Paper Palate

If you’re having houseguests staying over for the Memorial Day weekend, you may be inclined to host a more quiet and relaxed brunch, prior to the later, more festive, evening backyard barbecue or poolside party. For this more sophisticated table, consider presenting Martha Stewart’s Île Flottante with Pistachio Crème Anglaise and a Spun-Sugar Crown, featured on the cover of the May issue of Martha Stewart Living. This sweet, delicate “Floating Island” is a charming special dessert for your special holiday guests.

Île Flottante
(recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart Living)

Ingredients:
Unsalted butter for mold and parchment
5 large egg whites, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
Pistachio Crème Anglaise (recipe follows)
Spun-Sugar Crown (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350°, with rack in lower third. Butter a 4 1/4-cup charlotte mold; set aside. Put egg whites into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on medium speed until frothy. Beat in the cream of tartar. Gradually add sugar; beat until stiff and shiny, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer meringue to prepared mold. Tap it on counter to remove air pockets. Butter a round of parchment; place, buttered side down, over meringue.

Put mold in a medium saucepan; transfer to oven. Carefully pour hot water into pan to reach halfway up side of mold. Bake until meringue is puffed slightly over top of mold, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer mold to a wire rack; remove parchment. Let cool 30 minutes. Meringue can be refrigerated in the mold up to 1 day.

To serve, unmold onto a platter; drain any liquid. Spoon crème around meringue, and top with sugar crown. Serves 4-6.

Pistachio Crème Anglaise
(recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart Living)

Ingredients:
4 large egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons pistachio paste

Whisk yolks and sugar in a bowl until pale and thick, about 4 minutes. Set aside.

Put milk and cream in a medium saucepan, and heat over medium heat until just about to simmer. Reduce heat to low. Whisk 1/3 cup milk mixture into yolk mixture; pour mixture back into pan. Whisk in pistachio paste. Raise heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 8 minutes.

Pour mixture through a fine sieve unto a stainless-steel bowl set in an ice-water bath. Let stand until cold, stirring occasionally. Crème can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 3 days. Makes about 1 3/4 cups.

Spun-Sugar Crown
(recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart Living)

Ingredients:
Vegetable oil, for working
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon grated beeswax

Using masking tape, attach 2 wooden spoons to the counter, placing them side by side with the handles extended over the edge. Lightly oil the handles. Cover floor with newspaper.

Bring sugar and corn syrup to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Cook until mixture turns pale amber and registers 300° on a candy thermometer, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat; let cool 2 minutes. Stir in beeswax. Let cool, stirring occasionally, until caramel registers 250°.

Cut the looped ends of a wire whisk with wire cutters (or use 2 forks held back to back). Dip ends into caramel. From about 2 feet about the spoon handles, swing caramel back and forth like a pendulum in long arcs, allowing strands to fall in thin threads over the handles. Immediately gather strands into a nest. Makes 1.