix with the almond shavings.

Ingredients Snow Eggs

• Egg whites: Used to make snow eggs. Separate the yolk from the egg white. There should not be a trace of egg yolk; otherwise, you can no longer beat the egg white stiff.
• Salt: To balance the flavors.
• Sugar: For sweetening the egg white foam
• Milk: The snow eggs are gently poached in hot milk. Then use the same milk for the vanilla sauce.

Ingredients Vanilla sauce (Crème Anglaise)

• Egg yolks: Provide the color and bind the vanilla sauce.
• Salt: To balance the flavors.
• Sugar: For sweetening the crème anglaise.
• Milk: To achieve a sauce of the right thickness. This recipe uses the milk in which the snow eggs are poached.
• Vanilla Extract: For a hint of vanilla flavor. If you can get it, use natural vanilla extract. With this easy vanilla extract recipe, you can make it yourself (which is much cheaper than a small bottle from the store) and use it for a long time).

How to Prepare Snow Eggs Dessert Recipe

1. Cover a baking tray with baking paper. In a saucepan, place the sugar with the water and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add the almond shavings and let them caramelize slowly. When the almonds are golden brown, place them on the baking paper. Let cool to room temperature and chop into small pieces.
2. Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until peaks appear. Then add the sugar spoon by spoon while you mix until the egg whites are stiff. Heat the milk in a saucepan until hot and reduce the heat to low. Remove the oval egg whites from the bowl with a tablespoon and carefully slide them into the hot milk (I always use two tablespoons). Poach for a minute and carefully turn the egg white foam over. After another minute, remove the snow egg from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
3. Mix the egg yolks, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract in a bowl with a whisk until you have an airy light yellow mixture. Very carefully pour in the hot milk of the oeufs à la neige while you keep stirring.
4. Pour the contents of the bowl back into the pan, and while stirring with a wooden spoon, heat the sauce over low heat. The sauce is ready when you can take out the wooden spoon, draw a line with your finger, and the sauce does not immediately flow back.

Serve this wonderfully elegant dessert by dividing the vanilla sauce over the glasses (or plates). Place the snow egg in the sauce. Sprinkle some almond praline on top and serve immediately!